Master of Science in Applied Social Research

at University of Stirling United Kingdom

Are you fascinated by the creative possibilities of technology and software? Do you love solving complex problems as part of a team? If yes, software engineering could be the career for you. You’ll be in high demand for developing the systems that are the foundation and glue of our modern world, and that transform our experiences in communications, business, entertainment, gaming and healthcare.

Our degree will teach you creativity, logical analysis, problem-solving and how teamwork builds complex systems. You’ll study practice and techniques for real-world software design and associated programming technologies, gaining practical experience in software development.

According to the 2020 ScotlandIS Scottish Technology Industry survey, about 100,000 people are working in digital technologies professions. This is a growth of 9% since 2016. The growth has been strongest in web design and development, IT business analysts, architects and systems designers, programmers and software development professionals. Our graduates are highly sought-after. To help you build strong links with industry, we offer three-month summer placements and one-year placements with local SMEs and large corporates. Students also have the opportunity to engage with an international teaching environment through our exchange programmes.

Our MSc Digital Banking and Finance course is suitable for everyone, whether you already have related qualifications or experience, or want to change the direction of your career. The course is fully accredited by the Chartered Banker Institute, the oldest and largest UK professional body for bankers, making our course one of very few UK courses in banking and finance to offer this level of recognition.

As the world moves away from physical cash, replaced by cryptocurrencies, and physical banking is replaced by online banking and finance, our course focuses upon how technology and digital infrastructure is changing the way banks do business. You will learn how FinTech is changing bank management and finance, and how cryptocurrencies will change the way banking and finance operates.

You will acquire the analytical skills and the critical knowledge in this changing environment which will enable you to further your career in the new digital banking and financial sector. The course offers you practical business led knowledge and you can expect to see leading banking and finance experts from the sector in the classroom offering you the most contemporary industry thinking.

Food from aquatic systems is essential for much of the world’s population. However, with wild catches of seafood declining in many places, aquaculture is playing an increasing role as an alternative source of high-quality, nutritious food - and as an employer. Controlling disease is important to the ongoing success of this industry.

Our Aquatic Pathobiology postgraduate degree gives you a unique opportunity to study the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of aquatic animal diseases in cultured organisms. You’ll study at the Institute of Aquaculture, one of the top institutions in this field. The Institute is internationally recognised for both research and teaching and has more than 70 staff and 80 postgraduate students. This Masters in Aquatic Pathobiology has been taught at the Institute for almost 40 years and is the only postgraduate degree of its kind in the world.

The course combines high-quality, practical work and field visits with class-based training in aquatic disease diagnosis and health management challenges drawn from real situations. You’ll also develop an understanding of the biology, husbandry and environment of farmed aquatic species.

The course can also be seen as preparation for anyone who plans to do a PhD in aquatic animal health or disease.

Health psychology is the study of psychological and behavioural processes in health, illness, and healthcare. It is concerned with understanding how psychological, behavioural, and cultural factors contribute to physical health and illness.

Health Psychologists promote healthier lifestyles. They try to find ways to encourage people to improve their health and also to improve the healthcare system as a whole. For example, helping people to lose weight or stop smoking, or advising doctors on better ways to communicate with their patients.

You’ll learn to use your knowledge of psychology to promote general wellbeing and understand physical illness. We will teach you the skills needed to help people deal with the psychological and emotional aspects of health and illness, and to support people who are chronically ill.

Our MSc Health Psychology has a strong experiential focus and emphasises the application of health psychology to real world settings. The course includes contributions from healthcare practitioners. You will carry out a brief placement in a healthcare setting, which can include the NHS, third sector (charities) or industry, and you’ll usually arrange this placement yourself with support from the course team. You are encouraged to carry out research in healthcare contexts where possible.

Marine Biology is the study of specialised plants and animals and how they’ve adapted to the challenges of living in a marine environment. It’s also concerned with the impact human activity has on the health of the oceans and their sustainable management, directly addressing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life below Water.

Our course is truly multi-disciplinary. It draws on other Biology disciplines, including Ecology and the physical and environmental sciences, to understand a habitat that covers around 71 per cent of the earth’s surface.

We teach you the dynamics of aquatic systems and the biology of their organisms. You’ll learn about the science of diving and other underwater techniques. Our mix of practical work, fieldwork and research projects will ensure that you’ll be ready for your career working with the oceans.

By aligning the course with the FRM curriculum, rigorous academic learning is coupled with practitioner-driven insight and certification. Through this combination, students are better prepared to succeed in the challenging field of risk management.

As you study you’ll acquire a broad knowledge of finance, financial theory and the practical methods used to analyse financial data. Further specialist knowledge and analytical skills are developed in financial risk management, including how to identify, measure and manage a broad range of financial risk types including operational risk, foreign exchange risk, liquidity risk and market risk.

You’ll have access to professional financial databases including Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters Eikon, Datastream and S&P Capital IQ. There’s also an opportunity to attend our series of guest lectures by professionals from the industry. All these features help to enhance employability, increase participation, improve learning, and play a part in a world-leading student experience.

Our BA Hons Finance is the first undergraduate degree in Scotland to have Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute Affiliation Program status, underlining the embedded employability skills that students develop, as well as our cutting edge syllabus.

Rooted in international research and shaped by the latest developments in finance theory and practice, this course will give you a comprehensive understanding of how stock markets work, how companies reduce foreign exchange risk, why corporate governance matters and why financial crises occur. As you study, you’ll gain a thorough grounding in the theoretical and analytical skills needed for a career in corporate finance, investment management or financial services.

Your studies in Finance can also be combined with one of four complementary subjects, including our professionally-accredited Accountancy course. Graduating with an Accountancy and Finance degree from Stirling means you’ll be granted significant exemptions from professional exams when you begin your career.

Finance at Stirling is ranked among the best courses of its kind in the country and has an 87% student satisfaction rating, in the top 10 in the UK (National Student Survey 2021), making it the perfect starting point for a world of exciting opportunities.

Our MSc Criminology course establishes clear connections between conceptual theories of crime and justice, and applied examples of how they affect contemporary societies. The course has an international focus that goes beyond UK or Scottish borders, making it appealing for a diverse student cohort.

The course content encourages the pursuit of innovative and socially just responses to the problem of crime, from crimes in the street or at home, to crimes of the powerful, crimes across borders, the much newer phenomenon of online crime, and the drug problem. Throughout the course, there's an emphasis on the need for a strong critical understanding of how research is framed, used and developed, which is delivered via modules in data analysis and research design, as well as criminological and socio-legal research methods. You’ll have the opportunity to explore concepts of criminal justice, the social contexts of crime, and a variety of criminological theoretical perspectives as well as applied insights.

With elective modules in specialist subjects you can acquire and develop a range of skills which will significantly enhance your confidence in criminology and your employability. Subjects include:

• Rehabilitation and criminal justice work
• Drug policy and interventions
• Criminalisation, social control and human rights

The course provides specialised training in international accounting and finance, and helps you develop the reporting and analysis skills needed by organisations worldwide. It also enables you to gain an appreciation of international investment issues from a range of perspectives.

By the end of the course you’ll be able to offer employers an understanding of international reporting standards which have an increasing global relevance, along with an advanced awareness of international financial markets.

There is an increasing global demand for nations, organisations and communities to increase their resilience to potential crises and disasters. Most recently, the Covid-19 pandemic has shown the impact that a global pandemic can have on humanity and the economy. You will acquire the skills to engage with the problems facing those working in disaster interventions, including family reunification, safeguarding children, adults and other vulnerable groups and rebuilding sustainable, resilient communities post disaster. This includes exploring disaster mitigation, preparation and prevention strategies within a community engagement and coproduction framework to create new, long-term responses owned and endorsed by communities.

You will be encouraged to learn from each other and innovate in disaster responses by exploring complex disaster issues in the safety of the classroom using videos, simulations and small group exercises. Your skills will be enhanced further through participation in a field-based learning opportunity involving a period of shadowing practitioners within humanitarian agencies, emergency responders and government departments responsible for deploying emergency personnel. Here, you will learn about agency policy, procedures and practices during deployment.