Master of Science in Psychology (accredited conversion course)

at University of Stirling United Kingdom

With the rise of new communication channels, predominantly online, and the ability of consumers to impact on brand perception, more businesses than ever are identifying value in effective brand management strategies to protect and enhance their brand reputation. It’s reported that job opportunities in brand management were expected to grow by 14% in 2020 as a result (fastcompany.com).

The MSc Marketing and Brand Management course is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM). CIM accreditation means that when you successfully complete the course, it's easier to gain a Professional Diploma in Marketing. Two of the Diploma modules will be waived and to gain the CIM Professional Diploma you will only need to undertake two CIM modules rather than the usual four, giving you a competitive edge in your career.

Our Masters in Marketing and Brand Management gives you a thorough and in-depth understanding of marketing and brand management within commercial and non-commercial organisations. You will learn about the practice and theory of sustainable marketing, strategic brand management and digital marketing and advertising. Our course also gives the choice to further explore the role of brands and branding in specialist marketing areas such as supply chain marketing, retailing, or social marketing.

Our research-led teaching combined with a focus on practical applications is a key strength of this course and you will be taught by top researchers. In addition to consistently engaging in academic literature through weekly readings and module assessments, the course gives you opportunities to apply concepts, theories and frameworks to practical aspects. You will collaborate during your studies with a wide variety of organisations including not-for-profit, third sector and small and medium sized enterprises.

Human Resource Management is a vital part of every business, and impacts everyone from junior members of staff to CEOs. With a CIPD accredited HR degree from the University of Stirling, you’ll gain far-reaching expertise in organisational success and unlock a wealth of professional opportunities.

The course will prepare you to make an impact on key areas of business such as recruitment methods, staff development, performance management and career progression. You’ll also be equipped to enhance an organisation’s adaptability by broadening the skills of its workforce and understanding its broader social and economic environments.

When you study HR at Stirling, everything you’ll learn is rooted in research and contemporary developments in the business world. The course reflects the rapid changes in employment practices, markets, technology and law – ensuring you graduate with the front-line knowledge you need to succeed.

The Master of Science in Historical Research is a one-year research preparation course intended to prepare postgraduates for a research-based career and enable specialisation in social and/or economic history.

The MSc is designed to:

• train historians in social research methods
• demonstrate your ability to undertake interdisciplinary research to doctoral level at Stirling; or other universities in Britain and overseas
• provide a foundation for applications to research councils (AHRC, ESRC) and doctoral training partnerships (including SGSAH) that fund PhD research
• specifically prepare graduates to apply to the Scottish Graduate School of Social Science for PhD studentship funding in social and economic history (see below under professional accreditation)
• enhance career prospects and career development

These aims are achieved through the completion of independent study modules, taught modules in applied social research, optional study modules appropriate to your field of study, and skills training conducted under supervision. You’ll be allocated an individual supervisor to direct your dissertation and plan your programme.

Our course prepares you for further research by:

• compulsory taught modules in project design, qualitative and quantitative data analysis
• directed independent study in the historiography of a research topic
• skills development in statistical and database packages
• self-directed skills training
• practical experience in applying research methods to interrogate primary sources and datasets in the dissertation
• developing written and verbal critical analysis

Our Environmental Geography course seeks to make sense of our changing world. It’s unique in bridging environmental and social sciences, and in exploring the pressing human-environment issues of the 21st century.

We’ll turn you into an Environmental Geographer with the expert knowledge and skills to research, analyse and communicate how the changing environment affects our lives. Your ability to visualise geographical issues at different spatial scales, from global to local, and to offer solutions to our most pressing environmental problems, will ensure that you’re highly sought after by a wide range of employers.

This course offers Spanish for all – from complete beginners to advanced speakers – and equips you to read, write and speak the language on an advanced level appropriate for the demands of today’s job market. You will also have the chance to acquire a critical awareness of the societies and cultures of Spain and Latin America, as well as transferrable skills that can be applied in a number of professional and academic settings.

In order to truly immerse yourself in Spanish and Latin American culture, you will spend an extended period studying abroad in Spain, Mexico, Chile or Argentina. This opportunity to refine your language skills will be enhanced by the research-led teaching you will enjoy in Stirling.

If you would like to explore multiple subjects, Spanish and Latin American Studies can be combined with a number of other courses. From Education or Business Studies to Law and Journalism, each combination is designed to help you work towards your vision for the future right from the outset of your studies.

Our Masters in Education is designed for established educationalists, aiming to advance their understanding of education, as well as those looking to convert their career to this field.

The University of Stirling has a strong reputation for the study of Education and we hold expertise in Digital Pedagogies, Leadership and Curriculum. Throughout this course, international scholarly perspectives are incorporated within learning and teaching, including blended learning and the inclusion of multilingual and translanguaging pedagogical practices.

The course will give you the opportunity to specialise in some of the most important fields in education: digital pedagogies, curriculum and leadership. You’ll be equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to make identifiable contributions to public and private education spaces, including international government, research and practice.

You will study a compulsory diet of education philosophy, social justice, and policy, alongside research methods in the social sciences. You will also choose a modular pathway in either digital education, curriculum or leadership, or a combination of two modules from these pathways, completing your studies with a dissertation in a related topic of your choice.

The quality learning experiences offered by the MSc in Education are underpinned by international scholarly perspectives and approaches that enable you to facilitate and assimilate knowledge via your own and others’ cultural lenses and language practices.

Our Masters in Public Policy allows you to develop the conceptual, analytical and practical skills you’ll need to flourish in the world of policymaking. We prepare you for a career in vocations that make a contribution to the development or delivery of public policy.

This course is extremely flexible, and you can tailor it to fit your particular interests. Core modules on Policy Theory and Practice are combined with optional modules in Social Research and policy-relevant disciplines. If you want to pursue an interest in other policy-relevant disciplines, you can also combine a focus on policy and research with options in areas such as:

• Law
• Economics and behavioural science
• Strategic communications
• International politics

You can also use this degree as a pathway to pursue research to PhD level by taking three modules in Applied Social Research.

As part of the Masters course, you must complete a dissertation. You’ll also have the potential to gain practical experience by pursuing a placement with a relevant organisation (with our help) – allowing you to tailor your research to a policymaker or policy-influencer audience.

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 Business and Management course gives you the knowledge and skills you need to be an inspiring, effective and resilient manager. We combine management theory with development of practical skills, and our course is taught by internationally recognised subject experts.

The course focuses on operations and strategic management, and explores the need for managing limited resources effectively, with maximum business impact. This is the ideal Masters if you're looking to take your first steps into management. We cover the major functions of organisations – accounting, marketing, operations, people and talent management. Finance and economics are integrated through our strategic orientation.

We aim to create industry leaders, managers and entrepreneurs, who're confident in the use of business analytics tools and critical thinking abilities. This allows for better and informed decision making in your management career. There’s an emphasis on entrepreneurship, innovation and strategic management. You’ll also develop an appreciation of corporate social responsibility, ethical decision making and managing change.

Social statistics and social research provide policymakers, academics and others with valuable insights into the behaviour of people. This Masters course will give you an understanding of social research, with a particular focus on quantitative methods and social statistics.

You’ll learn about social research methods and the theories behind them, while undertaking detailed training on a wide range of statistical methods. You’ll also gain a thorough knowledge of statistical software and learn a range of highly sought-after technical skills, including accessing, preparing, analysing and summarising complex quantitative datasets.

Modules cover core and advanced issues of social research design and techniques of statistical analysis. There are specialist modules that address important emerging areas in social statistics, covering data management,big data, and social network analysis. Students also choose one option module in another area of social research, for instance on qualitative data analysis or policy research.