How do businesses develop strategies, handle risk and take decisions? What’s involved in functions such as marketing, accounting and finance? This innovative degree is firmly rooted in your own experience. You’ll investigate how organisations think and work, how they’re managed, and the external world in which they operate. You can focus entirely on business management, or choose to specialise within the subject areas of accounting, economics, leadership practice, innovation and enterprise or marketing.

Key features of the course

• Develops your understanding of business organisations and their key elements
• Explores wider considerations such as environments, markets and processes; and how all these work together
• Helps you relate your studies to your own experience
• Offers a choice of specialist routes
• Equips you for a wide range of employment opportunities across all sectors

In a fast changing world the social sciences seek answers to the big questions we face as a society. Those answers inform the work of anyone needing to base their decisions on the best available evidence – civil servants, policy makers, business executives and many more. Half of your studies will be interdisciplinary social science and sociology, giving you a firm grounding in knowledge and ideas central to the social sciences. For the other half, you can specialise in criminology, economics, geography, politics, psychology, religious studies or sociology, or you can choose a combination of modules that most suits your interests. Whatever path you take, you will acquire valuable transferable skills opening up employment opportunities in private, public and voluntary sector organisations.

Key features of the course

Provides a thorough introduction to the social sciences and explores a range of topical social, political and economic issues Gives you the option to specialise in criminology, economics, geography, politics, psychology, religious studies or sociology Applies cutting edge social science theory and knowledge to real world situations Enhances your employability, equipping you with valued skills, including the ability to analyse and evaluate evidence, and communicate specialist ideas and information to different audiences.

Skills for career development

This degree course will help you develop a broad set of skills that are of high value to employers, including the ability to:

• understand key business functions such as marketing, human resources, information management, accounting and finance, and operations in their wider organisational and social context
• put together reasoned arguments and question assumptions
• draw together, analyse and critically evaluate information
• understand the nature of leadership skills and behaviours within organisations
• communicate effectively, clearly and accurately with others
• use ICT to research, identify and present information
• manage time and take responsibility for your own personal development.

Career relevance

The skills and knowledge you’ll develop by studying this degree will equip you to follow a number of career paths, and are recognised by employers as having great value for work in management and business. A qualification in business management can lead to opportunities in a wide range of areas such as:

• middle and senior management positions across all sectors
• advertising and marketing
• accountancy
• human resources
• banking, including investment banking
• sales and retail
• management consultancy
• business journalism
• transport and logistics.

Other careers

Employers are keen to utilise the commercial awareness that business graduates offer, as increasing globalisation and continual changes in technology, communications, financial services and distribution of goods and services open up new business opportunities. This awareness can also lead to opportunities in specialist areas concerned with offering guidance to managers, such as management consultancy or business journalism.

Many graduate-level jobs are open to graduates of any discipline, particularly in business, finance, management consultancy and the public sector. Some careers may require further study, training and/or work experience beyond your degree.

This thorough general engineering qualification meets the educational requirements to register as an Incorporated Engineer and provides a firm foundation on which to build your career. The course covers the techniques, concepts and knowledge required by professional engineers. You’ll begin by exploring the fundamentals of this creative and analytical subject, using a range of methods underpinned by science and mathematics. Later, you’ll choose one of six areas in which to specialise. The areas of knowledge, competence and skills that this degree develops include: the ability to use specialist knowledge to solve problems creatively; collaborative working and communication skills; project management skills; the ability to turn concepts into reality.

Your study will give you the skills expected of an Incorporated Engineer, in providing solutions to engineering problems. These could involve using existing or developing new technologies and designs; refining production systems; or developing new services.

On graduation, this qualification (combined with the appropriate evidence of professional practice) will enable you you can apply (via an appropriate engineering institution) to the Engineering Council for registration as an Incorporated Engineer.

BEng (Hons) is a general engineering qualification that provides an entry into a wide range of more specialist engineering roles. Examples include:

• mechanical engineer
• electronic engineer
• structural engineer
• production engineer
• biomedical engineer
• environmental engineer
• materials engineer
• other roles within engineering management
• manufacturing engineer

This field will provide you with some of the skills required for working in health and health science settings and the ability to apply evidence-based scientific methodology to health-related issues. The combination of healthcare and health science topics will equip you with a broad understanding of the range of debates about the provision of healthcare, as well as enabling you to evaluate the relationship between scientific and social understandings about the promotion of health.

You will gain some of the skills required for working in health science and be able to apply scientific methodology to health-related issues. The broad knowledge base in healthcare and health science that you will acquire will equip you with the necessary skills to identify key factors which influence the health of individuals and the health of populations. You will develop skills in handling scientific data and applying this to debates about the provision of healthcare. You will also gain skills in constructing an evidence-based argument which will enable you to contribute to debates about health policy.

This degree will enable you to contribute to the planning and delivery of a range of healthcare services, as well as the development of policy about healthcare. The degree provides a sound and critical understanding of the relationship between scientific understandings of health and the social influences on health, and of health and social care policy, theory and practice. You’ll also understand how ethical, legal, scientific, social, and political factors influence the provision and development of services; and gain the critical and analytical skills that underpin evidence-based practice.

This degree is ideal if you’re keen to study a specific area of science, or you’re not yet sure where your interests lie. It starts with a wide-ranging introduction to highly topical areas of modern science, giving you a good grounding in each. You’ll choose a broad study route where you select modules in areas of interest to you or one of six specialist routes: astronomy and planetary science; biology; chemistry; earth sciences; environmental science; or physics. Your choice of specialism will be included in the name of your degree, for example, BSc (Honours) Natural Sciences (Chemistry).

Key features of the course

Starts with an introduction to topical areas of modern science, giving you a good grounding in each

Offers the option to choose one of six branches of science to specialise in Offers the option to study broad-based science and pick modules from across the science curriculum

Provides opportunities for hands-on laboratory and fieldwork

By the time you achieve your qualification, you’ll be an adaptable graduate with a range of transferable skills that are highly valued in the labour market – such as analytical, numerical and communication skills, teamworking, problem solving and proficiency in using computers. You’ll also have a good understanding of where your strengths and interests lie, and be well prepared for your next step – whether it’s further study or employment.

Employers also look for evidence of experience of the workplace to support the skills gained through the degree. To succeed, graduates will need to be flexible and multi-skilled, with the ability to work in a multidisciplinary environment.

Career relevance

Science graduates are well placed to enter both scientific and non-scientific jobs. The logical, reasoned approach needed for science study is relevant to a wide range of financial, business and public sector employment, so science graduates – particularly those who have good communication and interpersonal skills – are in demand.

Employers include central and local government, the NHS, the water industry, food and drink companies, media and communications, the horticultural industry, multinational oil companies, the pharmaceutical industry, conservation bodies and universities – in roles such as:

• research and investigation
• product design and development
• analysis and diagnostics
• science information management
• science communication
• scientific sales
• exploration and extraction of natural resources
• health and healthcare related professions
• waste management, recycling and sustainability
• environmental management, protection and conservation
• teaching (science is a shortage subject at secondary school level, so there may be incentives to train as a physics, chemistry or maths teacher).

Growth areas are predicted to be: environment, energy and sustainability; biotechnology and biomedical engineering; healthcare; telecommunications; pharmaceuticals; bioinformatics; and technology transfer (transfer of scientific expertise to commercial products).