Birmingham City University Essential Guide by Sarah Carter

BIRMINGHAM CITY UNIVERSITY ESSENTIAL GUIDE

Birmingham City University essential guide

Discover us in person This prospectus aims to give you the information you need to help you choose a course and get a feel for the Birmingham City University student experience. There are many additional ways of finding out more – none better than a visit to our campuses to speak to staff, students and advisers.

ADVICE, GUIDANCE AND FURTHER INFORMATION The University’s course and guidance advisers are here to help you find the best course for your career aspirations and interests, and give advice on: • Entry qualifications • Application advice, including personal statements • Access routes for mature students • Accommodation • Child care • Welfare services • Financial support CONTACT OUR ADVISERS FOR FRIENDLY, HELPFUL SUPPORT AND ADVICE T: +44 (0)121 331 5595 E: choices@bcu.ac.uk W: www.bcu.ac.uk/choices

OPPORTUNITIES TO VISIT - OPEN DAYS – OPEN TO ALL* • Friday 18th June • Saturday 19th June • Saturday 21st August (Clearing open day) • Wednesday 25th August (Clearing open day) • Friday 8th October • Saturday 9th October There are other opportunities to visit us. These include individual campus tours and subject-specific applicant visit days. You can find more details on all our Open Days at www.bcu.ac.uk/opendays

Prepare to be surprised Flick through our prospectus and take a look at the people who’ve already discovered our courses. From successful actors to literary prize nominees and classical music stars, our graduates have used Birmingham City University as a springboard to realise their dreams. It’s not just our graduates. We’re immensely proud of the achievements of our current students, who regularly show what they’re made of on placement and in competitions, and we’re equally proud of the committed and talented staff who have helped them to get there. Take a look at the success stories of the many people who’ve already discovered us – and take a moment to consider what you’d like your success story to be.

We’re full of surprises DISCOVER WHY WE’RE THE UK’S MOST “IN DEMAND” UNIVERSITY We’ve always been a popular choice - and now the word is spreading fast. Last year, we saw the biggest increase in applications of any UK university. Applications to our courses were up by 35.6 per cent in September 2008, compared to an average 8 per cent increase for other universities. We’re now the nation’s most “in demand” university according to a table of top performers published in influential sector magazine, Times Higher Education (THE). Read on and you’ll soon see why …

Discover what people say about us OFSTED rated our primary and secondary teaching courses Grade One: outstanding. The Business School was awarded Platinum Approval by the ACCA. Find more on page 18… Discover by doing Our students don’t just learn, they do. It’s that firm focus on practical skills and professional relevance that make our graduates so employable. In 2008, a remarkable 98 per cent of our primary teacher training graduates found employment and 100 per cent of our secondary teacher training graduates found employment. Find more on page 21… Discover fantastic facilities An amazingly lifelike virtual reality radiotherapy suite, broadcast studios, a mock law courts, mock operating theatre, fashion workshops, jewellery studios, advanced manufacturing facilities… Our cutting-edge technology is all supported by excellent library and IT facilities including our invaluable online virtual learning environment. Find more on page 30…

Discover our investment in your future Find out why the Times Good University Guide ranked us an impressive 12th for our extensive spending on services and facilities. A huge £150 million is being invested in new and improved facilities – including a brand new city centre campus and a stunning new £7 million sports centre. Find more on page 38… Discover our stars Where do you see yourself after graduation? Discover our students’ successes and our graduates’ stories – from TV stars to novelists to fashion designers – and be inspired. Find more on page 12... Discover our pedigree Think we’re the new kid on the block? We’ve been launching careers since 1843, when the Birmingham Government School of Design was first founded, with the same focus on ‘learning by doing’ and getting the skills that count in the workplace. Find more at www.bcu.ac.uk/ aboutus/history

Discover the company we keep Microsoft, Cisco, Apple, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the NHS, The Working Manager Ltd, Rolls-Royce, 850 local schools… find out why some of the biggest names choose to work with us. Learn more on page 12…

Discover great support Making the transition to university can be a big step at any age. That’s why we offer a full range of support and welfare services, from careers advice to counselling and childcare. Find more on page 84…

Discover Birmingham More parks than Paris, more miles of canal than Venice and the UK’s largest student population outside London. What a fantastic place to live! Find more on page 40…

All courses described as being delivered by Birmingham City University include those provided or delivered by the University and by companies within the Birmingham City University group of companies including BCU Enterprise Ltd, Technology Engineering and the Environment and Technology Engineering and the Environment Commercial Ltd.

Discover value for money You’ll find a city with a reasonable cost of living and a guaranteed first-year place in our own competitivelypriced accommodation if you’re from outside Birmingham. Find more on page 42… Discover in-touch teaching Our staff are right on top of the latest developments. Why? Because so many use their expertise to practise and research within their chosen specialism, as well as teaching – from CBSO musicians to exhibiting artists to government advisers. We even boast a TV expert in criminology. Find more on page 22…

Contents 12 DISCOVER THE COMPANY WE KEEP 18 DISCOVER OUR STUDENT STARS, PAST AND PRESENT 22 DISCOVER OUR TEACHING STARS 26 DISCOVER OUR WORLD-LEADING RESEARCH 30 DISCOVER OUR TEACHING ACHIEVEMENTS 32 DISCOVER A NEW APPROACH TO WORK-BASED LEARNING 34 DISCOVER BY DOING 40 DISCOVER A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE 46 DISCOVER A GREAT PLACE TO WORK 48 DISCOVER FANTASTIC FACILITIES 60 DISCOVER OUR CAMPUSES 78 DISCOVER YOUR NEW HOME 84 DISCOVER GREAT SUPPORT 92 DISCOVER WHY HIGHER EDUCATION CAN IMPROVE YOUR LIFE 96 DISCOVER WHAT YOU’RE MADE OF 100 DISCOVER STUDENT LIFE 106 DISCOVER AN INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE 110 DISCOVER LIFE AS A MATURE STUDENT 112 DISCOVER MONEY MATTERS 118 DISCOVER OUR COURSES 120 GENERAL ENTRY REQUIREMENTS AND THA UCAS TARIFF 124 COURSE INDEX BY SUBJECT PROSPECTUS

Discover the company we keep We pride ourselves on the range of professional accreditations and industry partnerships we boast. Of course, you don’t need to take our word for it. Just take a look at the kind of prestigious companies and organisations that choose to work with us. These associates draw on our expertise, upskill their teams with us, or lend their support in developing cutting edge courses.

• Our Technology, Engineering and the Environment Faculty (TEE) now operates one of Microsoft’s top UK academies. It was recognised in the Institute of IT’s 2009 awards, rated in the top five for its unique partnership with New York-based John Wiley, which enables it to tailor learning programmes to meet customer training needs. • The Faculty is also the leading Cisco Network Academy Training Centre for Europe, Middle-East and Africa. IT students can obtain recognised professional qualifications from Microsoft and Cisco alongside their degrees. The New Technology Institute is one of the busiest Apple-accredited training centres in Europe. • A unique contract with the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine means that we are the only UK university to train nursing, radiography and operating department practitioners in the Armed Forces, alongside civilian students.

• The Working Manager Ltd (TWM), a web-enabled provider of practical management education, has chosen Birmingham City University as one of only two universities to accredit its existing management programmes and to deliver new ones. We partner with businesses to offer innovative degrees directly in the workplace. Longstanding TWM client Munters was recently named one of the Sunday Times’ 100 Best Companies To Work For 2008, with specific reference to the part its education programme plays in many internal promotions. • Our Schools of Education have strong partnerships with more than 650 primary schools and over 200 secondary schools. We are delighted to work with schools from all over the region including Birmingham, Telford, Burton-upon-Trent, Redditch and Coventry. • Our Technology Faculty is the sole UK-based academy for PTC (Parametric Technologies Corp) Inc – a major business software solutions provider to the US government.

Bosch, BMW, John Lewis, Canon, Hyundai, the CBSO, the Birmingham Royal Ballet, Sky TV, Mars, General Motors, EMI and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals are among the leading companies that have welcomed our students on invaluable placements.

We are proud to be supporting Birmingham School of Acting in this innovative course – the first of its kind to be offered in the region. LYN DARNLEY, HEAD OF TEXT, VOICE AND ARTIST DEVELOPMENT, ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY.

The Morgan Motor Company has won a prestigious Lord Stafford award for achievement in innovation through its collaboration with graduates from our faculty (TEE). They’re just one of the companies that we share expertise with – bringing great rewards for both sides of the partnership.

The University’s faculty of TEE has proved an excellent supporter, collaborator and source of expertise. We value their contribution most highly. CHARLES MORGAN, MORGAN MOTOR COMPANY

• The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), no less, has helped us to develop a groundbreaking Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Voice Practice at the Birmingham School of Acting. Students will have the chance to work with members of the RSC Voice Department. • The National Academy of Writing has joined forces with us to create the new Diploma in writing course. Academy patrons include such internationally renowned writers as Margaret Atwood, Fay Weldon and AS Byatt. Lord Melvyn Bragg is Honorary President. • Birmingham City Council’s Urban Design has joined forces with our School of Property, Construction and Planning. This innovative partnership focuses on sharing knowledge, experience and best practice, and has introduced some exciting new awards to motivate our students and some valuable placement opportunities.

We are very excited at the developments in this partnership and are keen to see the positive impact that the fresh new talent will have with the experience and expertise of our team. STEVE VICKERS, GENERAL MANAGER OF URBAN DESIGN AT BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL.

OUR ACCREDITATIONS What better recommendation of our knowledge and expertise than the wealth of professional recognition we receive? So many of our programmes are accredited by professional bodies, including: • Association of Building Engineers (ABE) • Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) • Association of International Accountants (IAI) • British Horological Institute (BHI) • Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC) • Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT) • Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) • Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) • Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) • Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) • Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) • Chartered Quality Institute (CQI) • Gemmological Association of Great Britain (GAGB) • Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) • Institute of Internal Audit (IIA) UK and international • Institute of Mechanical Engineering (IMechE) • Institute of Risk Management (IRM) • National Council for Drama Training (NSDT) • Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) • Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) • Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) • The Law Society/Solicitors’ Regulation Authority (SRA) • Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA)

Discover our student stars, past and present We’re not alone in believing our students to be among the most talented in the country. Take a look at our latest success stories… ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN EXPERT, MATT GOER Where better to turn for expert help in creating our new multi-million pound Eastside district campus than to our own high-achieving graduates? Matt Goer, Warren Jukes and Adam Wardle will be part of a team from Associated Architects, a design-led architectural practice with a reputation for innovative building design. The company was hailed by RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) as “probably the best architectural practice outside London”.

ASIAN WOMAN YOUNG DESIGNER 2008 Fashion degree graduate Amina Ahmed was delighted to win this prestigious award and see her winning designs in a five-page spread in Asian Woman Magazine. Part of the prize was an internship with bespoke tailor Imtaz Khaliq – whose high-profile client base includes Hollywood actress Michelle Pfeiffer. She also had the chance to design and make a dress for Asian award-winning singer, Shahin Badar.

BETTY JACKSON, CBE Award-winning, world-renowned fashion designer and art graduate Betty Jackson’s achievement in British fashion was recently honoured with a CBE. After studying fashion – under Zandra Rhodes, no less – at what was then the Birmingham School of Art, Betty became a star for her chic but wearable designs. She’s also the name behind M&S Autograph and recently modernised British judges’ robes.

16/11/04 PICTURE BY JANE JORDAN FOR SUNDAY MERCURY Betty Jackson at Think Tank.

X FACTOR FINALIST Music sensation Rhydian trained at the Birmingham Conservatoire. After wowing the nation on the X Factor, he now has a Sony BMG contract reportedly worth £1 million.

TOP STUDENT TV AWARD MA Visual Communications graduate Steven Spencer won the prestigious national Royal Television Society Student Television Award for his graduation project, a thoughtprovoking short animation film, My Brown Friend. AWARD-WINNING THINKING MSc student Dean Bernard is the Freight Best Practice Student of the Year, 2009. His inspirational essay on reducing the logistics industry’s carbon footprint impressed the judges and won him a valuable careerboosting placement. BOOSTING SALES AND CREATING JOBS Multimedia Technology student Mandeep Chana spent her industrial placement year working with our Faculty of TEE. Supporting local creative businesses, Mandeep helped to create 129 new jobs and nearly £3/4 million extra sales! No wonder she graduated with a first class degree and a prestigious prize for the best student contribution to the TIC. JEWELS IN OUR CROWN AT LEADING EXHIBITION MA students from the School of Jewellery represented the University at Siamo Qui, a prestigious and highly regarded jewellery exhibition in Florence. TRAINEE TEACHER’S “OUTSTANDING COMMITMENT” Second year teaching student Zahida Yasin, 32, was awarded the prestigious Ede and Ravenscroft Prize for outstanding personal achievement. A mature student with significant family commitments, Zahida has still found time to get thoroughly involved in the life of the Faculty, including its recent Ofsted inspection. Zahida’s tutors have been enormously impressed by her outstanding commitment and excellent progress.

PRIZE-WINNING RADIO ADS Stephanie Lee Grant, Media and Communication student specialising in radio production, dazzled the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) with a series of three commercials for the Black History Foundation. Stephanie was awarded a state-of-the-art PURE DAB radio in recognition of her outstanding work. She not only wrote, but also produced and voiced the commercials, which featured historic audio, to help promote the Foundation’s website. This award will be a great advantage to Stephanie in the future and we are hoping, as much as she is, that this will propel her into an equally successful final year and great future career prospects. HOOTING ABOUT MOOTING Our Law students surpassed themselves when they made it all the way to the finals of a national mooting competition, the Oxford University Press and BPP Law School National Mooting Competition. Mooting is a legal battle of words where competitors argue their case as eloquently and persuasively as they can. Our students put on an impressive performance as they took on teams from the University of Cambridge, University of Reading and City University.

WEST END ACTOR Ashley Taylor-Rhys landed a role in War Horse at The National Theatre just months after graduating from our School of Acting. OUTSTANDING SUCCESS IN DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES Wondu Mekonnen, a graduate from the Postgraduate Diploma and MA Housing degree, won the prestigious Chartered Institute of Housing Student of the Year award in 2009. Originally from Ethiopia, Wondu was granted asylum in the UK in 2004 and managed to combine studying, working to finance his studies and valuable voluntary work, advising refugees and asylum seekers on immigration and housing.

A HEAD FOR LIFESAVING DESIGN One of our graduates has been instrumental in developing revolutionary new high-tech headgear that makes it easier for surgeons to perform lifesaving operations on babies and small children. Daniel Harbin, BSc (Hons) Engineering Product Design, was key in this collaborative project with Birmingham Children’s Hospital. While current models can take up to 15 minutes to fit, this remarkable headgear can be aligned in seconds to the surgeon’s head by using a 3D scan.

Discover our teaching stars It’s not just our students that we’re proud of here at Birmingham City University. Many of our lecturers have spent years working within the industries they teach in, many still practise or provide consultancy, and all bring real expertise to their teaching. They’re a talented team of academic staff with many achievements to celebrate.

FROM PRISON GOVERNOR TO PROFESSOR TO TV STAR Former Prison Governor and Birmingham City University professor David Wilson tackled juvenile crime in the Channel Five TV series Banged Up. In what was billed as a “bold social experiment”, Banged Up saw a team of respected experts – including Professor Wilson – working with 12 prolific young teenage offenders to discourage them from following a life of crime with a stint in a simulated prison. Professor Wilson played the Governor of the prison, which saw him draw on his experience of 14 years working with young offenders. He was recently hailed as the most popular media expert in his field, topping a league of 70 colleagues. GLOBAL SHOWCASE FOR OUR MEDIA EXPERTS A series of educational podcasts made by our media experts has been given an international showcase on Apple’s iconic iTunes. TOP MUSICIANS FOR MENTORS Our Conservatoire students are taught by some of the country’s most accomplished musicians, who bring their valuable professional experience to their teaching – from renowned composers to members of the CBSO. Jazz legend Dave Holland is a visiting artist in residence.

NEW MEDIA EXPERT NAMED ONE OF BIRMINGHAM’S MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE School of Media lecturer Paul Bradshaw has been placed 36th in a list of the 50 most powerful people in Birmingham in the Birmingham Post’s Power 50. His Online Journalism Blog is one of the world’s most highly regarded sites on the subject. AWARD-WINNING TEACHING FOR TEACHERS Suzanne Lawson’s inspirational teaching and many years of school experience have helped her students to start their teaching careers with confidence and enthusiasm. A food technology and textiles specialist in our Faculty of Education, Law and Social Sciences, Suzanne received the coveted Teacher Training Design and Technology Award from the Design and Technology Association (DATA) in recognition of her high-quality work. A DOUBLE FIRST IN ARCHITECTURE Local architect and one of the Birmingham School of Architecture’s academics Ruth Reed became not only the first ever female President of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), but also the first in living memory to be elected from the West Midlands region.

PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS

Some of the most cutting-edge musicians in the country teach at the Conservatoire – Julian Seigal, Liam Noble, Phil Robson, Jeff Williams and Hans Koller are all important British jazz musicians. We also have regular workshops from visiting musicians of international standing, such as David Binney, Dave Douglas, Evan Parker, Bobby Previte and many more. JOHN RANDALL, BMUS (HONS) JAZZ

25 AN OUTSTANDING RECOGNITION FOR OUTSTANDING IMPACT Nigel Wynne, a Senior Academic in Learning and Teaching at the Faculty of Health, received a National Teaching Fellowship from the Higher Education Academy in recognition of his teaching skills, celebrating his outstanding impact on students’ learning experience. Nigel’s creativity has led to the development of an online simulation tool for health care students called the Virtual Case Creator, which has around 25 different cases for students to tackle. Learn more about this amazing technology on page 20. ATTORNEY GENERAL PRAISES PROFESSOR Julian Killingley, Professor of American Law in the School of Law, was named as a Pro Bono Hero by the Attorney General, Baroness Scotland, in 2009. One of only five, he was praised for his voluntary work with those on Death Row in America. SHED LOADS OF TALENT Our MA Course Director in Product Design, Graham Powell, won high praise for Birmingham City University’s show-stopping ‘My Grrreen Shed’ exhibition of eight unique, customised garden sheds at Grand Designs Live – the UK’s biggest homes and garden design show. Curator Graham designed three of the sheds and invited celebrity designers to design the others. Channel 4 presenter Kevin McCloud praised the eco-friendly designs. PRIZE-WINNING CAREERS DEVELOPMENT We’re always on the lookout for ways to help our students make themselves more employable – so when two members of our Faculty of Health came up with an innovative ‘Dragons’ Den’ experience to help nurses develop their interview skills, it was a real hit. Nathalie Turville (Programme Director, Nursing) and Jenny Mullins (Student Services Career Consultant) received the award for the ‘Working with students in post-19 education’ category at the recent Institute of Career Guidance’s National Careers Award ceremony.

OUR PIONEERING PROFESSOR Professor Upkar Pardesi, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility, won the prestigious British Asian Hafta Pioneer of the Year Award for his pioneering work with faith-based organisations, business support agencies and his leadership of a key arts centre. VISITING PROFESSIONALS Students learn first-hand from our many visiting professionals, who offer a valuable insight into life in your chosen field. National Academy of Writing students learn from lectures and master classes from visiting best-selling authors such as Nick Hornby, Iain Banks and Ian Rankin. Prestigious guest lecturers in criminology have included politicians such as Sir Peter Lloyd, TV presenters such as Donal McIntyre and Jon Silverman, the leading detective on the Fred and Rose West murder case, and even ex-offenders such as Noel ‘Razor’ Smith and Norman Parker, as well as serving prison governors and police officers. Our law students welcomed Michael Edwards, a US attorney well-known for his crusading work in legal reform. Our Schools of Education regularly welcome guest lecturers, including Philip Pullman, the popular and award-winning children’s author. Nick Leeson, the infamous rogue trader, shared his expertise with the Business School. Advertising students enjoy input from leading designers, art directors, copywriters and creative directors, including one of the world’s leading advertising creatives, Trevor Beattie.

Discover our world-leading research World-leading research means pioneering teaching and state-of-the art facilities for our students. Our academics’ pioneering work compares with the best research in the world – and provides the highest quality support to our teaching. It delivers practical, real-world solutions to the very latest key issues. Who better to trust with your education?

In 2008, Birmingham City University submitted seven research projects to a prestigious national audit, Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). 75 per cent was judged to be of international standing – and all seven areas showed elements of world-leading (4*) research quality. In fact, a higher percentage of our work was rated more than any other modern university in the UK. All seven submissions achieved world-leading recognition with art and design managing to place an incredible 30 percent of their research at this level, placing it in the UK’s top 10 in its field. Birmingham conservatoire was named the best conservatoire outside London for its research. The results have placed us in a ‘supergroup’ of modern universities, spearheading research excellence to the very highest quality. We’re recognised as a ‘rising star’ in research – and our research funding has doubled with an award of almost £1.8 million. Over the next five years, we aim to double both the quantity of our research and our number of postgraduate students.

We have a number of centres of research excellence, which are the main focal points for research activities, as well as research partnerships across the globe. We also have a sound reputation as a partner of choice in commercial research and innovation. As a student here, you’ll reap the benefits, as this research excellence informs pioneering teaching, often delivered in state-ofthe-art facilities or through virtual learning environments.

BA (HONOURS) ACTING

Find out more about your particular area of interest at : www.bcu.ac.uk/research

SCHEME TO REVOLUTIONISE THE NHS Professor John Sparrow led a £2 million pilot scheme which placed academic experts into small businesses and large organisations like the NHS to inspire strategic change and revolutionise their service delivery. IMPROVING STAFF/INMATE RELATIONSHIPS Professor David Wilson and colleague Laura Caulfield from the Centre for Criminal Justice Policy and Research, recently completed an innovative project for the national prison charity Good Vibrations. The project explored the benefits of teaching music in prisons and evidence showed that with music playing, staff/inmate relationships, anger levels in prisoners and prisoner openness to wider scopes of learning were drastically improved. SWAPPING HARD HATS FOR THINKING CAPS Professor David Boyd and Doctor Mark Addis teamed up last year with three construction companies in a £34,000 project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) to post a philosopher in residence. They used philosophy to cast a critical eye over company practice and help develop ideas about practice and handling of knowledge. PRESTIGIOUS EDUCATION AWARD Tricia Le Gallais, a researcher and senior lecturer, was awarded a prestigious prize for educational research. Tricia received the British Educational Research Association (BERA) Dissertation Award 2007 for her insightful thesis exploring vocational lecturing.

Discover our teaching achievements What can we tell you about our teaching standards? We’d rather let them speak for themselves. Here’s a handful of our latest achievements.

• In 2008, we were awarded Skillset Media Academy status, the only one currently within the West Midlands. • The Business School was awarded Platinum Approval for its accountancy professional development degree programmes by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). • Our School of Property, Construction and Planning received Best Education Centre award from the Chartered Quality Institute. • Our New Technology Institute (NTI), one of the busiest Apple-accredited training centres in Europe, won the Institute of IT Training’s Learning Facilities of the Year award in 2008. • Our reputation for excellence in teacher training has reached the Egyptian Ministry of Education who have contracted the University to provide teacher training for them. • We were named one of a very small number of universities in the country with Ofsted’s ‘Grade One: Outstanding’ scores for both primary and secondary teacher training. What’s more, the Training and Development Agency (TDA) awarded our primary and secondary teacher training their highest grade, a Category ‘A’, reaffirming our reputation as a leading provider of primary and secondary teacher training in the UK.

• We’re the highest-placed post- ‘92 university in the Guardian 2010 League Table. We have three subjects ranked in the top 20 in the UK – Media Studies, Communication and Librarianship (11); Drama and Dance (16) and General Engineering (19); and five subjects in the top 30 – Architecture (23), Art and Design (23), Education (26), Mechanical Engineering (25) and Music (22). • The Times Good University Guide 2010 ranked us in the top 30 for five subjects – Architecture (27), Art and Design (28), Education (25), Communication and Media Studies (21) and Music (27). • We moved up 10 places to 59 in the Independent Complete University Guide 2010 this year. We have four subjects ranked in the top 30 – Communication and Media (19), Building (22), Education (27), Music (21), Town and Country Planning (27). • One of our best recommendations comes from our own students – in the National Student Survey 2009, we had four subjects in the top 10 for satisfaction and a further three in the top 20. In fact, we achieved the best overall student satisfaction rate in the entire country for our planning courses, which scored a remarkable 96 percent

The lecturers are extremely experienced and have all been teachers earlier in their careers. TEMARRA CHRISTOPHER, BA (HONS) PRIMARY EDUCATION WITH QUALIFIED TEACHER STATUS

Discover a new approach to workbased learning Get cross-examined in court, help casualties out of a war zone or deliver a baby – without even leaving home, thanks to our astonishing online Virtual Case Creator. We’re always searching for innovative ways to make improvements – rethinking our learning resources to lead the way in developing a model for 21st century learning. 2008 saw the launch of a Redesign of Learning Experience (RoLEx) – looking at how we can share best practice and initiatives across all our faculties to give an even better experience and range of courses to our students in future years. RoLEx also focuses on making sure that our courses are delivering exactly what employers are looking for and training our academics to keep them bang up-to-date with practice. Key to this unique initiative is building more flexibility into courses, giving you greater choice in how and when you learn. Thinking outside the box is one of our real strengths. For instance, we’re the only university in the country to have a unique formal arrangement with a prison. An annual debate with high security prison HMP Grendon takes our teaching out of the lecture theatre and into the real world to give our criminology students a unique insight into how criminological theory and practice combine. The students learn more as they take lunch with the prisoners. We also have the first ever New Bridge student group – which trains and pays students to write to and visit prisoners. And when it comes to using the very latest learning technology, we’re proud to lead the way. Our 3D virtual city, Shareville, offers vivid online scenario-based learning. We were one of the first UK universities to launch an iTunes U site – featuring free lectures and language lessons to enjoy on an iPod, iPhone, Mac or PC. And our production and technology students are even using the virtual world, Second Life, to produce films. Our virtual learning environment Moodle, our virtual environment for radiography training VERT and our innovative online Virtual Case Creator are also completely revolutionising the way we teach and learn.

Discover by doing Our students don’t just learn, they do. It’s that firm focus on practical skills and professional relevance that make our graduates so employable.

Last year’s Destination of Leavers research, conducted by Student Services, showed almost 90 per cent of our graduates undertook or gained meaningful employment. Building practice into the course. Many of our students find that the practical experience that’s built into their course is something they never forget. Art and design students focus in their final year on preparing work for their degree shows. These feature as a key part of our New Generation Arts Festival, which showcases graduate talent and is one of the largest festivals in Europe of its kind. Media students set up their own internet radio station as part of their final-year assessments – what better way to learn than to set up and present your own show? Our Law students work on real-life cases long before they start their first jobs. The Free Representation Unit (FRU) is an independent free legal advice and representation service – the first of its kind – run by Law students and supervised by lecturers. It works just like a real law office, giving our students invaluable hands-on experience that sets them apart when it comes to job hunting – and providing a much-appreciated service for the local community. It’s a perfect opportunity not just to apply their knowledge of the law, but to practise the people skills they’ll need in the world of work. Students in our Business School have a real head-start when it comes to applying for jobs.

The Faculty runs its very own assessment centre, where students can experience the interview and assessment process over four days of tasks such as aptitude tests, group discussion exercises and presentations. Students are assessed by volunteers from industry, including representatives from the NHS, Birmingham City Council, Eon and Peugeot. It’s this kind of innovative work-based training that gives our students such an advantage in their careers. A brand new e-mentoring scheme gives first-year students more experienced student mentors, while second and third year students gain valuable, aspirationraising insights into the world of work with mentors from prospective employers.

I enjoyed the third year the most. We got to do a variety of plays throughout the year, working with professional visiting directors and experimenting with everything we’d learnt. We also performed in various venues around the city which was great experience compared to just performing in one space all the time. BSA provides a realistic training for any actor. They will prepare you for the real world. TOM LISTER, BIRMINGHAM SCHOOL OF ACTING (BSA) GRADUATE AND CARL KING IN EMMERDALE

PLACEMENTS AND ELECTIVES Bosch, BMW, John Lewis, Canon, Hyundai, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, McDonalds, Whitbread, Debenhams, Sky TV, Max Mara, the CBSO, the Royal Birmingham Ballet, the Philharmonic Orchestra, the NHS, HewlettPackard, National Grid, Reuters, Vauxhall... Some of the biggest names welcome our students to join them. From shorter placements to sandwich courses, you’ll have every chance to get to grips with the realities of work – and exactly what your potential employers are looking for. Students return better equipped to complete their final-year dissertation – many enjoy their experience and make such a good impression that they return to their placement employer after graduation. Our placements aren’t just confined to the UK. Our latest links are with Lagos, Nigeria and Colombo, Sri Lanka, offering work placements abroad for new ideas and a different perspective. What could be more memorable than working alongside US attorneys on death row cases? Our Law and Criminology students have the chance to do just that, with a six to eight week internship in the USA. It’s our close links with businesses and the professions that make this possible. We work hand-in-hand with local and national employers to make sure that our courses are always in line with the current market place – making our graduates a perfect fit for their jobs when they graduate.

My main lecturer arranged my placement year with the company I am working for now on a permanent basis. GRAHAM SHAW CONSTRUCTION QUANTITY SURVEYING

Graham’s placement with global construction giant Balfour Beatty was a huge success. He helped with the West Coast Mainline on his placement, returning to it after graduating. He’s currently enjoying the sunshine in Australia, where he’s working for the company on a major rail project for two years.

The clinical placement beginning in November is very useful as it really gives you an idea of whether you can imagine yourself doing the job as a career long-term and enjoying it at the same time.

EMILY PARKES BSC (HONS) DIAGNOSTIC RADIOGRAPHY

PART-TIME WORK There are so many ways to experience the world of work, learn relevant and valuable skills and improve your employability. Part-time, temporary or vacation work can help you earn while you learn. Our Employer Zone, working with Unitemps, the temping agency specifically designed for university students, can help you find suitable positions. MENTORING, VOLUNTEERING AND THE AMBASSADOR SCHEME It’s a win-win situation. Gaining valuable work skills, confidence and experience – and putting something back into the community at the same time. Whether you’re mentoring and motivating local secondary school students, promoting the University to prospective students as an Ambassador, or volunteering in the community, you’ll learn a lot – and some roles are even paid.

If you’re going to live away from home then you can’t rely on loans and grants or family. Working just 10 hours a week doesn’t interfere with my course and really helps with making life easier, financially.

WILLIAM WOFFORD BA (HONS) PRODUCT DESIGN

Second year student William, 20, works part-time (10 hours per week) for Student Services as a Survey Telephonist.

Discover a great place to live

SHOPPING It’s easy to see why Birmingham proudly boasts the title ‘Shopping Capital of Europe’. The awardwinning Bullring boasts more than 160 shops, including the iconic Selfridges store. The lavish Mailbox features designer stores and boutiques, and the revamped markets are a must.

What a fantastic place to live! The youngest city in Europe, this vibrant, cosmopolitan and multicultural city hosts the UK’s largest student population outside London, with 65,000 students at three universities and two university colleges.

VISUAL ART The city has some of the finest art galleries in the country – the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, with the world’s leading collection of Pre-Raphaelite art; the Barber Institute of Fine Art, with an outstanding collection of renaissance and impressionist art; and the Ikon Gallery with its stunning contemporary work. FESTIVALS The University’s own New Generation Arts Festival in June presents the best work from more than 100 emerging artists, including many of our own talented final-year students and recent graduates. Last year, this event – a unique venture – attracted an amazing 100,000 visitors over 16 days. Birmingham’s ArtsFest, the UK’s largest free arts festival, is another major attraction, and you’ll also find festivals showcasing the best in everything from dance to design to animation, including Brilliantly Birmingham, the city’s jewellery celebration, featuring the work of our jewellery students.

RELAXING With more parks than Paris and more miles of canal than Venice, there are plenty of places to relax. Visit the cafés and bars of smart, canalside Brindleyplace, picturesque Cannon Hill Park and the beautiful Botanical Gardens, or walk the ‘Tolkien Trail’. There are even plans for a new eightacre park right in the heart of the city centre. Further afield, it’s easy to reach Alton Towers, Drayton Manor Park, the Tamworth Snowdome and Stratfordupon-Avon, Shakespeare’s birthplace, to name just a few…

VALUE FOR MONEY BIRMINGHAM In today’s economic climate, you’ll be pleased to know that Birmingham has a reasonable cost of living compared to some of the UK’s big cities. Rents are reasonable – and there’s a guaranteed place in halls available for your first year if you’re from outside Birmingham. A 2008 Guardian report comparing the cost of living at different UK institutions shows that we compare favourably, with competitive rents and pints for just a pound! SPORTS Birmingham boasts top football clubs, Edgbaston cricket ground and two dog tracks – one close to City North Campus. The National Indoor Arena (NIA) hosts Davis Cup tennis, athletics, world-class events in sports such as badminton, table tennis and judo, and everything from basketball to wrestling. The renowned Alexander Stadium, a short walk from City North Campus, is open for athletics and regular gym training. EATING OUT Birmingham’s got to be one of the best destinations for multicultural cuisine, with something to suit every palate and wallet. Balti was born here – sample the real thing at the famous ‘balti triangle’ area. Birmingham’s Chinatown buffet specials are another firm favourite with the student population. You’ll find all the big names here too – Wagamama, Pizza Express, Shimla Pinks, Café Rouge, TGI Fridays… We’ve even got Michelin-starred restaurants.

CLUBS AND BARS From the mainstream bustle of Broad Street to the underground scene in Digbeth to the laid-back bars in student-friendly Selly Oak or bohemian Moseley, we’ve got it covered. Check out iconic club nights at Gatecrasher and Godskitchen, and renowned venues Air, The Sanctuary and Factory Club at the Custard Factory – as well as hundreds of cheap and cheerful club nights too. Plenty of bars draw a more mature crowd too, from big name chains like All Bar One and the sophisticated Living Room to hundreds of friendly local pubs. MUSIC SCENE There’s a host of great live music destinations across the city – from sticky-floored pubs and intimate jazz bars to the famous Carling Academy and Jools Holland’s Jam House. The National Indoor Arena (NIA) and the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) are huge venues that draw all the biggest stars. For classical music fans, there’s the acoustically perfect Symphony Hall, home to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Our own Conservatoire is also a major performance venue with exceptional facilities – check out coming events at www.conservatoire.bcu.ac.uk/calendar COMEDY The city enjoys a fine comedy heritage – in fact Frank Skinner studied with us and recently became an Honorary Doctor of the University. There are several fantastic comedy venues, including the Glee Club and Jongleurs, both of which offer student concessions. The Birmingham Comedy Festival started in 2001 and features big name acts, year in, year out. CINEMA Birmingham offers everything from the latest releases and Bollywood films at the multiplexes to the art deco-styled Electric – where you can hire leather sofas and text your drinks orders to the bar. At Millennium Point (also home to one of our faculties), there’s an amazing Imax 3D cinema, with a five-storey high screen.

THEATRE Prominent local theatres include the Hippodrome, Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, The Door and the newly redeveloped Midland Arts Centre. The RSC at Stratford-upon-Avon is on the doorstep. Don’t forget you can see our student stars of the future in Birmingham School of Acting. Find out more at www.bsa.ac.uk/events TRANSPORT Whether you’re popping home to see your family or exploring further, we’re so easy to get to and from by road or rail. It’s just two hours by train to London (a £600m redevelopment of New Street Station is in the pipeline) and Birmingham has its own international airport with cheap flights across Europe. Find more about what the Students’ Union has to offer on page 100.

Get the lowdown from students living in the city at: www.birminghamliveandlearn. co.uk Or check out: www.itchybirmingham.co.uk www.visitbirmingham.com www.birmingham-alive.com

Discover a great place to work Could you be better placed for accessing the expertise and employment opportunities of a vast range of industry sectors? There’s real demand for graduate skills in this thriving city, where so many of our students choose to stay after graduation.

BIRMINGHAM IS HOME TO: • The largest professional and financial services sector outside London. Birmingham’s economy has experienced buoyant growth over the past five years. Birmingham city centre alone boasts a wealth of highly talented banking specialists, many top accountants, such as KPMG and Ernst and Young, 50 major property services, including CB Richard Ellis and Jones Lang Lasalle, and one of Europe’s largest insurance markets. Recent investment includes Deutsche Bank Operations International, Islamic Bank of Britain, ICICI Bank and Amey, a leading public services provider. • A thousand legal firms. 3,500 solicitors and 500 barristers work in Birmingham. The Birmingham legal market has attracted some of the UK’s leading firms, including Wragge & Co, Eversheds, Pinsent Masons and Hammonds – recently joined by Clarke Willmott. We’re home to the country’s largest local law society and the largest set of barristers’ chambers in the country. • The UK’s second largest retail centre. This has been boosted in recent years by the prestigious new £800 million Bullring, Europe’s largest city-centre retail regeneration scheme.

• One of the biggest media communities outside of London. Independent production companies, such as Maverick Television, a major BBC television centre at the Mailbox, a busy festival scene and many local media and arts-based organisations all thrive here. • Almost half of the UK’s conference and exhibition trade. Birmingham is Britain’s number one exhibition, conference and event city, thanks to our wellconnected central location, and leading venues such as the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and the International Convention Centre (ICC). • Many manufacturing industries, with an increasing focus on technology. Key sub-sectors include mechanical and electrical engineering, printing and recorded media, jewellery and related manufacturing, and clothing and textiles (an industry in which employment grew by over 50 percent between 1991and 2004). Leading car manufacturers include Jaguar and LDV. Recent investment includes the Shanghai International Automotive Corporation.

www.locatebirmingham.com is a great site to find out more about why Birmingham is the perfect place to build your career.

There’s real demand for graduate skills in this thriving city, where so many of our students choose to stay after graduation. Find more about how well our graduates fare in the careers market on page 12.

Discover fantastic facilities Mock law court – virtual radiography suite – broadcast studios – drama studios – advanced manufacturing facilities – performance studio – gallery space – editing suites – photographic studios – mock classrooms – fashion workshops – recording studios – music venues – jewellery studios – mock operating theatre – birthing rooms...

No wonder the Times Good University Guide 2010 ranked us an impressive 12th for our spending on services and facilities. We’ve also been awarded the Bronze EcoCampus award and are committed to aiming for the Silver award in 2010. Even our students are amazed to find the sheer variety of state-of-the-art facilities on offer across the University. Whatever your area, you can be sure that you’ll find the very latest equipment to prepare you for your chosen career. Take, for example, our industry standard jewellery-making facilities, our Hollywood quality MILO filming equipment – the only one used in education in the country, or the futuristic virtual reality radiotherapy training in our Faculty of Health, one of the best-equipped faculties of its kind in the UK.

And while our faculties may be very different, there’s one thing you’ll find they all have in common. We’ve invested heavily in some of the most innovative technology to make our learning experience as advanced and accessible, as relevant and resourceful, and as flexible and fun as it can be.

Libraries You can see we take our commitment to providing great resources seriously. There are almost one million books and 9,000 print and electronic journals available at our various campuses and digital libraries and most of our facilities are open almost 90 hours each week. There’s a library on each campus to directly support the subjects taught there and each faculty has an expert librarian to help you and recommend material. You can also take advantage of regular sessions on improving your study by finding and accessing resources.

All libraries provide a range of electronic resources, journals, self-servicing access, RSS (rich site summary) services and alerting. Choose the study environment that suits you best, whether it’s one of our IT suites or a group study room. And check out their virtual tours, showing you exactly what they have to offer.

Our Digital Library provides flexible electronic access to selected copyright-cleared course material.

KENRICK LIBRARY The main library, situated at City North Campus, has undergone extensive redevelopment. The library holds more than 320,000 books, 2,000 print journals and carries more than 4,000 electronic journals online. Facilities include: • Group study rooms • IT suites • Extensive library catalogues • High demand collection service • Learning and teaching resources • Law section • Training room • Secure access • Self service loans.

MARGARET STREET The Department of Art library supports the School of Fine Art and the School of Art Education. The library houses: • Artists’ collection (books, slides and videos) • Photographers’ collection • Journal collection • Selection of feature films on DVD.

We’ve also invested £800,000 in the Conservatoire’s library and created a brand new award-winning facility at our Edgbaston campus. To learn more visit: www.library.bcu.ac.uk

BOURNVILLE Bournville supports the Bournville Centre for Visual Arts. The library covers general aspects of Art and Design, including: • Artists’ collection • Photographers’ collection • Journal collection • Film collection (DVDs). VITTORIA STREET The library at Vittoria Street supports the School of Jewellery, specialising in resources for: • Gemmology • Jewellery • Horology • Silversmithing. GOSTA GREEN Gosta Green library specialises in 3D design, fashion and textiles, visual communication and history of art and design. It includes: • Artists’ collection • Photographers’ collection • Journal collection • Film collection.

CONSERVATOIRE LIBRARY Recently upgraded, the library houses specialised print and computer-based sources alongside substantial collections of books and journals. The library’s collections include over 8,000 books, 1,300 orchestral and band sets, 1,100 sets of vocal scores, about 100,000 individual scores and parts, and around 12,000 sound recording. Support includes: • Audio room with upgraded suite of listening and recording equipment • Copying facilities • Journals • CDs • DVDs • Sheet music (instrumental and vocal) • Scores • Group study areas • Jazz archive • Orchestral and band sets • Sound recordings. MARY SEACOLE LIBRARY, EDGBASTON The £30 million Seacole Building offers cutting-edge facilities for our health students. The library, which has one of the UK’s largest specialist nursing collections, provides: • Wi-fi access • A 50-person library teaching room • Group work areas • Journal collection • Reference collection • Library catalogue collection

MILLENNIUM POINT The Learning Centre at Millennium Point supports students of the Faculty of Technology, Innovation and Development and Birmingham School of Acting. With approximately 23,000 items, over 18,000 books, 115 journal titles and access to some 1,000 titles which are electronic-based, Millennium Point Library caters for your every reference need. For Technology students, computers contain the latest software, including Photoshop, Dreamweaver, 3DS Max, AutoCAD, Corel Draw, illustrator, Director, Flash, MATLAB, XCAD Premiere, and various programming environments like Visual Studio and Netbeans. For BSA students there are over 4,000 items consisting mainly of plays, textbooks related to theatre and performance, DVDs and professional journals. In addition, students use a Resource Room within BSA premises which holds reference copies of plays as well as giving access to computing and printing facilities. It also offers: • ICT Support • Copying facilities • CDs • DVDs • Wireless services for laptops • ASSET – the Academic Skills Support and Employability Team • Group study areas. DIGITAL LIBRARY Our digital library system provides a means of integrating text, image, audio and video resources. These resources can then be delivered across a network to authorised users wherever they are located, whenever they need them. The main collections currently hosted by the Digital Library are exam papers, journal articles, book extracts, student projects, with a special collection concerning contemporary jewellery.

For more on libraries and learning resources at specific campuses, see pages 38-47 and visit: www.library.bcu.ac.uk

IT facilties Information whenever and wherever you need it is our aim. That’s why we’ve got IT facilities in every faculty and library and have invested heavily both in fixed workstations and loan laptops. You can expect helpful technical support, your own university email address and protected, backed-up storage space to keep your work safe. WIRELESS ACCESS Our extensive wireless access network allows students remote access to the internet across all our campuses. There’s wireless access in most of our communal and recreational areas – and even your bedroom in halls! You’ll also find break-out space in libraries, so you don’t have to work at a desk, but can work on your laptop in comfort and share ideas with other students. VIRTUAL LEARNING – WHENEVER AND WHEREVER YOU WANT TO LEARN

Our virtual learning environment, Moodle Not all of our teaching is conducted in lecture theatres and seminar rooms. Our virtual learning environment, Moodle, is an online tool that complements traditional face-to-face teaching methods, allowing academic staff to provide flexible access to web-based resources for students wherever they may be, 24 hours a day. Imagine being able to rewind your lectures when you need to see something again! From news forums to instant feedback quizzes to video lecturing that you can stop and start, Moodle opens up a whole world of learning. It’s the place to find lecture notes and background information, discussion forums (particularly useful when you’re on placement), private learning journals, wikis, blogs, even free instant messaging.

SHAREVILLE, OUR 3D ONLINE CITY Visit our 3D city, Shareville (www.shareville.bcu.ac.uk), to see for yourself just how engaging online learning can be. In this virtual environment, you’ll experience the ‘real world’ scenarios that will prepare you for the workplace – as and when you like. The city features everything from an interactive building site to a nutrition clinic to a virtual primary school. Scenarios range from a traumatic encounter in a small residential home for people with learning disabilities to a house purchase in a virtual solicitors’ office. Used in conjunction with face-to-face teaching and other technologies such as Moodle, Shareville enriches the learning experience and offers some virtual experiences that would rarely be possible in real life.

THE VIRTUAL CASE CREATOR, FEATURING ONLINE PATIENT SCENARIOS The Virtual Case Creator is a highly interactive learning tool, using the latest animation, illustration, 3D modelling and programming techniques to support the creation of online, interactive and engaging case studies. It’s packed with patient scenarios, in which students have to make decisions on every aspect of care. Students can also use it as an online video library of techniques, such as how to give an injection. It’s already been a huge success with staff and students across many different health care areas and we have some ambitious plans for its future development. Take a look at: http://vccweb.health.bcu.ac.uk/ EXTENSIVE COMPUTER NETWORK You’ll find ample IT facilities across the University at our well-equipped libraries, as well as in each faculty. Loan laptops are available in some libraries, and some subjects, such as certain areas of teacher training, even provide laptops for the duration of the course. IT SUPPORT One of our first priorities is helping all our students get to grips with using the technology on offer. Our specialist IT team answer questions in a simple and helpful way and support is always available if you need it. UNIFLOW Our new printing system UniFlow enables users to send print jobs from any UniFlow enabled PC across the University and also print those jobs at any enabled UniFlow copier printer. LIVE READER The revolutionary reading aid ‘Live Reader’ enables documents to be digitally captured and read aloud, which helps visually impaired and dyslexic students, as well as assisting with proof-reading your assignments.

Moodle’s a brilliant resource – a great way to communicate with tutors and find information about assignments, get your emails, discuss ideas with other students, check course materials… SAM UNWIN, BA PRIMARY EDUCATION WITH QUALIFIED TEACHER STATUS Visit www.moodle.bcu.ac.uk for further information.

Discover our campuses Nothing here stays the same for long. We’re constantly investing and developing our facilities to keep one step ahead of the rest.

DISCOVER A BRAND NEW CAMPUS We’re currently investing £150 million to create an exciting new city centre campus. The new facility at Eastside will boast cuttingedge technology for our creative arts studies. It will also feature a brand new library, lecture theatre and a learning resource centre. Remember that students are welcome to use facilities on all our campuses, wherever they’re based.

City North Campus

There’s great public transport to this big, busy campus with plenty of facilities on-and off-site. Work commenced in 2008 to build an extensive £7 million sports facility at City North Campus. Three miles north of the city centre, our main campus is within easy reach of a large shopping centre where you’ll find everything you need, including a large supermarket. With Perry Barr train station opposite, on-site parking and major bus routes, it’s an easy site to get to and from. The campus has two halls of residence, with another nearby and plenty of private housing in the surrounding area (See page 48 for more on accommodation).

Subject areas taught here:

Other course-specific facilities:

City North Campus also boasts:

• Accountancy and Finance • Advertising, Marketing and PR • Business and Management • Computing and ICT • Construction and Property • Criminology and Social Sciences • Education and Teacher Training • English and Drama • Health and Well-being • History • Housing • Law • Media and Communication • Psychology • Radiography/Radiotherapy • Rehabilitation Studies • Speech and Language Therapy.

• Broadcast studios and state-ofthe-art media production facilities • Centre for Criminal Justice Policy and Research • Classrooms and school facilities for teacher training to support all teaching disciplines • Drama studios with lighting rig • Free Representation Unit (Law) • Mock law court • Psychology labs • Radiotherapy virtual reality training facilities.

• Kenrick Library • Multi-million pound sports centre • Two learning resource centres • Student Services office (welfare, careers, advice, etc) • Medical centre • Students’ Union office • Careers base and job shop • Bars, cafés and eateries.

CAMPUS HIGHLIGHTS Our mock courtroom, sponsored by Shakespeare Putsman Solicitors (formerly Shakespeares), gives students an opportunity to act for the defendant or for the prosecution/claimant. They can put forward their argument on legal issues in a court-style setting in front of a judge, usually a qualified solicitor or barrister. Our mock classrooms are invaluable for getting the feel of teaching in a real school. They are a fantastic resource that replicates the school learning environment and allows students to start their first teaching practice with confidence. We even have a school gym/hall and changing rooms, so that students can practise all their teaching skills in a realistic environment.

City South Campus

CAMPUS HIGHLIGHTS The mock wards enable you to get a feel for what a ward is really like before you head out for your first placement. They contain Sim Men, manikins that present you with ailments to allow you to treat them as you would a real patient – although in a much safer environment! By practising on Sim Men, you can build your confidence in reacting to changes in patients’ medical states. The birthing room is kitted out as if in a real maternity ward. There is a bed and all of the apparatus associated with birth, pregnancy and mothers to ensure safe pre-and post-natal care. You will be able to use these facilities to understand the health situations associated with pregnancy and the care of the baby and mother after birth.

A total of £30 million has gone into enhancing practical learning facilities and redeveloping this impressively equipped campus, near to cosmopolitan Harborne and bohemian Moseley. Found just south of the city centre, City South Campus is the recently improved home for our nursing, midwifery, operating department practice and primary health care students. The Royal Centre for Defence Medicine is also located here, training personnel for the armed forces alongside civilian students. The site is well served by bus routes, and student parking is also available. There are halls of residence on campus and an abundance of private housing nearby (see page 48 for more on accommodation) Settle down on a sofa with your laptop in the newly redeveloped, state-of-the-art Mary Seacole Library home to one of the largest specialist health education collections in the country.

Subjects taught here: • Health and Well-being • Nursing • Midwifery • Operating Department Practice • Social Work.

City South Campus boasts: • Mary Seacole Library • Clinical skills facilities • Mock operating theatre and wards • Mock home environment • Birthing rooms • Plaster room • Learning centre • Medical rooms • Careers base • IT suites • Students’ Union complex • Shops

Millennium Point As soon as you step inside the futuristic Millennium Point, you know the facilities are going to be cutting-edge. Our Faculty of Technology, Engineering and the Environment (TEE) and the Birmingham School of Acting (BSA) are located here. The campus provides both a progressive environment for exploring and using technology and, in its £4 million purpose-built acting school, a space for professional actor training.

Subject areas taught here: • Acting • Computing, IT and Software Engineering • Engineering • Film and Television Technology • Multimedia and New Media • Music and Sound Technology • Professional Voice Training. From advanced manufacturing facilities and full sound and television studio complex, to state-of-the-art drama studios, Millennium Point is home to the very latest resources.

Other course-specific facilities include: • Learning centre • IT and media suites with over 50 Macs, 500 PCs and nearly 100 limited access/specialist machines • Gallery, sound and television studio complex • State-of-the-art noise and vibration cells • Video production laboratory • Design studio • Advanced manufacturing facilities and automotive and powertrain test cells • Robotic laboratories • Automotive engine test cells and mechanical testing equipment • Careers base • Quiet room and drop-in centre • Students’ Union office • Bar and Café • State-of-the-art drama studios • Large performance studio.

CAMPUS HIGHLIGHTS The School of Acting boasts some of the best drama training facilities in Europe. All of its 10 studios have sprung floors to protect students from injury and acoustic panelling to reduce echo. The Patricia Yardley Studio, named after the School’s founder, houses a fully-operational lighting rig and quadraphonic sound system. The Faculty of Technology, Engineering and the Environment is the place to be for pioneering technology. Drumtank, a large isolation booth with sonic sound quality is big enough to record drum kits and other instruments. The Toft Studio provides an excellent facility for recording and the Audix studio features a vintage mixing desk and separate recording booth. And there’s the Blue Screen Studio too, for Chromakey work, where students can undertake film and music based activities.

Gosta Green

CAMPUS HIGHLIGHTS We’re proud to boast resources that are extremely rare in education. Our Hollywood standard MILO unit is one of only two owned by universities in Europe and is the same technology used by Aardman Animations, makers of Wallace and Gromit. Using MILO to film the title sequence for Channel 4’s ‘How to Look Good Naked’, some of our students supported Quench Design, a local design company specialising in on-screen creativity, with the production.

69 GOSTA GREEN There are some superb, significantly improved facilities at this city centre campus, the largest of the sites where Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (BIAD) courses are delivered. It is home to the School of Visual Communication, School of Theoretical and Historical Studies, School of Fashion, Textiles and 3DD and the Birmingham School of Architecture.

Subjects taught here: • Art and Design (theory) • Architecture and Landscape Architecture • Graphic Design/3D Design/Theatre Design • Fashion • Interior Design • Textiles • Visual Communication. Vicon 3D, an external tracking motion capture facility and Gypsy, an exo-skeleton based motion capture system, extend the possibilities for production of 3D animation and films.

Gosta Green boasts: • Gallery space for exhibitions • State-of-the-art editing and animation suites with unique equipment • Library • Digital Visualisation Hub • Traditional print room • Photographic studio and darkroom • School of Architecture facilities • Theatre • Fashion workshops • Photographic facilities and studios • Textiles area with computerised looms and printers • Wood and metal workshops • Student Services office • Medical rooms • Careers base • Art shop • Eatery.

Conservatoire

Just a few minutes’ walk from the Symphony Hall, the Conservatoire has some of the finest performing and teaching facilities of its kind in the country. The music technology facilities are equally impressive. All of our studios are capable of recording from any of our concert halls or live rooms and come with state-of the-art equipment. Our purpose-built music school sits right in the heart of the city.

The Conservatoire boasts: • Two premier music venues • Six recording studios • Library • 50 dedicated practice rooms and separate keyboard studio • Instrument loan • Bar and café. CAMPUS HIGHLIGHTS The Adrian Boult Hall, which has recently undergone a £700,000 refurbishment, is a 520-seat auditorium that can accommodate a complete symphony orchestra. It is now one of the City’s premier music venues and is able to compete with any hall in the country. With its spectacularly historic neo-barosque Eule organ, our 150-seat Recital Hall is the first concert venue in the UK of its kind to house a permanent, highly sophisticated multi-channel sound system. The system allows performers to have complete control over amplified sound within the entire performance space.

Margaret Street

Margaret Street is one of the most beautiful and extraordinary educational environments in the country. This beautiful listed Venetian Gothic building is a fitting home for a stunning modern art school with light airy studios and cutting-edge technology. Purpose-built for the study of art in 1844, Margaret Street is appropriately located in the city centre’s museum and gallery area.

While retaining the original wood interiors, stained glass windows and mosaic floors, north facing studio lighting and splendid stairwells, Associated Architects designed and installed – as a part of the £5.5 million refurbishment programme in 1995 – state-of-the-art floating mezzanine levels, glass lifts, spiral staircases, darkrooms, canteen and specialist work spaces. It is a perfect marriage.

Subject taught here: • Fine Art. The building has won numerous awards for the restoration of its spectacular architecture.

The School of Art also boasts: • Specialist fine art library • Bookable installation and viewing spaces • Gallery • Digital suite • Workshops – for wood, metal, plaster, fibreglass, ceramics, digital media, print and photography • Faculty archives • Café. CAMPUS HIGHLIGHTS There is a range of study areas and studio spaces for students to fully research explore and test out their ideas and we have gallery space, bookable installation and viewing spaces for students to curate exhibitions, build largescale works, document or film work in.

School of Jewellery

The largest school of jewellery in Europe, this worldrenowned school boasts industry standard equipment and resources and is located right in the heart of the city’s famous Jewellery Quarter, where much of the jewellery made in Britain today is manufactured. Founded in 1890, the multi-award winning building houses a wonderful complex of workshops, teaching and exhibition accommodation. The workshop areas are designed in traditional style and there are facilities for working with all types of precious metals and gems.

Subjects taught here: • Gemmology • Horology • Jewellery • Silversmithing. The School is in a truly inspiring setting in which to learn your craft. Stroll through the light-filled, airy atrium of this fabulous modern building with floor-to-ceiling windows and you’ll see our students honing their skills with the very latest equipment. It’s no wonder that our unique facilities attract students from all over the world.

The School of Jewellery boasts: • Specialist library – jewellery, horology and silversmithing • Industry-standard resources and equipment, including soldering hearths, bench-mounted powered equipment, lathes and milling machines • Studio workshops, including laser welders and dedicated CAD/CAM facility • Gemmology laboratory • Rooms dedicated to casting and electro-plating • Horology computers • Exhibition hall and atrium area • Bookable exhibition space.

CAMPUS HIGHLIGHTS Elsewhere in the School are areas specifically dedicated to: horology, computers, subject specialist library, stonesetting and enamelling workshops, seminar rooms and lecture theatre. The School has its own dedicated exhibition hall which, along with the atrium area hosts a lively and frequently changing, range of shows and displays.

Bournville Centre for Visual Arts

CAMPUS HIGHLIGHTS International Project Space (IPS) Bournville Gallery is an art venue for South Birmingham, a new centre for the production, exhibition and dissemination of contemporary art within the West Midlands. The venue is located at the Bournville Centre for Visual Arts. It is a valuable resource for students and staff at the university, the local community and wider regional and national art audiences.

A beautiful, extensively refurbished environment with a 100-year pedigree set in a lovely area of the city, this well-equipped centre offers extensive resources and modern workshops and studios in an inspiring setting. Set in George Cadbury’s Bournville Village Trust, the Centre is one of the most idyllic settings in which to study. Housed in two listed buildings, the distinctive qualities of the centre have been enhanced by a £6.5 million refurbishment programme, and now provide a learning community that is unique both regionally and nationally. The library covers general aspects of art and design and includes an artist collection, photographer collection and journal collection, along with a selection of films on DVD.

Subject areas taught here: • Art and Design • Creative Self-development • Visual Arts. Our gallery, IPS Bournville, attracts many international artists. The Centre for Visual Arts also boasts: • Audio visual equipment • Extensive computer suite • Workshops for wood, metal, clay, plaster and ceramics with glass • Studios and workshops for printed and woven textiles and fashion • Art and design studios • IPS Bournville gallery • Specialist print workshops • Well-stocked library and exhibition space • Café.

Discover your new home Perhaps one of the most exciting things about starting university is having independence and freedom in your own place. Halls are a great way to meet new friends in a safe, comfortable and convenient environment. We have four halls of residence as well as rooms in private accommodation – all within easy reach of our city-wide campuses. Public transport, offering cost effective student travel cards across the city is excellent.

A place in halls for the first year of study is guaranteed for full-time students from outside Birmingham. For international students, there’s a guaranteed place for the duration of the course. There’s a wide range of accommodation, whether you’re looking for something basic or an ensuite room with an onsite swimming pool! Self-catered shared flats cost between £68.00 and £103.50 per week in 2009/2010, which includes heating, electricity and hot water, so there are no unexpected bills to worry about. Studio flats are available for couples.

All rooms are connected to our data network, giving you access to all our online resources and the web ‘for free’. All have phones, so you can even call friends in other rooms in halls for free too. Expect plenty of support and an emphasis on safety. Responsible students work as assistants to help support students’ needs. Disabled students and their support workers can be accommodated. Grounds are monitored by CCTV and regularly patrolled by 24-hour security staff.

In my first year I lived in The Coppice and I can honestly say I loved living there! It was great fun to live with people my age and to have the responsibility of looking after my own place. The café in Baker Building was a regular haunt for a cup of tea between lectures and the shop certainly came in handy more than once! HAYLEY LONGDIN MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION GRADUATE

Visit www.bcu.ac.uk/accommodation for more information. Check out page 275 to see halls marked on the city map.

THE COPPICE, CITY NORTH CAMPUS For students from all campuses. Facilities include: • Kitchen, two bathrooms and lounge shared between six • Onsite facilities: laundry, security office and accommodation office • Car parking. OSCOTT GARDENS, CITY NORTH CAMPUS For students from all campuses. Facilities include: • Ensuite rooms. Kitchen and lounge shared between five/eight • Onsite facilities: laundry, security office and accommodation office • Car parking. Local facilities: three cafés, convenience store, two bars and hairdressers on campus. Only a short walk from large shopping centre and supermarket, with bus stops and a train station next to the campus. CITY SOUTH CAMPUS For students from City South Campus Facilities include: • Kitchen, one or two bathrooms and lounge shared between four/11 • Onsite facilities: laundry, 24-hour security, common room, accommodation office • Limited car parking. Local facilities: Union bar, café and shop. Close to coffee shops and boutiques in cosmopolitan Harborne and numerous bus stops close to campus.

82 OPAL 1, CITY CENTRE Typically for students from the Conservatoire and Art and Design campuses. Opal 1 is a privately owned facility, with 200 rooms for Birmingham City University students. You’ll still benefit from the assistance of our Accommodation Services – one of our Liaison Officers is based at the facility to ensure excellent standards of pastoral care and there’s a live-in Student Assistant to support you. Of course, our Security Services, who work closely with Opal 1’s management, are always on hand in the event of any serious out-of-hours occurrences. Facilities include: • Ensuite rooms. Kitchen and lounge shared between four/six people • Onsite facilities: professionally staffed pool and leisure centre, laundry, security office, common room with wide screen satellite TV, accommodation office • Car parking. JENNENS COURT, CITY CENTRE Jennens Court is a privately owned facility, offering ensuite standard rooms – with nearly 300 for Birmingham City University students. Conveniently based within the city centre, it’s only walking distance from the Faculty of Technology, Engineering and the Environment at Millennium Point and Gosta Green campus. Facilities include: • Three to six-bedroom ensuite flats available – all fully fitted • Limited number of adapted rooms • Onsite staff including Resident Coordinators on- call to assist with any immediate concerns and a Facilities Technician available 24 hours a day • Secure door entry system, CCTV and common room with satellite TV and drinks machine • Sub Den for Birmingham City University students includes games machines, pool table and seating area too • Car parking and bike store

Discover great support Making the transition to university can be a big step at any age. That’s why we offer a full range of welfare services, from counselling to careers advice to child care. We offer Advice, Support, Knowledge - just ASK us!

HEALTH AND WELLBEING Disability / Mental Health and Wellbeing Support Our disability and mental health advisers offer advice, information and practical support to help disabled students succeed in their studies, whether you have a physical, sensory or unseen disability, such as mental health difficulties, a chronic health condition or specific learning difficulties (e.g. dyslexia). Assistance available includes advice and information about funding, advice about enabling equipment and software, screening for specific learning difficulties and a Personal Assistance Scheme to supply one-to-one support workers. If you wish, the advisers can also act as a link between you and your tutors, and between the University and any external services involved in your support (with your prior written consent).

HEALTH CARE Don’t wait until you become ill to register with a doctor! We offer a comprehensive medical service staffed by nurses and doctors from three main university sites. We also have information about finding other local health care providers, including dentists, plus advice about general health issues and healthier lifestyles.

COUNSELLING Our service provides confidential, one-to-one counselling sessions with professional, qualified counsellors on an appointment basis. Counsellors can help you explore concerns from relationship difficulties to exam anxiety to depression.

CARE LEAVER SUPPORT We offer a dedicated service for young people leaving authority care, including one-to-one advice and guidance.

SPIRITUAL SUPPORT Our multi-faith chaplaincy team works with students from all faiths or none. We are available 24 hours a day to offer advice and support, whether it’s prayer and worship, advice on spiritual concerns or friendship. We have also links to active Students’ Union societies including Buddhist, Christian Union, Islamic, Jewish, Hindu and Sikh groups.

CHILD CARE Our competitively priced, award-winning, Ofsted-inspected nursery offers a welcoming and stimulating environment to children from six months of age. Our nursery at the City North campus is open 7.30am - 5.45pm, Monday to Friday for 50 weeks, offering full and part-time places.

JOB PROSPECTS Finding yourself a job both while you are studying and after you have graduated can seem an overwhelming prospect, which is why Student Services are here to help. We can help you with: • CV writing • Experiencing the world of work • Job seeking for permanent work • Interviews • Mentoring • Further study options • Top tips on developing the skills needed by employers • Advice and guidance for entrepreneurs • Finding part-time, temporary and seasonal jobs to fit around your studies VISAS AND IMMIGRATION Our International Students’ Adviser provides information and advice to international students on topics such as: • Immigration • Visas • Police registration • Working in the UK • Finance and funding • Academic issues • Personal welfare

Discover money matters There are two main sources of funding that can help you with the costs of your time at university – grants and loans.

FUNDING FOR FULL-TIME STUDENTS For full-time students, the main funding sources are: • Student loans • Grants • Bursaries • Access to Learning Fund. Further details and a loan and grant calculators are available at: www.direct. gov.uk/en/ educationandlearning/index.htm STUDENT LOANS These are Government loans - the total amount repayable in instalments after completing your course of study and earning over £15,000 a year. You could be eligible for: • Tuition fee loan (up to £3,225 for 2009/2010 intake) • Living expenses loan (up to £4,950 for 2009/2010 intake) to help towards accommodation and other living costs. The interest on these loans is linked to inflation, so in real terms, what you repay is roughly the same as what you borrowed.

GRANTS These are from the Government and don’t have to be repaid. You may qualify for a Maintenance Grant or Special Support Grant to help with your accommodation and other living costs. Grants of up to £2,906 are available for 2009/2010 intake and depend on your income/ household income. If you’re a national of a European Union (EU) country, you can apply for a loan to cover your tuition fees. Unless you’ve been living in the UK for three years before the start of your course, you will not be eligible for support for living costs through student loans, grants or the Access to Learning Fund. Additional grants include the Adult Dependent’s Grant, Childcare Grant, Parent’s Learning Allowance and Disabled Student’s Allowance. BURSARIES In addition to Government grants, the University can award students bursaries, which you don’t have to repay. In 2009 this was £525 a year available to anyone receiving Maintenance or Special Support grants from the Government. SPECIAL CONDITIONS FOR BURSARIES FOR NURSING, MIDWIFERY AND OTHER COURSES ALLIED TO THE HEALTH PROFESSIONS The Department of Health provides bursaries for eligible students studying the Diploma course in Nursing. The bursary includes payment of tuition fees and a non means tested maintenance award towards living costs. For students on BSc (Hons) Nursing, Midwifery, Radiography and Speech and Language Therapy courses, the Department of Health will pay the course fees together with a means-tested bursary. You will also be entitled to a reduced student loan. A means tested bursary is also available for the BSc (Honours) Social Work. We’ll send you application forms and further details before the course starts.

ACCESS TO LEARNING FUND If you’re in hardship and need extra financial support, the University can assess your individual circumstances and may be able to make further payments to you. All home students may apply, although residency rules will apply. Payments might contribute to things like childcare costs or unexpected financial crises. The Government funds this and the University administers it. You don’t have to repay. If you receive an award from this fund, you will not have to repay it. HOW DO I KNOW IF I QUALIFY FOR A GRANT OR LOAN? Your Local Authority (LA) will tell you whether you qualify for any grants and the value of any loan you can take out to cover your tuition fees and/or living costs. You don’t need to wait until you receive an offer of a place before you apply to your LA for financial support. They will tell you what you have to do to get financial help in time for the start of your course. In many cases, you’ll be exempt from paying council tax, however, you may be required to provide evidence that you’re in full-time education. Student certificates are available on request from your faculty admissions office.

The University and indeed the local education authority are extremely helpful. I receive grants to help with childcare costs and also with equipment and books. TEMARRA CHRISTOPHER BA (HONS) PRIMARY EDUCATION

FUNDING FOR PART-TIME STUDENTS Financial help is available towards your tuition fees and other course costs. How much you can get depends on your personal circumstances and on the course you’re doing.

BEFORE YOU START – SOME TIPS • Explore all the funding that you’re eligible for • Apply for your funding in plenty of time • Prepare a budget plan • Research student bank accounts

The main sources of help for part-time students are:

Decide which bank is best for you in the long term – don’t be swayed by gifts

• Fee Grant (to help with tuition fees) paid directly to your college or university. • Course Grant (to help with study costs, such as books, materials and travel) paid directly to you. You won’t have to repay any help you get through the Fee Grant or Course Grant. The maximum Fee Grant you can get is based on how ‘intensive’ your course is and how long it will take to complete compared to an equivalent full-time course. Your household income and whether you have a live in partner or dependent children will all influence the amount of grant you can receive. If you’re receiving certain benefits, you’ll get the maximum Fee Grant and the maximum Course Grant available for your course’s intensity. To apply for the Fee Grant and Course Grant, both you and your course must be ‘eligible’. In brief, this means your course must last at least one year; be a higher education course leading to a qualification such as a Certificate or Diploma of Higher Education, an HNC, HND, BA or BSc; and must not take more than twice as long to complete as the equivalent full-time course. Postgraduate courses, part-time Initial Teacher Training courses and more than one part-time course at a time aren’t eligible. OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING: • You can also apply to the Access to Learning fund • The financial support available is different for students on part-time Initial Teacher Training Courses. You can find out more about these sources, as well as full information and exact figures at: www.direct.gov.uk/en/educationandlearning

• If you qualify for a Maintenance Grant or Special Support Grant, don’t opt out of sharing your financial information with the University on your PN1 form as this generates your university bursary • Save as much money as possible before starting your course. The first year and especially the first week can be expensive – think new books, course materials, rent, deposits … not to mention socialising with your new friends • Prepare that budget – use our innovative online calculator at: www.bcu.ac.uk/studentservices/studentcalculator THINGS TO REMEMBER If you are living in university accommodation, you’ll need to provide a deposit of £150 to hold your room. Costs of course books and materials vary, but average around £300 per academic year. Your faculty can advise you.

GETTING FUNDING ON TIME To avoid delays, make sure you: • Apply for the correct tuition fee for your course • Provide your National Insurance number • Also print a copy of the form, sign it, and send it by post if you apply online – it can’t be processed without your signature • Get a receipt or use recorded delivery if you post your application form • Provide the correct bank account details – often where things go wrong! • Contact Student Finance England for progress on your application if you’ve been waiting for four weeks or more. If you still haven’t received your funding, speak to our Student Services. There are always solutions and we may even offer you an interest free short-term loan. HOW WE CAN HELP Our Employer Zone can help you with finding parttime work to support yourself. Over the last year the Employer Zone has advertised over 900 vacancies directly to Birmingham City University students. Our services include an online vacancies board and our Student Job Shop Drop In for advice on working while studying. We also operate a ‘One Step Hire Scheme’ where employers come onto campus and interview only Birmingham City University students for their part-time roles. Our Student Financial Service offers advice on budgeting and debt management, emergency loans and also administers payments from our Access to Learning Fund. It can also help you find and apply to trusts and charities for financial assistance.

WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE? If you anticipate difficulties with funding or if you would like to discuss the financial implications, please call or email before you apply and we will be happy to help. T: (+44) (0)121 331 6387 E: student.finance@bcu.ac.uk Detailed information on fees and student financial support is also available from: • Aimhigher – www.aimhigher.ac.uk • Directgov – www.direct.gov.uk/en/educationandlearning • Your Local Authority (LA). If you are studying on a teaching course and would like more information, please visit the following website: www.tda.gov.uk/recruit.aspx For more information: • Visit www.bcu.ac.uk/studentservices • For Frequently Asked Questions, see www.bcu.ac.uk/ studentservices/faqs • or call us on 0121 331 5588

STUDENTS’ UNION ADVICE Our professionally-trained, impartial advisers are on-hand for all your queries and problems. There are Students’ Union Advice Centres available at all campuses except the Department of Art and School of Jewellery. We cover: • Financial queries • Housing problems • Academic issues • Legal queries • Employment • Childcare • Overseas student matters. For more information, call 0121 331 6848?

Discover why higher education can improve your life With gloomy headlines tracking the increase in student debt and rise in tuition fees, it’s understandable that you’ll want to think long and hard about making the decision to go to university. You need to think of Higher Education (HE) as a relatively moderate investment in your long-term future – one that over your lifetime could earn you around £100,000 more than if you choose to opt out now. Here are just a few of the very good reasons to sign up to university...

BROADEN YOUR HORIZONS Open the door to so many more options for interesting, enjoyable, satisfying work, with more promotion opportunities. Forecasts predict that half of the positions that become vacant between 2004 and 2020 will be in areas of work most likely to demand graduates.* TAKE CONTROL Take your career and life the way you want it to go – don’t be limited by the qualifications you got at school. YOU’LL EARN MORE On average, graduates tend to earn substantially more than people with A Levels who didn’t go to university. Projected over a working lifetime, the difference is around £100,000 before tax at today’s valuation. A recent survey* found that the 2007 median salary for Birmingham City University graduates was £20,000, which compares favourably to the median figure of £19,000 across all UK Higher Education institutions.**

BOOST YOUR CONFIDENCE Learn more about the world and about yourself. Learn what your strengths are, build on them and fill in the gaps. From presentation skills to people skills to problem-solving, you’ll leave Higher Education with the abilities that today’s employers demand. In fact, according to a 2007 survey, 64 per cent of the directors rated recent graduates’ employability skills more important to their organisation when recruiting than the specific occupational, technical or academic knowledge/skills associated with the graduate’s degree.*** HAVE A FANTASTIC TIME DOING IT So many people rate university as the best time of their life. Learn more about something you love meet people from all over the world and have the time of your life. * Figures from www.direct.gov.uk, January 2009 ** Higher Education Statistics Authority (HESA) press release SFR 124, 3 July 2008 *** Prospects, the UK’s official graduate careers website: www.prospects.ac.uk

SPENCER HAMPTON, 39 Operating Department Practice, DipHE Spencer amazed himself by succeeding at university when he was made redundant and found a new career he loves. When Spencer lost his job with the collapse of the Rover plant at Longbridge, he was devastated. “I was 35, had a mortgage, a partner, kids, responsibilities… it was the lowest point I had ever been at in my life,” says Spencer. “But I picked myself up and decided enough’s enough – it may be over for MG Rover but it’s not over for Spencer Hampton.” With job satisfaction, job security and good prospects, he first discovered the idea of retraining in health care at a job fair. After leaving school with few qualifications and the sense that he’d been writtenoff. Spencer really didn’t think university was for him. “There was no way that I had the brains or intelligence to go to university,” was his first thought – but how wrong he was! Spencer passed his Diploma with accommodation and immediately found a job he loves at University Hospital Birmingham. “If I can do it then anyone can,” he says, “all you need is the right information, encouragement (plenty of it), help and support.

With the way today’s economic climate is rapidly changing, people need to know that redundancy or job loss is not the end for them, it’s just the beginning of a new life…

Discover what you’re made of It’s not just about meeting your aspirations here at Birmingham City University – it’s about exceeding them. University isn’t just about getting academic qualifications, it’s about learning crucial life skills too. The emphasis here is on being independent, standing on your own two feet, making your own decisions – preparing in every way for the world of work. That’s why we place such a firm emphasis on helping you to gain not just academic qualifications but the personal and professional skills that you’ll need in your career. WE’RE FUTURE-PROOFING OUR GRADUATES When the Government officials wanted to launch a project to create the UK’s first ‘future-proof’ graduates, where did they turn? Birmingham City University was chosen to pioneer this £300,000 project to produce innovative training to show students how to adapt and apply their skills to thrive in changing workplace circumstances. STUDY ABROAD Studying abroad can be a fantastic, eye-opening experience. It’s a great way to see your subject from a very different perspective, to work on your language skills and to really develop your confidence and self-reliance. It certainly makes you stand out in the job market. Some students take advantage of the Erasmus scheme, which allows you to study or undertake a work placement for between three months and an academic year in an EU, European Economic Area (EEA) or candidate country. Many of our courses offer the opportunity to cover some fully accredited module as an integral part of your degree overseas. Funding may be available for study in an EU or EEA country and many courses abroad are taught in English.

For example, our Business School students have built on their skills as far afield as the USA and Peru, BIAD students have enjoyed the incredible art of Italy, France and Romania, and Conservatoire students can choose to learn at prestigious partner institutions all over Europe. The School of Visual Communication has partnerships with academic institutions in Malaysia, Thailand and Sri Lanka. Education students have enjoyed art field trips to New York, experienced teaching in Indian schools and seen the antiquities of Ancient Greece to complement a history module. Our BA Sociology students have developed their practical skills by working on placements in the USA, India, Spain and Sweden for a semester.

The placement that I got was working for a regional representative office in Brussels, and it was amazing. I learnt a lot about the practices of business and I met some really great people, some of whom have contacts in various organisations that I will be able to draw on after I finish university. TESSA LYON BA BUSINESS STUDIES WITH SANDWICH PLACEMENT

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Courses have a strong focus on relevance for the job market and there’s an excellent careers service. GUARDIAN UNIVERSITY GUIDE, MAY 2008

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JULIAN PHILLIPS, BA SOCIOLOGY Julian Phillips studied part of his Sociology course at Växjö University in Sweden as part of the Erasmus programme. He lived with a host family who were really warm and welcoming. Julian says, “I went on the Erasmus programme as it seemed to be a challenge that would broaden my mind. By going to Sweden I have made friends for life and have gained invaluable experience for my future career.” BOOST YOUR SKILLS You’ll find ample help and advice to target your selfdevelopment. Expect innovative resources to help you get to grips with university expectations and target areas for improvement, such as time management, exams and grammar. Student Support tutors can help and advise with compiling reports, conducting research, structuring essays and planning revision schedules. Personal Development Planning can assist you in getting the best out your course and yourself. It’s even a core module on many courses.

The academic support at the University was unbelievable, whatever problems you may have had or encountered, help was there. All you had to do was speak out and help would be given. SPENCER HAMPTON OPERATING DEPARTMENT PRACTICE, DIPHE

GIVE YOUR CAREER THE EDGE Qualifications alone aren’t always enough to set you on the career path of your dreams. Our highly praised Careers Service – which holds the Matrix Standard for quality information, advice and guidance – can give you a real edge when it comes to planning your career. With our team you can: • Create a professional CV • Hone your interview skills and understand selection methods • Plan your career or further education – taking advice on suitable opportunities • Research potential employers • Obtain details of local, national and international employment opportunities through Moodle (our virtual learning environment) • Research opportunities you may not have already considered, e.g. self-employment and working overseas • Gain access to employers through recruitment fairs, lectures and expos. You can drop in to speak to one of our advisers or even call or email your query. Any current student can see an adviser at any point within their course and graduates can keep coming back for up to five years. We’re here throughout your course – and beyond – to help you make the most of everything you’ve learned. Visit www.bcu.ac.uk/studentservices/careers/index.html for more information.

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Discover student life There’s more to student life than studying. And that’s where the Students’ Union comes in. We’re here to help you really enjoy the social side of university. With 25 clubs and societies and some fantastic sporting facilities, we’ve got everything you need to make friends and learn valuable new skills. Kick off university life with Freshers’ Week, a fantastic week of entertainment to introduce you to what’s on offer. Pick up freebies and sign up to as many clubs as you like!

FROM BHANGRA TO BREAKDANCING… There’s something for everyone in our wide range of clubs and societies: • African-Caribbean Society (ACS) • Amnesty • Bhangra • Breakdancing • Bums on Seats Performance • Christian Union • DJ • Go-Karting • Hellenic and Cypriot • Hindu • History • Indie • Islamic • Jewish

• Legal • Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) • Links, the First Aid society • MEX (Musical Exchanges) • Mooting • Overseas Students Soc • People and Planet • Poker • Rag • RockSoc, rock and alternative music society • RugSoc, for rugby enthusiasts • Socialist Students • Socialist Workers • Scouts and Guides (SSAGG) • Yoga.

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FANTASTIC NEW SPORTS FACILITIES Whether it’s for fun, fitness or even top-level competition, you’ll find something here you’ll love, from basketball to boarding, rugby to rock-climbing – all at a really affordable cost. You’ll be among the very first students to experience a brand new £7 million sports centre at City North Campus. It will house a sports hall big enough to accommodate eight badminton courts, an 80-station fitness suite and dance and aerobic studios – with plans for an all-weather pitch. This will be the second flagship sporting centre to be opened by the University. The Pavilion, in Moor Lane is a £4.5 million purpose-built facility, combining contemporary interiors with a backdrop of green fields. Eighteen hectares of space allows team competitions, with 20 heated changing rooms equipped with en-suite showers and toilets. These facilities have 12 pitches and, of course, an all-important bar for post-match celebrations. Our existing leisure facilities, in partnership with Aston University, include a multi-gym, swimming pool, fitness and holistic classes. Football, netball and basketball games between halls or campuses are always great fun. Friendly rivalries mean that these events are always popular. GREAT VALUE FOR MONEY Many of the Students’ Union’s activities won’t cost you a penny. It also organises great value ‘give it a go’ sessions of anything from paintballing to self-defence to sign language to reiki – often for less than a fiver. As well as the cost-conscious facilities that the Students’ Union offers – from cut-price gym memberships to affordable catering – there’s a wealth of cheap student nights, bargain baltis and free cultural attractions to enjoy.

VOLUNTEER FOR A BRAND NEW EXPERIENCE Learn something new, meet different people, build your confidence, impress employers, help the local community, feel good about yourself… why wouldn’t you volunteer? Student Community Action (SCA) offers a huge range of volunteering opportunities. Get local school kids moving in activity sessions with the Lifestyle Education and Activities Project (LEAP) or share radio skills with young offenders through our SCRatch Radio outreach. We can even help you create your own community project.

I loved how easy it was to find out through the Students’ Union about the many different volunteering projects in Birmingham. Volunteering gave me the chance to meet loads of new people and also helped me to strengthen my CV and my chances of getting a job after finishing my degree. HARRIET KING, STUDENT VOLUNTEER

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EXPRESS YOURSELF… Get involved in our student media. As well as the website www.birminghamcitysu.com, there’s SCRatch Radio; Tiger TV, which is broadcast over the web and the network of screens around the University; Spaghetti Junction, the Union’s magazine; and Top Left, the newsletter. Think of the amazing new skills you’ll learn! LEARN KEY SKILLS – QUICKLY Team building, public speaking, confidence and assertiveness and time management – these are the kind of key skills that will really impress your prospective employers. Development Needs Answers (DNA) offers free hour-long training sessions to boost your CV – and your confidence. LOOKING AFTER YOUR RIGHTS The Students’ Union isn’t just there for the fun things. We ensure that your opinion is listened to, your rights are protected and your experience here is a positive one. We run campaigns on your behalf, lobbying the necessary authorities to enable students to enjoy a better life. Our professionally trained staff are also on-hand to offer advice on financial and academic issues, as well as much more. See pages 66-67. YOUR OPINION COUNTS You’ll find you’re involved in shaping many aspects of the University during your time here. Recent surveys have sought and acted on students’ opinions on everything from developing student learning to our new city centre campus to our recent name change. The University sees its relationship with its students as very much a partnership.

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Discover an international experience You won’t just make friends from all over the country – you’ll meet people from all over the world who have chosen to study at Birmingham City University. Students enrol from over 80 different countries and we even have partnerships with overseas institutions, welcoming large numbers of teaching students from Egypt and technology students from India.

We have around over 2,000 undergraduate and postgraduate international students studying here in Birmingham. Our most popular undergraduate courses with overseas students include BAs in Visual Communications, Fashion Design and Interior Design, our BA Joint Degrees, and the LLB. Many students come from China, Nigeria, Malaysia and Pakistan, and we’ve welcomed students from as far afield as the Central African Republic, the Maldives and Turkmenistan. As our international reputation grows, so do our international links, offering students some amazing opportunities to learn from different cultures. INFORMATION FOR OVERSEAS STUDENTS Students from overseas can find out more at www.bcu. ac.uk/international If you’re from overseas and considering the University, we can assure you that you’ll feel right at home in this welcoming environment.

You can also expect: • Competitive fees and a range of bursaries • Priority allocation of University accommodation guaranteed for the duration of your course • Free English language support throughout the academic year • Meet and Greet and Orientation Programme • Social events running throughout the year. QUALIFICATIONS We accept a wide range of overseas qualifications – to find out more, contact bcuinternational@enquiries.uk.com Please note that due to immigration regulations, non-European students are unable to enter the UK to undertake a part-time course.

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My part-time course improved my marketing and management skills. The quality of teaching was excellent and I met students from all over the world. Studying at university helped me fulfil my potential and proved to be excellent value for money. GODFREY JOHNSON DUBE, MA MARKETING

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TUITION FEES Fees cover normal tuition and examination costs and membership of the Students’ Union. Fees can be paid in two equal instalments at the beginning of the first and second semesters. Fees vary between courses but guideline figures (for 2009/10) follow. Please see www.bcu.ac.uk/international for the full listing and the latest prices. Further education courses – £6,400 Undergraduate courses – £8,950 Music – £12,500 BA (Hons) Community and Applied Theatre, Community and Applied Dance Theatre, Stage Management; PGDip Physical Theatre – £12,000 If you can show a relevant connection with the UK or the EU, you can be exempt from the international fees. If you are unsure whether you would be classified as a home or overseas student for fee-payment purposes and would like clarification before submitting an application, please complete our Fee Status Assessment Questionnaire that can be downloaded from: www.bcu.ac.uk/international BURSARIES We offer a number of bursaries or part scholarships for international students. • Corporate Loyalty Bursaries – a bursary of 15 per cent of the fee for the first year if you’re offered a place on an undergraduate course after completing an HND, Foundation Degree or Foundation Year with us. • Each year the University provides a number of scholarships and bursaries to international students to cover a proportion of the tuition fee for the first year of study. For the latest information visit: www.bcu.ac.uk/international

LIVING COSTS Birmingham has a relatively low cost of living and depending on your lifestyle; you’ll need approximately £6,000 - £7,000 a year (approx £600 per month) for accommodation and living expenses (excluding tuition fees). Your first few weeks here will be the most expensive, since as well as paying your fees, you may need books and equipment. Remember, you won’t be eligible for UK welfare benefits but most of you will be permitted to work. We have an Employer Zone that can help you find part-time and vacation work. ACCOMMODATION You’ll be given priority for self-catering bedrooms in University accommodation for the duration of your course, provided that we receive your application before the start of your course. Living in halls is the ideal way to meet people. For more information, see page 48 or visit: www.bcu.ac.uk/accommodation INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT As well as offering advice to international students, we organise a programme of social and cultural events, orientation programmes, fun social activities to meet other students, a mentoring scheme and a newsletter to keep you updated. ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS All tuition, examinations and subject material will be in English, so you’ll need a certain level of proficiency in English qualifications. See below for the latest list, but please check with the faculty, as some may require a higher level.

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ENGLISH LANGUAGE COURSES If you miss the minimum English language entry requirements we will make a conditional offer for the main academic programme of study, subject to attendance on one of our English language courses prior to starting your course. These vary from a five-week or 10-week course to bring your language skills up to scratch to a full-time one-year programme. All international students are welcome to attend our free English classes alongside their studies. Foundation Certificate in English for Academic Purposes (FCEAP) This one-year, full-time course is for those who are academically qualified but don’t meet the English language requirements. You have the option of a first or second semester entry point dependent on your level of English. See page 174 for more on this course. For enquiries: T: +44 (0) 121 331 6714 E: bcuinternational@enquiries.uk.com For applications: T: +44 (0) 121 331 5389 F: +44 (0) 121 331 6314 E: international.admissions@bcu.ac.uk EU STUDENTS We have a large number of full-time students from EU countries, as well as students participating in a Socrates/ Erasmus exchange scheme. Those who are nationals or the children of nationals of EU member states and who have been an ordinarily resident in EEA countries for three years prior to commencing their course are normally classed as home students for fee-paying purposes.

COURSE

YOU HAVE IELTS

YOU NEED IELTS

FEE (excluding accommodation)

5-week presessional

5.5 6.0 6.5

6.0 6.5 7.0

£870 £870 £870

10-week presessional

5.0 5.5 6.0

6.0 6.5 7.0

£1.740 £1.740 £1.740

FCEAP - Full Year

4.5

6.0

£6.200

FCEAP - Second semester

5.0

6.0

£3.100

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Discover life as a mature student Almost two-thirds of undergraduate students in the UK are over 21. Last year, of our 25,000 students, over half were aged 22 and over, so if you’re a mature student, you certainly won’t be alone. Whether you want to go further in your field, completely retrain or just give your employability a boost in uncertain times, you’ll find that a university qualification is a great way to open up new career options.

Here at Birmingham City University, we’re committed to helping you fit studying into your life, whatever your work and family commitments. We’ve got part-time learning options, as well as shorter certificate and diploma courses which can be ‘topped up’ at a later date.

Life as a mature student was perfect timing for Sam. He says: “I think I was more motivated as a mature student than I would have been if I was younger. I was a bit concerned that my basic skills might not be up-to-scratch after so long out of education, but it was fine.”

It’s possible to combine part-time courses with work. Many employers support staff who want to improve their skills – and some are even willing to help with course costs. If you do a full-time course, you may be entitled to extra financial help, for instance if you have children. You’ll find lots of helpful information at www.direct.gov.uk

The course – a Primary Education with Qualified Teacher Status BA (Hons) – prepared him to teach in any given situation. All his lecturers were approachable and always prepared to offer their time. If he wanted to discuss something in a tutorial he never felt rushed and, as he says: “My personal tutor was always at the end of the phone or just an email away.” Finances weren’t a problem at all either, with easy access to student loans and many on his course supply teaching to earn a little extra cash. For Sam, the University was specifically helpful here: “They found me some online work, writing lesson plans for a book on teaching and this really aided us financially as a family. Being a mature student just wasn’t an issue.”

SAM UNWIN, 35 Primary Education with Qualified Teacher Status BA (Hons) First class Sam, who was on a teacher training course at the University, combined his degree with starting a family – and still managed to get a first! His daughters were born while he was doing his degree – one right in the middle of what would have been his final teaching practice. He found university flexible, with his tutors arranging for him to defer which really took the pressure off.

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While my fellow political colleagues flounder at what is happening to them, I feel confident in the knowledge that my university education gave me the theoretical understanding and the rhetorical skills which have been used to bend the words of my fellow politicians. ERNIE HENDRICKS BA (HONS) MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION

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Discover our courses We pride ourselves on the fact that we offer a great range of professionally relevant courses to ensure you have the best chance of employment success. Whether you are looking to get your first successful step into a career, are seeking promotion or a change in direction, we have hundreds of courses to choose from – many of which will give you exemptions from professional qualifications.

OUR TEACHING IS OFFERED THROUGH SIX ACADEMIC FACULTIES: Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (BIAD) Birmingham City Business School Education, Law and Social Sciences Health Performance, Media and English Technology, Engineering and the Environment We offer an education that is focused on ‘doing’ – our lecturers remain as practitioners, building on their years of professional experience, ensuring they are in touch with the demands of the ‘real world’. Discover more at www.bcu.ac.uk

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UCAS TARIFF TABLES

General entry requirements and the UCAS tariff We are committed to an admissions policy that provides opportunities for people from all educational backgrounds and experience to participate in higher education. We therefore welcome applicants with a mix of academic and vocational qualifications and consider each application on its merits. For those without standard entry qualifications we may be able to take account of alternative qualifications and/or relevant experience. We recognise the importance of the UCAS tariff system in helping to ensure fairness in offer-making. Therefore, many offers will be expressed using the UCAS tariff point score but some will be expressed as grades. You can visit the UCAS website for the latest information. Further information on our entry requirements can be found in the relevant subject prospectus and on our website: www.bcu.ac.uk For some an interview, audition or a portfolio review is an essential part of the selection process. You can contact Birmingham City University Choices on (+44) (0)121 331 5595 so that your individual circumstances can be assessed before you commence your application. The University welcomes applications from Advanced Diploma students. Applicants holding new qualifications are encouraged to contact Choices on (+44) (0)121 331 5595 or to consult our website for further details as they become available.

The University also has a number of Progression Agreements in place with Colleges across the West Midlands for a wide variety of courses. These agreements are designed to promote progression into the university through offering a clearer understanding for students about the opportunities and requirements to study at university. Where an agreement is in place it will normally explain the level of results a student needs to attain to enter the university’s admissions processes. Students from local colleges should talk to

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BTEC NATIONALS

GCE/VCE QUALIFICATIONS

GCE & AVCE DOUBLE AWARD

A LEVEL WITH ADDITIONAL AS (9 UNITS)

GCE A LEVEL AND AVCE

GCE AS DOUBLE AWARD

GCE AS & AS VCE

POINTS

DIPLOMA

360

DDD

320

DDM

280

DMM

CERTIFICATE

AWARD

260 240

MMM

MMP

MPP

PPP

220

A*A

200

180

170 160

150

CD DE

B DD

140 AA

120

110

100

118

BTEC NATIONALS IN EARLY YEARS*

CACHE LEVEL 3 AWARD

DIPLOMA IN FOUNDATION STUDIES

Certificate and Diploma in Child Care & Education

THEORY CERTIFICATE

PRACTICAL

POINTS

AWARD

CERTIFICATE

(Art & Design, and Art, Design & Media)*

DIPLOMA

DDD

360

300

320 DISTINCTION

285 DDM

280

DMM

240 MERIT

225 MMM

220 DD

200 D

180

PASS

165 MMP

MPP

PPP

DIPLOMA IN FASHION RETAIL*

DISTINCTION

160 D

120 110

C PASS

80 D

55 PP

MERIT

40 E

35 30

119

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE (IB) DIPLOMA*

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE (IB) CERTIFICATE*

DIPLOMA

POINTS

HIGHER LEVEL

STANDARD LEVEL

CORE

POINTS

720

698

676

654

632

611

589

567

545

523

501

479

457

435

413

392

370

348

326

304

282

260

130 3

120 110

50 5

43 1

40 27

20 3

11 0

*Points for IB Certificate come into effect for entry into higher education from 2010 onwards. You are advised to check the entry requirements on our website to ensure you have the most up to date entry requirements.

120

BIRMINGHAM INSTITUTE OF ART AND DESIGN UNDERGRADUATE

POSTGRADUATE

240

Animation | BA (Hons)

Architecture | PgDip

320

Architecture | BA (Hons)

Architectural Practice | PgDip

British Horological Institute Courses

Architectural Practice | MA

240

Design Management Strategies | BA (Hons)

Architectural Studies | MA

240

Fashion Design | BA (Hons)

Art and Education | MA

240

Fashion Retail Management | BA (Hons)

Art, Health and Well-being | MA

240

Fine Art | BA (Hons)

Art, Practice and Education | MA

120

Gemmology | BTEC HND

Arts and Project Management | MA

120

Horology | BTEC HND

Contemporary Curatorial Practice | MA

240

Interior Design | BA (Hons)

Design Management | MA

240

Interior Products Design | BA (Hons)

Design and Visualisation | MA

120

Jewellery and Silversmithing | BTEC HND

Digital Arts in Performance | MA

240

Jewellery and Silversmithing | BA (Hons)

Fashion Promotion

Jewellery and Silversmithing – Design for Industry | BA (Hons)

Fashion Styling

280

Landscape Architecture | BA (Hons)

Fine Art | MA

240

Product Design | BA (Hons)

History of Art and Design | MA

240

Textile Design | BA (Hons)

Interior Design | MA

240

Theatre, Performance and Event Design | BA (Hons)

Jewellery, Silversmithing and Related Products | MA

240

Visual Arts by Negotiated Study | BA (Hons)

Landscape Architecture | GradDip

240

Visual Communication | BA (Hons)

121

BIRMINGHAM SCHOOL OF ACTING UNDERGRADUATE

POSTGRADUATE

Acting | BA (Hons)

MA Acting | PgDip

Community and Applied Theatre | BA (Hons)

Acting: The British Tradition | MA

240

Community and Applied Dance Theatre | BA (Hons)

Physical Theatre | PgDip

240

Stage Management | BA (Hons)

Professional Voice Practice | PgDip/MA

BIRMINGHAM SCHOOL OF BUSINESS UNDERGRADUATE 280

Accountancy | BA (Hons)

260

Business and Finance | BA (Hons)

280

Accountancy and Finance | BA (Hons)

260

Business Law and Finance | BA (Hons)

120

Business and Management | HND

260

Business Law and Human Resources Management | BA (Hons)

280

Business Studies | BA (Hons)

260

Business and Human Resources Management | BA (Hons)

260

Combined Studies with Business | BA (Hons)

260

Business and Management | BA (Hons)

260

International Business | BA (Hons)

260

Business and Marketing | BA (Hons)

240

International Finance | BA (Hons)

260

Business Psychology and Advertising | BA (Hons)

240

International Marketing | BA (Hons)

260

Business Psychology and Business | BA (Hons)

280

Marketing | BA (Hons)

260

Business Psychology and Human Resources Management | BA (Hons)

280

Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations | BA (Hons)

260

Business Psychology and Management | BA (Hons)

260

Business Psychology and Marketing | BA (Hons)

BA (Hons) Joint courses

260

Business Psychology and Public Relations | BA (Hons)

260

Accountancy and Business | BA (Hons)

260

Economics and Finance | BA (Hons)

260

Accountancy and Business Law | BA (Hons)

260 260

260-280

Management and Human Resources Management | BA (Hons)

Accountancy and Economics | BA (Hons)

260

Marketing and Business Law | BA (Hons)

Accountancy and Management | BA (Hons)

260

Marketing and Economics | BA (Hons)

260

Advertising and Business Law | BA (Hons)

260

Marketing and Human Resources Management | BA (Hons)

260

Advertising and Economics | BA (Hons)

260

Marketing and Management | BA (Hons)

260

Advertising and Human Resources Management | BA (Hons)

260

Public Relations and Business | Law BA (Hons)

260

Advertising and Management | BA (Hons)

260

Public Relations and Human Resources Management | BA (Hons)

260

Business and Advertising | BA (Hons)

260

Public Relations and Management | BA (Hons)

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BIRMINGHAM CITY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

260

PART-TIME COURSES

MSC Part-time courses

Business and Management | HNC

Accountancy and Finance - Top Up | MSC

Business & Management - by flexible learning | BA (Hons)

Audit Management and Consultancy | MSC

Combined Studies with Business | BA (Hons)

MA Full-time courses

POSTGRADUATE

Marketing | MA

MBA Full-time courses

MA: Courses Part-Time

Finance | MBA

Human Resource Management - Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development | MA

International Business | MBA Marketing | MBA

Professional Part-Time Courses

Master of Business Administration | MBA

Accountancy: Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Course Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) | Diploma

Full-time courses

CIM Professional Diploma in Marketing

Accountancy and Finance | MSC

CIM Chartered Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing

Accountancy and Finance- Top Up | MSC

Human Resource Management - Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

Audit Management and Consultancy | MSC Business Management | MSC

Research Degrees

International Human Resources Management | MSC

Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) - Part-Time Business MPhil & PhD Research Degrees

Management and Finance | MSC Management and Human Resources Management | MSC Management and International Business | MSC Management and Marketing | MSC

COMPUTING UNDERGRADUATE COURSES

260-280

Electronic Engineering | BEng (Hons)

Business Information Technology | BSc (Hons)

260-280

Forensic Computing | BSc (Hons)

Business Information Technology | FdSc

260-280

Information and Communications Technology | FdSc

260-280

Computing and Electronics | BEng (Hons)

260-280

Telecommunications and Networks | BEng (Hons)

260-280

Computer Games Technology | BSc (Hons)

260-280

Computer Networks | BSc (Hons)

260-280

Computer Networks and Security | BSc (Hons)

260-280

Computer Science | BSc (Hons)

260-280 160

140

Computer Technology Foundation

POSTGRADUATE Data Communications | PgCert/PgDip/MSc Data Networks and Security | PgCert/PgDip/MSc Software Development and Security | PgCert/PgDip/MSc

123

BIRMINGHAM CONSERVATOIRE

220

UNDERGRADUATE

POSTGRADUATE

BMus (Hons)

Advanced | Pg Dip

Graduate Diploma in Jazz

MA Digital Arts in Performance

Jazz Bmus (Hons)

Pg Cert (Specialist Performance)

Music Technology | BSc (Hons)

Pg Dip / MMus (Music)

Popular Music Studies | HND

Research Degrees MPhil PhD

CONSTRUCTION AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT School of Architecture:

220

Planning And Development | BSc (Hons)

UNDERGRADUATE

220

Property And Construction | BSc (Hons)

260

Quantity Surveying | BSc (Hons)

260

Real Estate | BSc (Hons)

320

Architecture (RIBA Part I Exemption) | BA (Hons)

280

Landscape Architecture | BA (Hons) Landscape Architecture | Graduate Diploma

POSTGRADUATE Architectural Practice (RIBA Part II Exemption) | PgDip Architectural Studies | MA Landscape Architecture | PgDip/MA Urban Design | MA

School of Property, Construction and Planning: UNDERGRADUATE 220

Architectural Technology | BSc (Hons)

260

Building Surveying | BSc (Hons) Construction | HNC

220

Construction Management And Economics | BSc (Hons)

220

Construction Quantity Surveying | BSc (Hons)

220

Estate Management Practice | BSc (Hons)

School of Social Sciences, Division of Housing UNDERGRADUATE Housing Practice | CertHE Professional Housing Studies | FdA Professional Housing Studies | BA (Hons)

POSTGRADUATE Housing | PgDip/MA

124

ENGINEERING UNDERGRADUATE

POSTGRADUATE

260-280

Automotive Engineering | BEng (Hons)

Automotive Calibration and Control | MSc

260-280

Computer Aided Automotive Design | BSc (Hons)

Automotive Engineering | MSc

Engineering Foundation

Electronic Commerce | MSc

260-280

Management of Manufacturing Systems | BEng (Hons)

Logistics | MSc

260-280

Mechanical Engineering | BEng (Hons)

Logistics by Flexible Delivery | MSc

260-280

Motorsports Technology | BSc (Hons)

Mechanical Engineering | MSc

140

EDUCATION UNDERGRADUATE

POSTGRADUATE

200

Children and Integrated Professional Care | BA (Hons)

Early Years | PGCE

200

Early Childhood Education Studies | BA (Hons)

Education | MA

Early Childhood Education Studies Top Up | BA (Hons)

Primary Education | PGCE

Primary Education with QTS | BA (Hons)

Secondary Education - Art and Design, Design and Technology: Food & Textiles, Drama, Mathematics, Instrumental Music | PGCE

300

125

HEALTH UNDERGRADUATE

POSTGRADUATE

240

Diagnostic Radiograpy | BSc (Hons)

Advanced Practice: Advanced Health Care | Pg Dip/MSc

200

Health and Well-Being Exercise Science | BSc (Hons)

Health Promotion and Public Health | Pg Dip/MSc

200

Health and Well-Being Individuals and Communities | BSc (Hons)

Management of Patients with Long Term Conditions | Pg Cert

200

Health and Well-Being Nutritional Science | BSc (Hons)

Medical Ultrasound | Pg Cert/Pg Dip/MSc

240

Midwifery | BSc (Hons)

Mental Health | Pg Cert/Dip/MSc

Midwifery (Shortened Programme) | BSc (Hons)

Pain Management | Pg Cert/Pg Dip/MSc

Nursing RN | BSc (Hons)

Perioperative Specialist Practice | Pg Dip

Graduate Diploma Nursing RN

Radiography | Pg Cert/Pg Dip/MSc

Radiotherapy | BSc (Hons)

Strategic Leadership | Pg Cert/Pg Dip/MSc

240

HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES School of English

240

Criminology and Policing | BA (Hons)

UNDERGRADUATE

240

Criminology and Psychology | BA (Hons)

240

Criminology and Security Studies | BA (Hons)

280

English | BA (Hons)

280

English Literature | BA (Hons)

280

English Language Studies with English Literature | BA (Hons)

280

English Literature with English Language Studies | BA (Hons)

280

English and Creative Writing | BA (Hons)

280

English and Drama | BA (Hons)

280

English and Media | BA (Hons)

280

English and Psychology | BA (Hons)

POSTGRADUATE English Linguistics | MA English Literary Studies | MA

Social Sciences UNDERGRADUATE Criminal Investigation | BSc 240

Criminology | BA (Hons)

Housing Practice | Cert HE Professional Housing Studies | FdA Professional Housing Studies | BA (Hons) 300

Psychology | BSc

240

Public Sociology (placement available)

240

Sociology | BA (Hons)

240

Sociology and Psychology | BA (Hons)

240

Sociology and Criminology | BA (Hons)

126

LAW Criminology Courses

UNDERGRADUATE 120

LLB (Hons) Law / LLB (Hons) Law with named pathways

280

HND Legal Studies

POSTGRADUATE

UNDERGRADUATE 240

Criminal Investigation | BSc (Hons)

240

Criminology programmes | BA (Hons)

Corporate and Business Law | PgCert / PgDip / LLM

POSTGRADUATE

Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL)

Criminological Research | PgCert/PgDip/MA

International Human Rights | PgDip / LLM

Criminology | P gCert/PgDip/MA

Law | MPhil / PhD Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice (LPC)

MEDIA UNDERGRADUATE UNDERGRADUATE Birmingham School of Media 280

English and Media | BA (Hons)

280

Media and Communication | BA (Hons) (Journalism/Media Photography/Web and New Media/Public Relations/Radio/Television/Music Industries)

Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (BIAD)

280 260-280

Sound Engineering and Production | BSc (Hons) Television Technology and Production | BSc (Hons)

140

Multimedia Technology | Foundation Year

140

Sound Engineering and Production | Foundation Year

UNDERGRADUATE Broadcast Journalism | PgCert/PgDip/MA Event and Exhibition Management | MA

280

Animation | BA (Hons)

International Broadcast Journalism | PgDip/MA

240

Animation for Games Design | BA (Hons)

Media Enterprise | MA

240

Visual Communication | BA (Hons)

Television & Interactive Content in Social Media | PgDip/MA

School of Digital Media Technology 260-280

Creative Game Animation and Development | BSc (Hons)

260-280

Film Production and Technology | BSc (Hons)

260-280

Film Technology and Special Effects | BSc (Hons)

260-280

Multimedia Technology | BSc (Hons)

300 260-280

Music Technology | BSc (Hons) Sound and Multimedia Technology | BSc (Hons)

Research course MPhils and PhDs in Media and Communication

127