Compulsory modules - all pathways
Advanced Quantitative Research Methods in Social Science (15 credits)
The aims of this module are to reinforce students' skills in designing and interpreting statistical tests and using statistical software and to introduce the methods and theory for the design and analysis of social science and humanities research.
Advanced Qualitative Methods: Creative and Participatory Approaches (15 credits)
The module aims to teach students how to design and conduct in-depth qualitative research, drawing upon creative and participatory methods and approaches. These have been developed primarily to research under-researched groups, but this module explains how these have wider application for many research projects, contexts and groups.
Dissertation in Social Science Research (60 credits)
The aim of this module is for students to design, conduct, analyse and report an original empirical study within their chosen field/pathway.
Communication and Media pathway
Media Representations, Identity and Digital Culture (15 credits)
The main aim of this module is to define and critically examine key concepts and theories that help understand how media and communication are involved in shaping our sense of identity, belonging and community. It will have a particular focus on the changes brought by digital media in constructing hierarchies of belonging and the forms of inclusion and exclusion that are linked to these.
Through lectures, classroom discussions and practical tasks students will focus on a range of cultural and social identities including gender, class, ethnicity and sexuality and examine the impacts that different communication technologies (press, cinema, radio, television, social media) have had on the representation and evaluation of groups across time. Through this, students will be able to appreciate both the changes prompted by digital communication as well as the persistence of old forms of representation, discrimination and exclusion.
Researching Communications 2: Texts and Digital Platforms (15 credits)
The module is designed to introduce students to research methods that are applied for the analysis of media and communication content and output, both on traditional as well as on new, digital platforms. Apart from providing the students with critical overview and discussion of strengths and weaknesses of these methods, both quantitative and qualitative, the module enables them to explore their practical application in adjacent workshops.
Sociology, Criminology and Social Policy pathway
Media Representations, Identity and Digital Culture (15 credits)
The main aim of this module is to define and critically examine key concepts and theories that help understand how media and communication are involved in shaping our sense of identity, belonging and community. It will have a particular focus on the changes brought by digital media in constructing hierarchies of belonging and the forms of inclusion and exclusion that are linked to these.
Through lectures, classroom discussions and practical tasks students will focus on a range of cultural and social identities including gender, class, ethnicity and sexuality and examine the impacts that different communication technologies (press, cinema, radio, television, social media) have had on the representation and evaluation of groups across time. Through this, students will be able to appreciate both the changes prompted by digital communication as well as the persistence of old forms of representation, discrimination and exclusion.
Sports Criminology (15 credits)
This module aims to examine crime, deviance and social change through a sporting lens. It will engage with the key theoretical approaches within the social sciences that can act as a framework for understanding more practical examples of crime, deviance and social change in sport.
Management and Business Studies
Managing Big Data (15 credits)
The aims of this module are:
- To develop a critical appreciation of the theory and practice of managing big data and its significance for business in the global environment.
- To develop an awareness of the skills required for managing big data in different sectors.
- To understand how big data can be used to address real world issues.
- To understand how business opportunities can be identified and exploited using big data and big data analytics.
- To explore the range of software tools available for managing large data sets.
The Economics of Sustainability and Net Zero (15 credits)
The aims of this module are to develop the skills which allow the student to:
- Understand relevant economic concepts and tools and their relevance to environmental sustainability and net zero.
- Identify and assess how complex economic, regulatory, engineering, institutional and environmental factors influence the potential feasibility and likely success of government policies, commercial strategies, and technologies aimed at improving sustainability and achieving net zero.
- Develop report writing and presentation capabilities in preparation for future employment, with a focus on making underlying complex analysis understandable to the target audience.
Sport and Exercise Science pathway
Social Processes in Sport (15 credits)
The aims of this module are:
- To provide students with theoretical underpinnings of social processes in sport.
- To provide students with practical knowledge and skills in relation to evaluation of social processes in sport, including coach-athlete relationships, group dynamics, team cohesion, leadership, organisational culture, and safeguarding.
Sports Criminology (15 credits)
This module aims to examine crime, deviance and social change through a sporting lens. It will engage with the key theoretical approaches within the social sciences that can act as a framework for understanding more practical examples of crime, deviance and social change in sport.
Health and Wellbeing
Mental Health in Sport and Exercise (15 credits)
The aims of this module are to examine and translate evidence relating to mental health and exercise in athlete and other populations.
Social Processes in Sport (15 credits)
The aims of this module are:
- To provide students with theoretical underpinnings of social processes in sport.
- To provide students with practical knowledge and skills in relation to evaluation of social processes in sport, including coach-athlete relationships, group dynamics, team cohesion, leadership, organisational culture, and safeguarding.
Human Geography pathway
The Global Financial System under Climate Change (15 credits)
The central aims of this module are to:
- Develop a diversity of perspectives to examine the contemporary financial system.
- Critically consider the relations between the global financial system and climate change.
Governing Crises (15 credits)
The module will enable students to develop a critical understanding of the processes and mechanisms available to governments to respond and manage crisis at different levels. The module will introduce students to the key theories, concepts and applications of the emerging field of crisis management. It has been designed to foster students' capacity to critically analyse and apply this knowledge to a diverse range empirical cases and sites.
Living in a Digital Society pathway
Data, Power and Democracy (15 credits)
This module addresses the ways in which social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Snapchat are changing the ways in which political actors, citizens, and journalists interact with each other, advance their goals, and exercise power. We will engage with contemporary arguments and debates about the democratic implications of social media by drawing on state-of-the-art theory and cutting-edge research, as well as case studies of relevant contemporary events and controversies.
The module will enable students to understand how social media are used by citizens, political actors, and journalists to access, distribute, and coproduce content that is relevant to public affairs and provide opportunities for political learning, persuasion, mobilisation, and engagement. It will use both theory and empirical research to shed light on how social media are enhancing and hindering practices and structures of citizenship and democratic politics.
Researching Communications 2: Texts and Digital Platforms (15 credits)
The module is designed to introduce students to research methods that are applied for the analysis of media and communication content and output, both on traditional as well as on new, digital platforms. Apart from providing the students with critical overview and discussion of strengths and weaknesses of these methods, both quantitative and qualitative, the module enables them to explore their practical application in adjacent workshops.
Cross-disciplinary Methodologies and Advanced Data Analysis pathway
Researching Communications 2: Texts and Digital Platforms (15 credits)
The module is designed to introduce students to research methods that are applied for the analysis of media and communication content and output, both on traditional as well as on new, digital platforms. Apart from providing the students with critical overview and discussion of strengths and weaknesses of these methods, both quantitative and qualitative, the module enables them to explore their practical application in adjacent workshops.
Economic Modelling and Policy for Sustainable Development (15 credits)
The aim of this module is to understand policy options and their economic impacts on Sustainable Development, with a focus on greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation and adaptation policy in the energy sector.
Sustainable Development, Net Zero and Climate Resilience pathway
The Global Financial System under Climate Change (15 credits)
The central aims of this module are to:
- Develop a diversity of perspectives to examine the contemporary financial system.
- Critically consider the relations between the global financial system and climate change.
Economic Modelling and Policy for Sustainable Development (15 credits)
The aim of this module is to understand policy options and their economic impacts on Sustainable Development, with a focus on greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation and adaptation in the energy sector.
Education pathway
Effective Communication (15 credits)
The aim of this module is to introduce students to effective communication in the real world in which professional parties, such as crisis negotiators, politicians, and healthcare practitioners, must provide information, make decisions, persuade, and influence others in real time for a range of purposes.
The module will explore approaches to effective communication and effective practice, and how communication shapes engagement and behaviour through case studies and recorded live interactions. Students will learn the theory and methods of conversation analysis and how to apply it to diverse settings with the overall aim of understanding and improving the effectiveness of communication in these situations.
Researching Communications 2: Texts and Digital Platforms (15 credits)
The module is designed to introduce students to research methods that are applied for the analysis of media and communication content and output, both on traditional as well as on new, digital platforms. Apart from providing the students with critical overview and discussion of strengths and weaknesses of these methods, both quantitative and qualitative, the module enables them to explore their practical application in adjacent workshops.