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Social Research

Sheffield Methods Institute, Faculty of Social Sciences

On this course you'll become well-versed in the theoretical concepts in social research. Choose from a wide range of modules that reflect your interests, and apply your qualitative and quantitative skills to your field of research. Our graduates go on to PhD research or careers that demand world-class research skills.

Postgraduate social research students at workshop

Course description

This course will help you to become proficient in theoretical concepts in social research and will provide you with the practical skills to undertake higher level research across the full range of social sciences.

You’ll develop highly sought-after qualitative and quantitative research skills through our hands-on teaching methods. You can tailor the course to your interests by selecting from a wide range of modules – from all the departments in social sciences – that will expose you to the latest debates within your field of research.

The programme has been specifically developed to meet the ESRC postgraduate training and development guidelines. Students completing the MA Social Research can advance to PhD-level study within their chosen field in the social sciences, or find employment within roles that require high-level research skills.

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Modules

There is the option to take the course as a part-time route over two years, with students choosing 90 credits in each year, completing 180 credits over the two year period.

Principles of Research Design I: This unit addresses the foundations of research: what needs to be established before a research project can be conducted. It has three main focuses, which are the philosophical foundations upon which social scientific research are based, the process of establishing the current state of the art in a given field of social science, and establishing which study design is most appropriate for a given research question. In this way, it combines both conceptual and practical issues in the social sciences. It precedes Principles of Research Design II, which addresses the principles to be applied while a research project is underway.
15 credits
Introduction to Qualitative Research: This unit introduces students to a variety of qualitative research techniques. This unit aims to familiarise students with a full range of research methods and analyses in common use in social science. The module covers interviewing, observation, document work, the use of visual data and mixed methods. As well as learning how to use these tools, techniques and processes, students on this module will learn how to apply them to their own research projects. Students will also learn to evaluate these research methods and techniques. They will learn to develop an understanding of how qualitative methods are used to create knowledge. This module forms the basis for further subject-specific research training in the contributing departments across the social sciences.
15 credits
Introduction to Quantitative Research: This module has been designed to help you develop your ability to conduct quantitative data analysis in the social sciences. The emphasis is not only on technical competence but also on understanding the principles behind the methods, as well as being able to competently interpret your results. We will be using real data with countless examples from across the social sciences (e.g., politics, economics, psychology, sociology, criminology, etc.) to learn about descriptive, exploratory, and inferential statistics. In doing so, we will cover a broad range of topics such as descriptive statistics and data distributions; scaling and measurement; data visualisation; linear regression and methods of causal inference (e.g., difference-in-difference designs); uncertainty in estimation; quantitative text analysis; social network analysis; and spatial analysis using the R statistical software.
15 credits
Principles of Research Design II: This unit follows SMI607 in introducing students to research design, with a focus on what happens during and after the process of conducting research, and the relevant professional skills required by researchers. It addresses issues of research ethics, sampling and recruitment, reflexivity, project management, collaboration with other researchers, different approaches and techniques for analysing data, and the process of presenting, publishing, and disseminating research to a range of different audiences. In this way, in combination with SMI607, it provides students with a toolkit to conduct an entire research project independently from a range of different philosophical and methodological perspectives.
15 credits
Working Beyond Disciplines: The purpose of this module is to provide an introduction to interdisciplinary study for research students in the social sciences, highlighting the importance of research which reaches beyond disciplinary boundaries, and exploring the differing approaches through which such research can be achieved. By engaging students with the specific thematic pathways that are central to the intellectual project of the White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership, it introduces students to `grand challenges for the social sciences that relate to their own proposed research areas. Through this, it links interdisciplinary epistemological approaches to their application in the context of students own proposed research projects.
15 credits
Research Ethics and Integrity: Training on research ethics & integrity for all postgraduate research students as part of the Doctoral Development Programme. The training will:¿Enhance students¿ ability to critically analyse/reflect upon their own actions and behaviours when conducting research from start to finish, as well as interactions with research participants, supervisors, co-workers etc;¿Heighten ethical sensitivity and reasoning, enabling students to plan and prepare for ethical challenges they may face and to be able to manage challenges.The training will complement and reinforce existing research methods training.

You will also take one or both of the following courses in your second semester, amounting to 15 or 30 credits.

Advanced modules:

Advanced Qualitative Methods: This unit introduces students to a variety of advanced qualitative research techniques common to the social sciences, but which can be used in wider cross-faculty research contexts. The unit provides students with a philosophical introduction to advanced qualitative methodology, and will introduce a selection of advanced and pioneering research techniques, which will include techniques such as: creative approaches to qualitative interviewing, the use of sensory and mobile methods, participatory research techniques (including the use of diaries and drawings), qualitative longitudinal research, memory work, and life history approaches.
It will also introduce all students to the potential of re-using qualitative data and to advanced analytical techniques (including Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis). Students will also learn about innovative approaches to writing and communicating qualitative research. Finally, the module will also introduce students to a range of ethical issues arising from creative and innovative approaches to qualitative research.
15 credits
Advanced Quantitative Methods for Social Research: The course will introduce more advanced uses of multivariable statistics in the social sciences. This unit then covers several methods that are often employed across the social sciences. These will include: Multiple Regression (including Ordinary Least Squares and Logistic Regression) and more advanced extensions such as multilevel models and longitudinal techniques. Students will undertake a small secondary data analysis project of their own devising for assessment.

15 credits

Theory and Research in Design: The module includes two parts:Research methods - The course is an introduction to research methods. It is specifically designed to meet the needs of students in a school of architecture where a very wide range of research paradigms may be found. It also relates the ideas and methods of research to those of design and offers support to students in developing a thesis within their dissertation.Theory Forum - This introduces different thematic approaches and topics in the histories and theories of architecture and urban design, the history of ideas, and the related disciplines of art, cultural studies and landscape studies and initiates their application in critical debate.
15 credits
Urban Design Tools and Methods: This unit is one in a sequence of studio based modules. It introduces students to the specific skills, tools and design knowledge required for urban design in combination with design research methodologies and allows them to be developed through studio-based urban design projects.
15 credits
Participation in Architecture and Urban Design: The unit introduces the history, theory and application of participation in architecture and urban design. Based on a critical analysis of precedents, students will be expected to develop their own participatory methods for use in urban design
15 credits
History and Theory of Urban Design: This unit provides an introduction to the main concepts, theories and practices of urban design, illustrated by local, national and international examples from different historical, political, geographical and environmental periods and areas. Using a themed rather than a chronological approach, the course explores how similar urban forms have been used and reused, reinterpreted, adapted and challenged by different social, economic and political groups in different parts of the world to meet differing (real and imagined) needs, behaviours and rituals. The emphasis is on design and on the end product of the design process ¿ the visual and physical form of the urban environment.
15 credits
Reflections on Architectural Design: The unit introduces the history, theory and application of design methodologies in architecture and related practices. Based on a critical analysis of precedents and approaches, students will be expected to develop their own methods for use in architectural design
15 credits
Chinese Cities in Transition: Chinese cities are home to ten per cent of the world's population. They have experienced tremendous transformation with the country's transition from a planned to a market economy. This module provides an overview of Chinese cities, and includes topics on evolution of China's urban system, economic restructuring, urban expansion and land disputes, property-led urban regeneration, housing market development and policy. The central aim of the module is to help students understand not only the complex character of changing cities but also their place within Chinese economy and society.
15 credits
Media, Culture and Society in East Asia: This module introduces key ideas surrounding media and culture in the context of East Asian society. Via selected case studies we will explore issues such as power and control, propaganda, politics of memory, politics of representation, media production and consumption, globalisation, transnational cultural exchange, media and nationhood and the changing status of the creative industries in East Asia. This course will examine a variety of media products including film, TV, radio, digital archives, animation, memorials and museums and will engage with the media and culture of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the PRC respectively.
15 credits
Postwar Japanese Politics: This module examines postwar Japanese politics and political economy. Main issues include: the US occupation policy of Japan; Japanese politics under the 1955 system; Japanese high economic growth in the 1960s; Japanese politics after the 1994 electoral reform; economic reforms after the collapse of the bubble economy (by focusing on financial regulatory reform and labour-market deregulation); and Japan's international relations in East Asia after the end of the Cold War (by focusing on Japan-China relations). One of the main aims of the module is to understand how 'politics' matters in Japanese economy and society.
15 credits
Contemporary Chinese Business and Management: This module will examine changing cultures and practices of business and management in China in the context of recent economic and political changes, notably rising marketisation and globalisation.
30 credits
Global Governance and Japan: This module provides a detailed understanding of Japan's international relations on the one hand, and its role in global governance on the other hand. The first part of the module adopts a theoretically informed approach based on the structure of the international system, the actors involved in international relations, and the norms that inform their behaviour. It then focuses on the key sites of Japan's international activity, particularly the United States and East Asia. The module then explores the institutional mechanisms of governance at the global level and the role Japan plays in these institutions (the UN, G8, World Bank, IMF and WTO) in addition to a number of specific case studies (First Gulf War, East Asian Economic Crisis and 'War on Terror').
30 credits
East Asian Research Methods: Research Methods in East Asian Studies will equip students with the tools required to carry out research in China, Japan, Korea or the wider East Asian region at taught postgraduate level. The module includes training in basic research skills related to East Asia; quantitative methods; qualitative methods; ethical and legal issues; and discursive contexts and reflexivity in East Asian research.
15 credits
Microeconomic Analysis: Microeconomics is concerned with the behaviour of individuals, households and firms, and their interactions. This module aims to develop the skills you will require to analyse microeconomic problems and theories and to provide an introduction to recent developments in advanced microeconomics. You will use mathematical and quantitative analysis to analyse topics such as consumer theory, risk and uncertainty, and intertemporal choice. In addition, this module will further develop your skills of critical evaluation and appraisal in the context of advanced microeconomic theory.
15 credits
Macroeconomic Analysis: Macroeconomics concerns the behaviour of the economy as a whole. In this module you will develop a coherent framework for understanding macroeconomics building on microeconomic foundations. The module will analyse the source of business cycle fluctuations, the aims of monetary policy in advanced economies, including the design of optimal monetary policy. It will also provide an advanced understanding of fiscal policy and debt dynamics. You will be introduced to the concept of financial frictions in the context of the last financial crisis, and gain an understanding of the aims and challenges faced by monetary policy makers.
15 credits
Econometric Methods: This module will develop your core econometrics skills. The first half of the module provides a grounding in key econometric techniques covering elements such as the classical linear regression model, hypothesis testing and problems of non-spherical disturbances. More advanced topics are then introduced in the second half of the module. Specifically you will focus upon topics in microeconometrics: including modelling discrete binary variables; censoring and sample selection, and then topics in macroeconometrics including: economic forecasting; stationarity; and cointegration. You will also develop a knowledge of using econometric software Stata.
15 credits
Modern Theory of Banking and Finance: This module will give you a broad introduction into the economic literature on finance and banking. You will develop an understanding of the principles behind investment-financing decisions, the concept of governance and its implications for the efficiency of firms’ investment decisions, and the role of financial intermediation. The module emphasises both theoretical and practical considerations. On completing this module, you will have a working knowledge of lexicon, theory, and tools associated with monetary theory and understand how the economy and financial markets fit together.
15 credits
Globalisation and Education: This module explores the relationships between globalisation and education. It begins by enquiring into students' personal and professional experiences of globalisation and considers how educational experiences have been influenced by globalisation in different contexts. After exploring key globalisation theories, with focus on the economic, political and cultural dimensions, the module considers specific theoretical aspects relevant to education, including: the significance of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations in national education policymaking; the reconstitution of education policy as an element of economic policy; language and power; the Knowledge-based Economy and Information Society; e-learning; Postcolonial perspectives; and the impact of globalisation on cultural life.
30 credits
Early Childhood 1: Development, Learning and Curriculum: This module introduces learners to recent ideas related to development, learning and curriculum in Early Childhood Education. Sessions to be taught include the following: key figures in the history of ECE; birth to five child development and learning; tracing UK policies on curriculum and learning; alternative perspectives on curriculum and learning: Reggio, Forest Schools, international schools; play and learning; learning to communicate: literacy and multimodal practices; early intervention studies: REAL, inclusion, equality and diversity. This will be followed by student-led presentations on topics related to the above. It is intended that this will prepare them for their assessment.
30 credits
Language Acquisition, Learning and Pedagogy: This module will explore key theories and approaches in language acquisition, learning and associated pedagogies.

Various theoretical and empirical issues will be addressed together with learner-internal and learner-external factors that influence the processes of second language development in education.

For example, the course provides students with an opportunity to consider critically second language acquisition (SLA), Universal Grammar (UG) and the roles of learner factors such as age, first language and interference.

The theory and application of new technologies in the field are addressed. The application of SLA theory and research to aspects of second language teaching and learning is also explored.
30 credits
Developmental Psychology: Recent years have witnessed increased focus on the importance of reforms in curriculum, assessment and pedagogy in national education systems, reforms premised in the imperatives and opportunities of the Knowledge-based Economy, the Information Society, and more generally our increasingly interconnected and interdependent world. This module examines changing conceptions of curriculum, assessment and pedagogy policy and practice in international contexts. Key areas explored include: the relationship between curricula and assessment; international assessment measures and their influences on curricula; the historical contexts of curricula; constructivist pedagogies; teaching and learning with ICT; English Language Teaching; pedagogy and multiliteracies; and internationalizing teaching and learning.

This module examines the core concepts of Developmental Psychology, for example, cognition and emotional development (intelligence, language, learning), behaviour, social development (including family and attachment, trauma) as well as the study of individual differences (with reference to psychopathologies such as autism, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder). The ways in which psychological research and theory has affected a range of governmental policies, services and professional practices and wider societal attitudes to young people will be considered within transnational contexts.
30 credits
Data, Visualisation and GIS: This module shows students how to deal with spatial data which they will need to use to both identify and understand patterns of social and spatial inequalities. The module covers the major sources of data used to study inequalities and the variety of ways in which they can be displayed to aid both understanding and analysis. This includes the human cartography and human-scaled visualisations that were used to create the famous Worldmapper maps and how to overlay conventional thematic mapping of data onto online maps such as Bing and Google Maps. In addition, the module introduces students to a range of techniques used for the analysis of socio-economic data. Some of the practical and policy-related issues which arise in this type of analysis are also considered. The course includes practical sessions using state-of-the-art software.
15 credits
Theory and Debates in Food Security and Food Justice: Food Security and Food Justice are areas of increasing importance at local, national, transnational and global scales. While various political and non-political agents at various scales have recognised that Global Hunger and Food Security (of which Food Justice is a primary component) is a key challenge requiring urgent interdisciplinary investigation and problem solving, there remains limited agreement as to how best to approach these issues and at what scale. This unit provides students with a background to the problems encompassed within the food security/food justice nexus by drawing on academic and policy debates that focus on both the macro as well as the micro grassroots impacts. By drawing on country case studies, the unit also critically evaluates different strategies for mitigating the impacts of food insecurity and injustice.
15 credits
Ideas and Practice in International Development: This unit introduces students to key theoretical debates in international development. It explores how thinking about development has changed over time and why it has changed. The module also encourages students to think about the relationship between development theory and development practice. This is achieved by introducing key topics and issues areas in the field and having students think critically about the ways in which practitioners have approached development issues and defined development problems at various points in time, as well as the theoretical viewpoints that have informed their actions.
15 credits
Research Design and Methods for Development: Research methods are a key part of international development research within academic and practitioner institutions. This module takes you through the research process, from designing a viable project, through to development issues in a range of research methods, forms of analysis, and approaches to writing and dissemination.
The course covers both quantitative research methods, such as questionnaire surveys, and qualitative research methods, including the use of interviews and focus groups, as well as methods for critical reading. The course will also cover the analysis and formulation of research findings for academic and professional purposes.
15 credits
Children's Learning: This unit promotes student skills in distance/e-learning, participating in on-line activity and use of e-resources. It presents theories of cognitive development, how these inform our understanding of children's learning and the development of educational practice, and the interaction of learning and language. The individual differences in learning abilities within children in school is considered, including those children who may have significant difficulties across all learning and those who may have specific difficulty with certain aspects of learning. Course content is delivered across a continuum to allow students to develop from their own level of existing knowledge and understanding.
15 credits
Communication Diversity & Difficulties: A: This unit allows students to select up to three topics in the field of children's language and communication for more detailed study. Topics may include the following: autism spectrum disorders, language and communication in the early years, literacy difficulties, developmental language disorders (DLD), language and behaviour, language & communication in adolescence, and multilingualism. Theoretical perspectives and research findings within each topic are evaluated. Implications for practice are explored. Course content is delivered across a continuum to allow students to develop from their own level of existing knowledge and understanding.
15 credits
Autobiography, Identity and the Self in Muslim South Asia: This module uses autobiographical writing to chart wider cultural transitions experienced by Muslims in South Asia in the modern era. Of particular interest is the way in which South Asian Muslims adapted the long tradition of recording life stories in Islam under the influence of colonialism and reformism. To what degree do life writings reflect changing notions of self and identity among Muslims? Students will be introduced to autobiography, Islam and the self as theoretical concepts before turning to different lives told - by princes, scholars, saints, reformers, educationalists, politicians, feminists, writers, actors and/or immigrants.
15 credits
Medical Humanity? Medicine and Identity: Medicine is centrally concerned with human identity. From the promotion of health and treatment of illness, to probing human consciousness with psychoanalysis or neuroscience, medicine is at the forefront of our self-management and self-knowledge. This course will familiarize you with the major ways in which humans have been managed and modified in modern medicine. From brain scans and neurochemicals, to discussions of penis envy and castration anxiety, efforts to cure people have had far-reaching consequences for human experience. From the provision of contraceptives to the sugar tax, ideas of health make up a huge part of who we are.
15 credits
The United States and the Global 1970s: The 1970s were a time of crisis for the United States. At home, as the postwar economic boom ended, demands for women's, black and gay equality coincided with social conservatism and free market ideologies. Abroad, in the wake of the Vietnam debacle, the United States faced new challenges to its global supremacy from a resurgent Soviet Union, rising powers, and the Third World. Was the 1970s a transformative decade? How did domestic and global events interact? We will address such questions and examine events which have shaped the contemporary United States and its relationship with the world.
15 credits
Under Attack: The Home Front during the Cold War: Competition and conflict between two superpowers, the US and the USSR, not only defined the course of international relations across the globe, but also shaped key aspects of domestic life and popular culture. For the USA, USSR, and their near neighbours in Europe, it was a deferred conflict: direct military confrontation gave way to surrogate and covert warfare often far from home. With the long- awaited peace now seemingly secured, the rival political doctrines of the two blocs promised the world could be transformed, be that through the triumph of the 'free world' or of socialism. And yet with the escalation of the arms race and the proliferation of ever more deadly nuclear weapons, terrifying images of global and environmental devastation also shaped visions of the future. Excitement about the possibility of social and political transformation, and the export of these new visions to the rest of the world, co-existed with angst about the humankind’s new capacity for self-destruction.Yet there is a danger in attributing all historical developments from the 1940s to the 1980s to the Cold War. This module thinks critically about the following questions: what was the Cold War, and how did it impact on the ‘home front’? Are there common patterns which cut across the ideological 'iron curtain' dividing east and west? How did the Cold War impact on societies elsewhere in the world?To some extent the module will focus on the key protagonists in the Cold War, the USSR and the USA, but you will be encouraged to develop your own research interests and to reflect on the issues under examination with regard to other countries.
15 credits
Media and Political Culture in Modern Britain: This module explores the ways in which the media have shaped and reflected political culture in Britain since 1945. Students will examine and assess the different political traditions of the press and the broadcast media which led to the former producing unapologetically partisan coverage and the latter striving for impartiality and balance. Themes to be studied include: political communication during general election campaigns; the reporting of industrial relations; the coverage of war and political violence; the increased scrutiny of the private lives of politicians; and the supposed decline of political reporting in favour of celebrity and entertainment content.
15 credits
Information and Knowledge Management: This module addresses both the oretical and practical aspects ofmanaging information and knowledge in organisations, enqabling you to engagecritically with a number of current issues and debates in this field. It isdesigned around case studies of well known organisations and involves thedevelopment of skills in analysis and formulation of strategies fororganisational development. Assessed work focuses also on skills in reviewingthe domain and on the development of conceptual models for information andknowledge management.
15 credits
Introduction to Data Science: Data science is an emerging field that seeks to discover and explore new ways of exploiting data to support decision-making for a range of domains and problems. With individuals and organisations producing vast amounts of real-time heterogeneous data (i.e. Big Data), there is greater demand than ever to manage and analyse data effectively. This module aims to introduce students to the concepts and theories that underpin data science, provide an understanding of how they are used and impact on organisations, and gain hands-on experience with analysing and presenting data effectively using R and R Studio.
15 credits
Data Analysis: This module provides an introduction to analysing data using statistical methods, e.g., descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyses. It will demonstrate different ways of analysing data, presenting the results of analyses (for example, graphically and using tables and text) and interpreting their meaning. Students undertaking the module will gain practical experience in using SPSS. By the end of the module students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the concepts and theories of statistical data analysis, describe and use a variety of statistical methods, present the outputs of data analysis in an appropriate way and be able to use statistical software. The module will involve lectures, practical classes and student-led seminars which, together with self-directed learning, will cover the conceptual, theoretical and practical aspects of data analysis.
15 credits
Data and Society: The module draws upon key concepts and emerging debates from across the social sciences to address how social and political factors interact with (big) data and evolving data science techniques such as data mining, visualisation and analytics. Key issues and debates will be examined in relation to developments in fields such as marketing, political campaigning, and state security. The module complements more technical and management orientated modules, and aims to aid students in becoming more critical and reflective data scientists, decision makers and/or citizens able to successfully navigate the challenging social, political, legal and ethical issues related to data processing and use, and to reflect critically on the ways in which emerging data practices are shaped by and contribute to the development of complex social worlds.
15 credits
Information Retrieval: Search Engines and Digital Libraries: Information Retrieval (IR) systems are ubiquitous as searching has become a part of everyday life. For example, we use IR systems when we search the Web, look for resources using a library catalogue or search for relevant information within organisational repositories (e.g. intranets). This module provides an introduction to the area of information retrieval and computerised techniques for organsing, storing and searching (mainly) textual information items. Techniques used in IR systems are related to, but distinct from, those used in databases. The emphasis for IR systems is to find documents that contain relevant information and separate these from a potentially vast set of non-relevant documents. The content of the module is grouped into two main areas: (1) fundamental concepts of IR (indexing, retrieval, ranking, user interaction and evaluation) and (2) applying IR in specific domains (Web, libraries and enterprises) and dealing with non-textual and non-English content (multimedia and multilingual IR).
15 credits
Information Systems Modelling: To consider the role of information modelling within the organisation and provide an appreciation of the rigorous methods that are needed to analyse, design, develop and maintain computer-based information systems. The course is intended to provide an introduction to information modelling techniques. Students gain experience in applying the wide range of systems analysis methods. Students cover topics including: soft systems analysis; structured systems analysis methodologies; data flow modelling; entity modelling; prototyping, and object-oriented approaches (RUP and UML).
15 credits
Libraries, Information and Society I: This module provides an overview of the role of library and information services (LIS) in contemporary society and introduces students to public policy issues and their implications for the provision of LIS. Students are introduced to current practices and contemporary concerns in academic, national, public and special/workplace libraries and encouraged to develop an awareness of the social, economic, political and cultural environment in which LIS operate. It examines the importance of users in the design and management of LIS, explores ethical issues and aims to develop a critical awareness of the role of LIS in contemporary society.
15 credits
Information Systems in Organisations: This module integrates topics of organisation, management, and information systems, with an aim to offer the students an integrated set of concepts and tools for understanding information systems in organisations. During this module students will explore basic management and organisational theories and examine the impact of information systems on organisations. This course introduces key concepts which will be explored further in other modules on the information Management and Information Systems programmes.
15 credits
Information Literacy: The module aims to enable students to understand the concepts of information literacy and information behaviour from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Students will develop their own information literacy and understanding of its application to their future lives. They will learn through lectures, practical exercises and activities carried out for the assessed coursework and in formative exercises which are an integral part of the class.
15 credits
Weaponisation of the media: abuses of the principle of publicity: The ideal civil power of the news rests on its ability to influence and be influenced by public sentiment via the news cycle. Traditionally, the news cycle has seen the news mediated by professional editors and journalists operating according to widely held values of truthfulness and accuracy (but not always followed). Recently, news on the Internet and social media have respectively seen the rise of echo chambers and fake news. Both represent fundamental changes to traditional news values and have been likened to the weaponisation of the media. The response to this has been an attempt to `return to traditional values in military parlance this represents the de-commissioning of the media.
15 credits
Comparative perspectives of public and political communication: This module offers a general introduction and overview of public and political communications campaigns from an historic and international perspective. Students will be required to examine examples of public and political campaigns from around the world and analyse the campaign messages and the strategies utilised to get those messages across to specific target audiences.
15 credits
Principles of International Law: This module provides students with a foundational knowledge of public international law. The topics covered include the nature and scope of international law, its sources, personality and recognition, acquisition of territory and self-determination, the relationship between international law and national law, and an introduction ot jurisdiction and immunities.
15 credits
International Humanitarian Law: Despite the regular pictures of apalling atrocities committed in war-time, whether in Iraq or in Chechnya or the Democratic Republic of the Congo, there are international laws that purport to regulate the conduct of hostilities. This module considers the most controversial of these provisions governing, amongst others, the treatment of non-combatants, the coice of targets and the prosecution of suspected war criminals in the area of law traditionally termed the jus in bello. Topics considered are: the framework of the jus in bello; combatant status; weapons and targets; internal armed conflicts; the law of occupation; and war crimes.
15 credits
Theoretical Foundations of International Organisations: In the contemporary era states are increasingly pursuing their common objectives through the creation of international organisations, whether these organisations be regional (Organisation of American States OAS) or functional (International Labour Organisation ILO, World Health Organisation WHO) in nature or whether they are pursuant to security concerns (United Nations UN, NATO) or even organisations adopting quasi state-like features (European Union - EU). This module will trace the political and legal history of international organisations in international relations and seek to situate them within their broader theoretical context.
15 credits
Judicial Protection in the European Union: The module examines the use of law as a mechanism for European integration and the role of courts in such a process. Students will develop an understanding of the relationships between EU law and national law, in particular the impact of EU law within national legal systems.
15 credits
Landscape, Art and Politics: The module crosses the study of practices and concepts in modern and contemporary art, media, everyday politics and technology, with taking part in a live conceptual environmental art project. Unlike a typical landscape design module, the project involves the making of art collectively within the existing physical and media environment (in film, art projects) and finally how to use these different forms of representations for the landscape research and design. The project emphasizes working by hand on site and in the studio, low carbon practices, recycling of found materials, engagement with environmental ethics, the cultural, social and natural ecology of earth resources in Sheffield/England and with other territories. The aim of the course is to increase understanding of contemporary culture; to provide an opportunity for direct engagement with the social and environmental politics of land; and to provide skills and knowledge for experimental approaches to landscape architecture practice. A public exhibition and/or publication will arise from the project.
20 credits
Managing the Landscape: This module aims to introduce students to landscape management, with particular focus on urban landscape management. It deals with the interactions between place, people and plants and how the function of open and green space is dependent on effective management and can be affected by who is involved and how decisions are made. The module highlights the social, political, cultural, economic, ecological, environmental and temporal dynamics that need to be considered when developing management strategies and plans for a given area. Students will explore how strategic approaches to greenspace management are made by considering who pays, who cares, who uses these spaces, and crucially, who makes the decisions and how. Students will develop their own management plans to improve one specific green space.
20 credits
Maintaining Green Infrastructure: This module aims to develop student understanding of the maintenance and management of greenspace. The relationship between management and maintenance are discussed and the consequences of failure to integrate these. Current management approaches to care of landscapes are discussed, and how best value can be delivered on the ground through innovative practice. All of the major types of greenspace vegetation are discussed and their maintenance management reviewed from a contemporary needs perspective. The unit adopts a multidisciplinary approach and in addition to technical issues, also aims to address the underlying ideas and philosophies, which currently impinge, both positively and negatively upon the care and development of greenspace.
20 credits
Design Research Study: This module provides an opportunity to engage in autonomous study and research of a chosen area, informed by appropriate theoretical framework. The research can touch upon science, policy and theory as well as precedent studies.
The study will consist of a well-illustrated essay based on a structured and critical review of research and practice in a selected area. This might take the form of a literature review identifying key areas in the topic chosen and summarising key findings to inform the decision and design making process. Alternatively the review maybe more orientated towards practice and comprise a well structured critical study of precedents; for example linking a series of projects or the work of a particular designer or design practice.
This module forms part of the programme of study accredited by the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Landscape Institute.
15 credits
Landscape Architecture: Nature, Design and People: An introduction to core methods, concepts and contexts for contemporary landscape architecture at the scale of design. Through an integrated project: methods of survey, strategic, and site-specific design, analytical and creative processes are applied, using new media, tools and sources. The project addresses an urban greenspace: designing with topography, vegetation, surfaces and water to create a sustainable community resource. An intensive series of lectures, workshops and seminars addressing theory, society, ethics and culture and approaches to ecology and vegetation and topographic water and constructional studies and applied in the project, which is assessed by portfolio
25 credits
Urban Ecological Design and Management: This module provides a technical background on the application of ecological ideas and theory in landscape architecture at all scales, but focusing on site-specific design. The theory is applied in a clearly urban context, and introduces concepts of `ecological urbanism' and the provision of `ecosystem services' as a means of integrating ecological processes with human environments and built development. An ecological design methodology is followed that can be applied widely in different world regions and localities. Field visits, practical exercises, workshops, and invited speakers support the module's lecture series, and the module is assessed through a design project.
25 credits
Introduction to Landscape Research: The module aims to give students a broad understanding of the nature and scope of landscape research and the approaches that landscape researchers use. It aims to demonstrate the relationships between the questions that landscape research can answer and the various methods of enquiry that are used. It will show students how landscape research can impact upon landscape practice as well as the wider landscape. The module aims to help students understand the importance and relevance of landscape research, identify the research topics that enthuse them and give them a grasp of relevant research methods which they can carry forward into planning and writing their dissertations.
10 credits
Accounting and Financial Management: This module is designed to provide knowledge and understanding of the roles of accounting and financial management in modern business organisations. The module will introduce students to the objectives, techniques and limitations of accounting for the purposes of external accountability and internal decision-making and control. The module will also introduce students to the objectives, techniques and limitations of financial investment appraisal and provision of financial resources.
15 credits
Marketing: This module introduces the subject of Marketing and seeks to place marketing and consumption practices in their political, economic, technological, social and cultural context.
15 credits
Operations and Supply Chain Management: Operations Management (OM) is concerned with the production of good and services and it relates closely to all the other business functions.
15 credits
Corporate Governance: This module introduces students to the study of corporate governance. The module covers the subject both from a theoretical and practical perspective. The early part of the module discusses the theories underlying the study of governance, recent governance failures, and policy initiatives designed to improve governance quality and accountability. The module proceeds to explore the main mechanisms of the governance environment for shareholder-owned companies, specifically investigating whether governance characteristics influence corporate performance. The module also includes a detailed discussion of governance in an international context as well as a discussion of governance in non-profit organisations.
15 credits
Introduction to the Creative and Cultural Industries: This module offers a broad-based introduction to the creative and cultural industries. It determines and defines the range of activities and organisations which are included in this term and introduces the concept of culture-driven development and the importance of cultural activities within society. Through close examination of both culture providers (theatres, cinema, museums and sports and leisure organisations) and cultural and creative industries (music, television, film, publishing) it explores the social purpose, structures and challenges of the sector. Additionally it charts changes in the sector as a consequence of technological developments and globalisation.
15 credits
Global Marketing: This module provides students with an understanding of international marketing issues. It will prepare students for the challenge of global marketing and enable them to have sufficient knowledge to undertake international related work duties if needed in their careers.
15 credits
Sustainable Logistics and Supply Chain Management: Green logistics and supply chain management enables students to learn the latest development in this field, anchoring on the issues of sustainability and low carbon futures. Practices and challenges in decarbonisation of logistics and supply chain will be debated. The degree of success and failure of greening interventions will also be critically discussed. Future trends and direction in this area will be presented providing students with up to date knowledge and understanding of the subject area.
15 credits
Supply Chain Technology: Supply chain technology relates to various technology (e.g. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)) used for logistics and supply chain to make it more efficient, productive and cost effective. This module will introduce students with a range of technology (e.g. RFID, Bar code etc.) and related practices within the logistics and supply chain operations. It will demonstrate the theories and principles underpinning supply chain technologies and give demonstration of the modern implementations in real life scenarios. This module will enrich the practical skills and knowledge relating to supply chain technology of students, in turn enabling them to immediately and effectively contribute towards a supply chain and logistics-related role.
15 credits
Logistics System: In broad terms, Logistics systems enable the right material to the right place in the right time. This module will introduce students with three major activities of logistics system including order processing, inventory management and freight transportation. It will demonstrate the theories and principles underpinning logistics systems and logistics managerial issues with real life scenarios. It will highlight the decision support methods and emerging trends in the global logistics. This module will enrich the practical skills and knowledge of students relating to logistics system, enabling them to immediately and effectively contribute towards a logistics and supply chain related role.
15 credits
Quantitative Methods for Finance and Accounting: This module provides an understanding of the main mathematical, statistical and econometric techniques that underpin Finance and Accounting research and their application in practice. Students will develop numerical and problem solving skills, including the ability to use standard econometrics computing packages, e.g. STATA or EVIEWS.
15 credits
Corporate Finance: The purpose of the course is to give a solid foundation in principles of corporate finance and asset pricing to understand and analyse the major issues affecting the financial policies of corporations. More specifically, the following topics will be dealt with: the time value of money, valuation of bond and equity, risk/return tradeoffs, portfolio theory, initial public offerings, capital structure, payout policy, and market efficiency.
15 credits
Critical Theories and Concepts in the Cultural and Creative Industries: This module is designed to help students learn about the variety of theoretical and conceptual approaches that have been applied to the study of the creative and cultural industries. It thus seeks to equip them with the necessary knowledge and tools to be able to assess critically the dis/advantages of existing theoretical frameworks and discourses used to understand the nature of cultural work, and its location within wider constructs such as `organisation', `networks', `fields', and `artworlds'. The module will be taught in lectures and seminars, which will discuss existing case studies, examples of research, to illustrate the dis-advantages of leading concepts and approaches. It is formulated to make students think critically about the tools they use and apply to understand and research the cultural and creative industries today.
15 credits
Cultural Marketing: Cultural Marketing aims to develop students' understanding, knowledge and analytical skills in relation to marketing and consumption practices within the Creative and Cultural Industries (CCIs), and specifically in relation to the CCI business context, types of CCI organisations and marketing management practices. The module content includes theoretical approaches to marketing and consumption practices in a range of CCI sectors, for example, film, fine art, music, literature, and heritage.
15 credits
Management and Organisational Theory: This module explores the fundamentals of various theories of organisation, and how organisational management influences functioning. It brings together theory and practice in encouraging students to view organisations from different perspectives to develop a more comprehensive understanding of organisational theory and approaches to managing organisations. By analysing the usefulness and drawbacks of different approaches, both classical and strategic, it enables students to reach their own conclusions as to which approach might be suitable in a particular circumstance. The approaches are set in the context of understanding organisational structures and management, together with the behaviours of those who populate organisations.Note: The Module Leader should ensure that there is no overlap with MGT650 Managing People in Organisations, which is taken by MSc Management students in Semester 1.
15 credits
Strategic Organisational Change Design: This unit provides the theoretical background to strategic organisational change, including key concepts of organisational design and organisational development, together with presentation and discussion of a range of generic and proprietary approaches (Team Action Management - TAM, Balanced ScoreCard) to strategic organisational development. It then follows the TAM methodology to derive a design for the planned organisational changes.
15 credits
Strategic Organisational Change Planning: This unit provides a programmatic approach to the steps necessary in converting an outline organisational change design into a fully worked through programme implementation plan. It involves elements of project management and of financial resource projection and management.
15 credits
Marketing Management: This unit aims to introduce the discipline of marketing to Marketing MSc students. This unit covers the theory and practice of marketing in organisations - which functions embrace developing, planning and coordinating marketing decisions to achieve marketing goals and objectives and build competitive advantage.
15 credits
Management Accounting: This unit aims to introduce students to the importance of management accounting¿s contribution to control and management of organizations. The module will ensure students are familiar with essential internal budgetary and investment appraisal techniques as well as with important contemporary developments ¿ including activity-based management and costing, the balanced scorecard, just-in-time and throughput accounting and target costing ¿and the applicability of such ideas, techniques and systems to a range of different contexts. The unit will use both academic empirical studies and corporate materials to ensure students¿ develop a critical appreciation of how management accounting knowledge is employed in practice.
15 credits
Financial Accounting and Financial Statement Analysis: This module is designed to equip students to analyse and interpret the published financial statements of listed companies. Students will gain an understanding of the important components of financial statements and of the impact of different economic, institutional and regulatory bodies on the forms of accounts. Students will develop analytical and numerical skills, including the ability to calculate, critique and use accounting ratios and to prepare company and share valuations utilising published financial information. Students will also learn how to supplement financial data from the contextual and forward-looking narrative in published financial reports.
15 credits
Applying Psychology to Work and Organisations: This module will provide models for reflecting on evidenced based practice (e.g., the scientist-practitioner model) and specific tools (e.g., critical incident), techniques (e.g., interviewing and group facilitation) and abilities (e.g., assertive communication and conflict resolution) to enable the gathering, analysing and feeding back of data in organisational contexts. This is an interactive module consisting of theoretical and practical inputs and the opportunity to apply knowledge and abilities through discussion, individual presentation and feedback, group activities, skill development and evaluation, with the outputs being captured in critical reflection and portfolio entries. Effort has been made to match the assessment methods of this module with those used in Stage 2 of the QOccPsych so that this forms a logical progression from this module and the MSc programme.
15 credits
Leadership, Engagement and Motivation: The module aims to develop in students a critical understanding of the ways in which people lead, engage and motivate employees in context of work. Students will learn about the theory and practice of work motivation, effective team-working, performance appraisal and performance management, leadership (and destructive leadership), employee engagement, organisational power, politics & influence, and employee voice. In addition, students will learn about workplace issues concerning gender, inequality and diversity. Sessions will combine theoretical inputs with opportunities to apply knowledge through discussion, class exercises, and debates.
15 credits
Selection and Psychological Testing in Organisations: This module covers theoretical and practical issues concerning the psychological assessment and selection of employees. An overview of the recruitment and selection process with a focus on the strategic role of employee planning and recruitment will be provided, followed by critical evaluation of different methods of selection such as interviews, focus group, psychometric testing and assessment centres. The module offers an in-depth insight into psychometric ability testing, including practices and considerations around test selection, administration, reporting and feeding back test results, assessing validity and reliability of tests, and issues surrounding equality and fairness in aptitude testing.
15 credits
Statistical Methods for Occupational Psychologists: This module covers intermediate level and more advanced statistical techniques needed in organisational research. Lectures will be used to teach the rationale behind hypothesis testing and describe the principles behind techniques such as linear regression, and exploratory factor analysis. Students will also attend practical classes in order to apply and develop their knowledge.
15 credits
Sustainability Accounting and Accountability: Drawing inspirations from the Sheffield School of Accounting and finance and the research work of CRAFIC, this research led unit will introduce students to key concepts that can enhance and develop an alternative their understanding of the roles of accounting and finance in organisations and society. Challenging the mainstream view of accounting as a mere technical and neutral tool to help organisations achieve their economic objectives students are encouraged to think about the wider role of accounting in addressing grand societal challenges such as sustainable development goals in general and climate change in particular. In addition, the unit will enhance students’ critical reasoning capabilities, and improve their employability by developing this new skill set related to alternative accounting and finance. In this way, students will develop a critical appreciation of key philosophical issues related to both research and practice in alternative accounting and finance.
15 credits
Contemporary Marketing Practices: Various marketing concepts and practices could be applied in different business contexts. This module will evaluate a range of issues relating to contemporary marketing practices and their relevance to business. In addition, the module will explore how marketing theories vary in different contexts and evaluate their impacts on the practices of marketing.
15 credits
Marketing Communications: Marketing communications covers a dynamic and wide-ranging group of topics that are intended to build and maintain brand equity. These include advertising, sales promotions, public relations, sponsorship, direct marketing, personal selling, and packaging, and involve broader considerations such as ethics and global issues. Current thinking suggests that all communications should be integrated across the organisation; this module critically evaluates the concept of integrated marketing communications and analyses various aspects of marketing communications. Theories of communication are explored using real examples from current marketing campaigns, and a select group from different areas of marketing offer an expert's view of the communications process.
15 credits
International Consumer Behaviour: This unit is designed to provide students with the knowledge and awareness of the theory and practice of consumer behaviour. It explores various dimensions of consumer behaviour and investigates the implications of consumer behaviour for developing marketing strategy in changing environments.
15 credits
Entrepreneurial Economies: The module examines the nature of entrepreneurship and economic development and explores why some regions and localities are more entrepreneurial and innovative than others. Examining examples of good practice in entrepreneurship/innovation, the module also considers localities which lag behind in terms of entrepreneurship and explores the causes and consequences of this. Drawing on relevant academic literature, the module will explore the different policy approaches which have been taken to try to foster higher levels of entrepreneurship. The module will enable students to understand the wider role of entrepreneurship and innovation in the economy and the economic and social implications of high or low rates of entrepreneurial activity.
15 credits
Corporate Entrepreneurship: The module introduces entrepreneurship in a corporate context. Over the past decade businesses have become increasingly aware of the importance of making the most of new commercial opportunities, innovation and the initiation of organisational change. The module considers what it takes to become more entrepreneurial or `intrapreneurial', by critically considering to what extent it is possible to replicate entreprenurial DNA and grow it in a corporate context. The module considers the importance of organisational leadership, structure, systems, strategies and cultures. The overarching aim is to enable students to assess entrepreneurial orientation and its potential both in theory and practice.
15 credits
Managing People in Organisations: This module aims to introduce students to the core aspects of Human Resource Management (HRM), using research-informed teaching to critically assess HR tools and techniques, engage with current debates in the field, and provide a reflective analysis of HRM today. Supporting aims of the module are to enable participants deepen their knowledge and understanding of HRM issues, to develop insights into the changing role of HRM practitioners in the context of ongoing organisational change, and to think about the issues involved in ¿live¿ HRM problems in organisational contexts. The module covers some core building blocks in HRM to introduce concepts to students, moving on to examine some thematic themes, with the overall aim of introducing students to key issues and debates in HRM today. This module relates to the CIPD `People Management and Development¿ standard.
15 credits
Professional Development: This module is concerned with helping students develop generic management skills which can be applied within the context of specific HRM domains. It encourages students to reflect upon and account for how specific contexts influence how HR knowledge is applied and managed.
15 credits
Industrial Relations: This module focuses the specific nature of the relationship centring on the employment contract, the different ways in which employees may voice their concerns, industrial disputes and mechanisms for dispute resolution, as well as topical issues.
15 credits
Research Methods: The unit provides an introduction to a wide range of research methods used in management research. It prepares students for their dissertation by helping them to make an informed choice of objectives and methods (design, data collection and analysis) for thier own research. It also prepared students to review the literature and critically evaluate the methods used by others, to consider ethical issues around research and to prepare a plan for their dissertation research.
15 credits
Contemporary Global Security: This module examines responses at state, regional and international level to key security challenges. It focuses primarily on the post-Cold War setting, the types of security challenges that have developed and the responses to them at state, regional and international level. It analyses the role played by international organisations and develops case analyses of key international security crises that represent or reflect important dimensions of contemporary global security. These could include, for example, the crisis in ex-Yugoslavia, the Rwandan crisis, the first and second Gulf wars and the conflict in Afghanistan. Attention will also be directed to the role and development of key international security organisations, particularly the United Nations.
30 credits
The Governance and Politics of the European Union: This module examines the history and development of the European Union, together with the institutions and decision-making processes of the community. It examines various theoretical perspectives on the process of European integration, evaluates selected policy sectors, particularly those sectors which are relevant for understanding the political economy of European integration such as the internal market and monetary union.
30 credits
Political Economy of Global Environmental change: The aim of this course is to introduce students to the major debates in the political economy of the environment. It will examine central debates around climate change, the Anthropocene, the commons, the green economy, biodiversity loss, population, sustainability and environment induced conflict. These debates will be examined by analysing the different approaches to tackling global environmental change. Therefore, the course will explore the debates about the political economy of global environmental change at various scales including international, regional, national and local scales, and as well as managing the commons and how individuals might engage in forms of environmental self regulation/self- limiting behaviours. The course will also make use of specific case studies to illuminate the wider conceptual debates.
30 credits
Democratic Governance in the 21st Century: Problems, Innovations and Solutions: Political systems around the world strive to be democratic, but what is meant by democracy and how this can be achieved? This module considers the nature of the democratic crisis faced by countries around the world and maps the latest innovations designed to address this challenge. Students will study tensions between new and old democratic arenas and consider the indicators of a thriving democracy. The module is grounded in the tradition of engaged scholarship and uses real world examples and solution focused analysis. Students will develop keen professional and research skills by studying the theory and practice of democratic innovation.
30 credits
The Political Economy of Poverty and Inequality: This course offers a critical analysis of the nature and dynamics of poverty and inequality across the contemporary world. It explores the political implications of different concepts of poverty and inequality. Using examples from a range of different nation state and cultural contexts it considers the domestic and international dynamics at play in producing and reproducing poverty and inequality. The course explores how our understandings and measurements of poverty and inequality affect decisions about how to act in relation to them. It analyses the role and practices of nation state governments, the organisations of the international order, non-governmental organisations and civil society in seeking to address these issues.
30 credits
Terrorism and Political Violence: This module produces a critical take on security and violence, combining Sociological and International Relations approaches, and applying them to cases ranging from the 'macro-level' (war, including guerrilla warfare/insurgency; genocide and most especially terrorism) through to 'micro-level' sites usually considered 'private' or 'intimate' ('domestic' violence, white supremacist bombing of historical Black churches, etc).
30 credits
Research Methods: This course provides coverage of both quantitative and qualitative methods for psychology graduates. It emphasises the relationship between the research question being addressed and choice of method of data collection. The course combines lectures and tutorials to help students develop critical awareness of the conceptual basis of various methods, their advantages and limitations. Topics may change from year to year depending on staff availability but include: diary methods and experience sampling, eye tracking, EEG methods, fMRI, questionnaire design and behavioural genetics. This module will help in the integration of knowledge from different strands of Psychology, and how to think analytically, critically and logically. It will provide essential preparation for being able to critically evaluate scientific literature from broad fields of psychology. It will also enhance students¿ transferable skills in critical thinking, and skills necessary to present logically structured arguments.
30 credits
Professional Skills for Psychologists: This unit will provide training in a range of professional skills including (a) writing grant proposals and understanding the submission criteria and review processes for papers and grant proposals, (b) speaking to an audience on different research topics, giving a presentation about a psychology project, using Powerpoint, and preparing handouts, (c) discussing ethical issues related to psychological research, teaching and practice, interpreting the British Psychological Society's and the American Psychology Association's codes of practice, understanding the work of ethical committees and professional discipline committees.
30 credits
International Social Change and Social Problems: This unit focusses on the processes, dynamics and consequences of contemporary social change from an international perspective. Key patterns of international social change are explored and analysed with reference to the main theories and at different spatial scales from the global to the local. The dominant discourses around the social problems ensuing from such changes are critically examined using Bacchis innovative theoretical framework `Whats the Problem Represented to be. Arguments will be applied through a number of cases studies, including: (international) migration, labour market change, economic competitiveness, population ageing and family change.
15 credits
Digital Methods: This unit introduces students to new and emerging methods for carrying out digital research that is, digital methods. Digital methods are natively digital techniques for researching the natively digital (for example, social media content, likes and shares; blog posts and comments; hyperlinks; tag clouds; folksonomies; search engines; recommender culture) (Rogers 2013). Digital methods include social media insights and analytics, social network analysis, issue network analysis, data visualisation, and data sprints, amongst others. As well as learning how to use these tools, techniques and processes, students on this module will evaluate them, the context of their emergence (and sometimes rapid decline). They will develop an understanding of how digital methods are used to create knowledge. In this way, the module addresses questions of web epistemology, information politics, ethics, device critique, and the social life of methods.
15 credits
Theorising the City in the Global South: This module addresses debates at the interface between Urban Studies and Development Studies. It encourages students to think critically about the patterns and processes that have shaped urban development in the cities of the Global South. It examines the appropriateness of the existing theory to comprehend current challenges in issues including informality, infrastructure, housing, land development and climate change. The unit is taught primarily through combined lecture/seminars: these structure students’ learning, and provide an environment in which they can develop their skills in researching, presenting and debating arguments drawn from the academic literature on international development and urban studies.
15 credits
Values in Planning: This course explores the inter-relationships between theoretical debates within planning and everyday practice. An awareness of theoretical debates is crucial to understanding the assumptions implicit in spatial planning practice and the challenges confronting practitioners - what frameworks are available to help planners to decide how to act and to determine whether their actions have been appropriate or otherwise? This raises fundamental questions about the very nature of spatial planning and the way it is currently practised. The course, therefore, addresses such questions as: what are the justifications for spatial planning and what goals should it have? What methods should guide the work of practitioners? Is the spatial planning system fair and just? What constitutes ethical action in spatial planning? Particular emphasis is placed on the dilemmas faced by individual practitioners in conducting their day-to-day work. The British planning system forms the focus for the course but it also draws on personal experiences derived from other work environments and planning contexts during the seminars.
15 credits
Real Estate Economics: This course is concerned with the economic analysis of real estate markets. It examines the economic characteristics of property and the way in which these impact on the structure and operation of the property market. It also examines the functional divisions within the property market: use, investment and development and their interactions; and the role of property in the local, regional and national economy.
15 credits
Principles of Urban Design: An introduction to the essential design components, principles and theories that inform urban design practice today. This module examines the core components that make up urban spaces and how they can be analysed. The key objectives that inform many urban design practices are also explored, including legibility, diversity, safety and sustainable design. Teaching will draw on practical examples, using seminars, lectures and student site visits and virtual reality to develop skills in analysis and evaluation of urban spaces and their design.
15 credits

Trajectories in Urban Design Practice: This unit focuses on exploring the emergent and potential roles of Urban Design practitioners, and on relating them to students¿ own Urban Design experience, both within practice and within the School of Architecture. The unit will be broad ranging, looking at the unprecedented scale and complexity of conditions that are shaping the urban environment globally, creating the need for a critical evaluation of the methods, tools, and design culture that surrounds the practice of Urban Design. The module will discuss the consequences of these conditions on the practice of Urban Design, and will invite students to speculate about the potential trajectories that they could take in the future as Urban Design practitioners. Assessments will be based on a reflection on student¿s individual experiences and future aspirations.This unit is also suitable for those students taking a part-time route whilst continuing to work in practice. It is also suitable an option module for the MArch course. It will also be offered as CPD module.
15 credits
Reflections on Architectural Design: The unit introduces the history, theory and application of design methodologies in architecture and related practices. Based on a critical analysis of precedents and approaches, students will be expected to develop their own methods for use in architectural design
15 credits
Politics and Governance in Contemporary China: This module will introduce master level students to the crucial aspects of politics in contemporary China, with special focus on governance and policy-making process. Drawing on the most recent and cutting-edge research in the field, this module will offer an innovative approach to studying governance and public policy, by focusing on both state and non-state actors role in governance and on the thematic study of some of the most salient areas of policy-making in contemporary China. The module will introduce key issues related to the role of the state in policy-making and governance (the Maoist and imperial legacies in contemporary Chinese governance, the role of ideology, the design and role of state institutions in the post-1978 China, the politics of central-local relations); the role of non-state actors in governance (businesses and financial institutions, international organisations and NGOs, media and citizens); and the themes particularly salient in the current policy-making and governance (the `rule of law' and anti-corruption policies, labour and citizenship rights, minority rights, anti-terrorism and environmental governance). Apart from the political theory and methods-orientated academic training preparing students to conduct independent piece of research in the future, this module is also intended to prepare master students for professional careers as future leaders and experts engaging with Chinas politics, policy-making, economy, international organisations and
15 credits
International Politics in East Asia: This module examines the major structures, actors, and ideas shaping international politics in East Asia today. A major aim is to introduce students to new theories about international order and identity linked to emerging trends in the region. Central themes address changing power dynamics and international order; regional identity and Asian centrism; leadership and the emerging multilateral architecture; and the future of ASEAN-led regionalism. The module explores both traditional and emerging challenges facing the region on the basis of a special forum on media and foreign policy analysis, interactive seminars, group tasks, and team projects. Special topics include the crisis on the Korean Peninsular, the Taiwan Strait, maritime disputes, and environmental threats.
15 credits
Work and Organisation in East Asia: The dynamics of change in East Asia are increasingly important for understanding the development of global society. This module will describe and analyse 'work and organization' in East Asia and consider whether its cultures and practices are shaped by national models. Adopting multi-disciplinary perspectives, we will examine the historical and cultural embeddedness of Japanese models and their contemporary socio-economic construction. We will consider structures such as the family and education system that prepare people for workforce entry and look a contrasting working contexts from the participants' perspectives. We will then compare Japanese work contexts with China, Taiwan and South Korea.
15 credits
Business and Economy of Japan: In recent years the Japanese economy and Japanese business have changed quite dramatically. High speed growth has long gone and low growth and globalization are vital issues that Japanese business management is obliged to confront. In this module we will address the processes of Japan's economic and business development from the beginnings of modern economic growth in the Tokugawa period throught the high-growth era and the the 'Bubble Economy', to the 'Lost Decade' of the 1990s and developments in the 2000s. In addition, we will describe and analyse the role of the state in the post-war and contemporary periods, such as Japan's industrial organisation, human resource management and corporate governance practices.
30 credits
Business and the Economy of Japan: In recent years the Japanese economy and Japanese business have changed quite dramatically. High speed growth has long gone and low growth and globalization are vital issues that Japanese business management is obliged to confront. In this module we will address the processes of Japan's economic and business development from the beginnings of modern economic growth in the late 19th century to the 'Lost Decade' of the 1990s and developments in the 2000s. We will describe and analyse the role of the state in the post-war and contemporary periods and study Japan's industrial organisation, production systems, human resource management and corporate governance practices.
15 credits
Applied Microeconometrics: The module will provide you with practical experience of applying standard micro-econometric techniques to large sample surveys, focusing upon interpretation of results from different estimation procedures. The syllabus will aim to include topics such as instrumental variables; discrete choice models and panel data methods. Throughout use will be made of the Stata econometric software.
15 credits
Applied Macroeconometrics: This module will enable you to understand recent applied literature in core journals of macroeconomics and finance, which uses time series methods, and prepare you for possible later research involving time series. You will learn to identify the empirical features of macroeconomic and financial data, and how to analyse the dynamic interaction of macroeconomic variables over time using key econometric techniques. Throughout use will be made of the Stata econometric software.
15 credits
Asset Pricing: This module will introduce you to the advanced principles of asset pricing in finance and the use of derivatives in risk management. You will gain knowledge of how important derivative assets are traded, the pricing models for important derivative assets, and the principles of hedging. This is an analytical module, which reflects the quantitative nature of the subject and in which each topic is developed from first principles. The module will cover both the theoretical foundations of asset pricing, the issues that arise in the practical use of these models and their limitations.
15 credits
International Trade: This module will provide you with an overview of the theory of international trade to explain the patterns of exchange of goods and services between countries, international migration and foreign direct investment flows. The module provides a survey of all the main models of international trade and foreign direct investment, supplemented by applications to key contemporary policy issues. You will use a number of analytical tools and empirical methods to analyse trade and policy issues.
15 credits
Public Economics: This module will provide you with a comprehensive grounding in public economics. Government policies, through fiscal policy instruments, can have a massive impact on the allocation of resources and the distribution of income in the economy. This module evaluates the government's ability to identify and achieve more efficient and equitable outcomes than the situation without intervention. You will apply the theory in the analysis of real world public policy programmes, which might include fiscal redistribution, education and health.
15 credits
Public Policy Evaluation: This module will introduce you to the key principles for evaluating the impacts of government policies. The module will cover the leading quantitative techniques for estimating causal policy effects, and how to select appropriate techniques for different policy interventions. You will gain an understanding of how evidence about policy evaluation is used to inform policy debates, and critically assess real world examples of policy evaluation. Examples will be drawn from health, labour, education and development economics. Throughout use will be made of the Stata econometric software.
15 credits
International Money and Finance: In this module, you will acquire an understanding of the relationship between domestic and international economic activity in an open economy. You will learn to relate the various motives underlying international financial flows to their effects on real economic variables. The module will introduce mainstream theories of the determination of equilibrium exchange rates, both in the short run and the long run. You will also explore the causes of international financial crises and consider policy responses.
15 credits
Industrial Organisation: This module will introduce you to contemporary topics in industrial organisation with a particular emphasis on the role of economic analysis in strategic decision making. You will learn to use and appraise a range of economic techniques to enable managers to make better strategic decisions. You will gain an understanding of the importance of rivals’ reactions to a manager’s decisions when they are planning strategies. The module will also cover the implications for decision making of differences in objectives and information within and between different organisations.
15 credits
Monetary Economics: This module will provide you with a formal analysis of monetary economics and an understanding of how monetary policy works. It will cover the role of monetary policy in the macro economy, and expose you to the latest theoretical developments in monetary theory and policy. You will also gain an appreciation of some of the limitations of monetary policy.
15 credits
Globalising Curriculum, Assessment and Pedagogy: This module introduces students to key issues in education and educational research that will underpin their studies, regardless of which pathway they take through the full-time masters programme. It outlines historical approaches to educational research and introduces the key paradigms of educational research. The module moves on to consider critical issues in education and educational research, drawing on the research strengths of the module team and focusing in particular on educational psychology and globalisation, enabling the module to provide a foundation for other modules on the programme. The module thus offers students an opportunity to develop a critical stance towards some of the most pressing issues in educational research in contemporary societies.Website Version:Recent years have witnessed increased focus on the importance of reforms in curriculum, assessment and pedagogy in national education systems, reforms premised in the imperatives and opportunities of the Knowledge-based Economy, the Information Society, and more generally our increasingly interconnected and interdependent world. This module examines changing conceptions of curriculum, assessment and pedagogy policy and practice in international contexts. Key areas explored include: the relationship between curricula and assessment; international assessment measures and their influences on curricula; the historical contexts of curricula; constructivist pedagogies; teaching and learning with ICT; English
30 credits
Early Childhood 2: Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood Education: This module introduces learners to recent ideas related to contemporary issues in Early Childhood Education. Sessions to be taught include the following: children's rights; quality in Early Childhood Education and care; creativity in arts and contemporary communication practices; popular culture; digital literacies; gender; traditional and digital play; including children in research. This will be followed by student led presentations on topics related to the above. It is intended that this will prepare students for their assignment.
30 credits
Language, Society and Education: The Language, Society and Education module provides students with an advanced understanding of the relationship between linguistic structures and social categories.

It covers key research methods in the interdisciplinary field of sociolinguistics and their application to a range of areas including language and identity, discourse, performance and social interaction, ideologies and social structure, culture and education.

By the end of the module, students will have developed solid theoretical knowledge in a range of research traditions as well as an advanced competence in qualitative research methods for the study of language, society and education.

Students have the opportunity to explore topics relating, to the evolution and transmission of culture, intercultural communication, bi/multilingualism, attitudes to language varieties, voice, narrative and inequality in ordinary and institutional settings, media representations of social worlds, global spreads of language and cultural forms with specific reference to English and new media.
30 credits
Critical Psychology and Education: This module introduces different approaches to conceptualising learners and learning which fall within the broad field of critical psychology. The module begins with an introduction to the development of mainstream psychology in Europe and America, and an exploration of the subsequent development of alternative and critical psychological perspectives. Within the broader critical psychology landscape are a number of different threads (such as discursive psychology, indigenous psychology and feminist psychology). This module will examine the key principles of these various critical psychological perspectives with particular attention to their concepts of learning, learners, and learning communities. It will offer a challenge to some of the dominant ideas around learning which have emerged from mainstream fields of psychology since the 19th Century.
30 credits
The Practice of Research: This module introduces students to the processes involved in designing a research project, conducting the study and completing the research report.

The module focuses on research design, on identifying issues, formulating research questions and choosing appropriate methods to use in particular instances and settings. It explores various approaches to data analysis and outlines issues to be considered in the writing-up process.

It aims to provide students with the skills and knowledge required to complete a dissertation in an education-related field.
30 credits
Environment, Society and Development: Key Issues, Debates and Concepts: This module engages critically with the key theoretical debates that shape the environment, society and international development. By looking at current questions in development theory and their relationship to development practice in the context of environmental change, it encourages students to think critically about the ways in which interdisciplinary approaches define issues and problems, and the theoretical viewpoints that inform their actions. The unit is taught primarily through seminars: these structure students’ learning, and provide an environment in which they can develop their skills in researching, presenting and debating arguments drawn from the academic literature on international development.
15 credits
Managing Climate Change: This module aims to engender a detailed understanding of the development of ideas and theories of climate change, integrating the core social and physical science behind our understandings of climate change with a critical analysis of how this is interpreted and communicated. This understanding is then applied to consider the challenge of living with climate change in the Global South. The module is taught through seminars and lectures. Lectures introduce and impart factual knowledge while seminars allow discussion and an emphasis on applying key concepts to practical situations. Together these structure students' learning, and provide an environment in which they can develop their skills in researching, presenting and debating arguments drawn from the wide ranging literature on climate change.
15 credits
Communication Diversity & Difficulties: A: This unit allows students to select up to three topics in the field of children's language and communication for more detailed study. Topics may include the following: autism spectrum disorders, language and communication in the early years, literacy difficulties, developmental language disorders (DLD), language and behaviour, language & communication in adolescence, and multilingualism. Theoretical perspectives and research findings within each topic are evaluated. Implications for practice are explored. Course content is delivered across a continuum to allow students to develop from their own level of existing knowledge and understanding.
15 credits
Sex and Power: The Politics of Women's Liberation in Modern Britain: This module examines the integration of women and the evolving themes and demands of the women¿s movement in the political sphere in Britain from the heyday of the suffrage movement up to the reign of Britain's first female PM, Margaret Thatcher. We will focus on both women's wide-ranging attempts and their more limited achievements to gain entry into the political establishment, at the local, national and international levels. Topics will include women's suffrage agitation; the aftermath of suffrage; inter-war feminism; feminist internationalism; studies of women politicians; Second Wave Feminism; and gendered readings of British political history.
15 credits
Policing the Family: Welfare, Eugenics and Love in Early 20th Century Britain: This module explores key themes in the history of the family in Britain at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries from a variety of perspectives. It aims to show how the family became a site for political arguments about 'modernity', societal degeneration and hopes for the future at the fin-de-siècle. It draws on a wide range of recent historiography as well as sociological literature, and examines a range of sources including anthropological, sociological and legal material as well as literary fiction from the period. Seminar themes will include: (1) Political arguments about the family; (2) Love and divorce (3) Love and homosexuality; (4) Infant mortality and birth rates (5) Eugenics.
15 credits
The Japanese Empire in East Asia, 1895-1945: Between 1895 and 1945 Japan joined the ranks of imperial powers in East Asia, acquiring Taiwan, Korea, and ever greater portions of China. This module examines how the Japanese empire was built, run, and resisted. We will ask whether approaches to colonialism honed by historians of Western imperialism work in the Japanese context, and will consider too how Japan's rapid modernisation, political development, and diplomatic and ideological engagement with rival great powers shaped its colonial policy. No prior knowledge of East Asian history is required to take the course.
15 credits
Worlds of Labour: Working Class Lives in Colonial South Asia: Together with the image of India as an emerging economic 'powerhouse', there is another image that receives a huge amount of international attention - that of over-crowded slums, pavement-dwellers, grinding poverty, filth and squalor. Behind such generalised depictions, though, lie rich and varied lives of working class Individuals. This module intends to examine these lives in some detail, and will situate them within a wide range of contexts (e.g. e.g. within mills, factories, plantations, the White Sahib's bungalow etc). In doing this, it will focus on the long nineteenth century – a period when urbanisation had gathered pace, and factories, mills and plantations became more numerous.
15 credits
Voices of the Great War: Gender, Experience and Violence in Great Britain and Germany, 1914-1918: This module is focused on the gendered nature of the war experiences from 1914 to 1918. Both men and women were affected by the turmoil and the violence of the Great War, either through their front line service or through their roles as mothers, wives or carers of soldiers, as nurses in military hospitals or as victims of atrocities against civilians. The module will take a comparative approach, analysing German and British examples. Special attention will be paid to the analysis of primary sources (letters, diaries, images) which shed light on these experiences, and to the methodological consideration of their possibilities, advantages and pitfalls.
15 credits
Human Rights in Modern History: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948. Signed by all the members of the United Nations, it proclaimed the entitlements of all individuals irrespective of their race, nationality, age or gender. In this module, we trace the intellectual origins of human rights within modern history. In a series of thematic seminars, we ask three key questions: did the 1948 Declaration mark an historical watershed, or was it instead the product of a long process of evolution? What is the relationship between national citizenship and international rights? Were human rights used to justify imperial expansion and intervention overseas, both in the past and the present day? How can we write the history of an idea?
To answer these questions, we will engage with a vibrant, burgeoning literature on human rights in modern history. This will allow us to examine the role of British liberalism, American Independence and the French Revolution in the development of individual and universal rights discourses; Allied diplomats as the architects of the United Nations; the role as human rights activists; and the extent to which imperial power was extended, or curtailed, by United Nations and European Union Human Rights Declarations.
15 credits
International Order in the Twentieth Century: How should international relations be organised? This was a central question in the international history of the twentieth century. This module explores the ideas of international organisation that emerged, and how they were realised in practice in bodies like the League of Nations and the United Nations, as well as subaltern internationalist projects like the Afro-Asian and Non-Aligned movements. Why did governments and non-governmental actors create and participate in international organisations? What was the significance and impact of those organisations? And why should historians study these past internationalist projects today? Much of the most exciting recent work by international and global historians has grappled with these questions.
15 credits
Imagining the Republic: Irish Republicanism, 1798-1998: Irish republican politics are associated with violence. There is a long lineage of organisations that have waged armed campaigns against the British state in Ireland, from the United Irishmen of the 1790s to the Provisional Irish Republican Army of the modern 'Troubles'. While the violent, anti-state activism is Irish republicanism's most obvious feature, this has obscured the nature of republican ideas in Ireland. What was distinctly 'Irish' or 'republican' about Irish republicanism? How was the 'Republic' imagined? Which political languages did Irish republicans deploy to articulate their worldview? This module offers an intellectual history of Irish republicanism to examine various republican thinkers and organisations in context, and question the extent to which we can speak of a singular and unbroken 'tradition' of Irish republicanism across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
15 credits
Borders in 20th Century Europe: Borders within and surrounding Europe have moved repeatedly throughout history, but rarely so frequently or so violently as during the 20th century. This class examines how processes of bordering and de-bordering since the First World War have shaped European states and peoples. It explores notions of territoriality, the construction and dismantling of borders, migration and forced migration, subversive social practices and ambiguous identities in borderlands, and border security. Case studies covered in class and in further readings focus primarily on East-Central Europe, including the former Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires, German-Polish borderlands, divided Cold War Germany, and the European Union.
15 credits
Before Facebook: Social Networks in History: In a world of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, social networks seem a distinctly modern phenomenon, but are they only a product of our digital age? This module explores historians' efforts to reconstruct social networks in diverse contexts, from the ancient to the modern world. Drawing upon techniques first developed by social scientists, and increasingly digital methods too, they have found networks of trade and business; religious groups and political exiles; family, friends and much more. This innovative work is revealing how far lives and communities cut across boundaries of time and space - with important consequences for historical debates and issues.
15 credits
Information Systems Project Management: This module aims to provide a broad understanding of the fundamentals of project management as they apply to the development of Information Systems (IS). The module uses a flexible approach combining face-to-face seminars with web-based learning material. The module will begin with an overview of the principles involved in IS project management; followed by a discussion of IS development methodologies and their different characteristics and specialisms. The rest of the module will discuss the requirements for various project control activities, including estimating development resources, risk management, guidelines for system quality assurance, and various project control techniques that have been developed in recent years. The module will culminate with a review of human resource management issues.
15 credits
Digital Business: The module addresses both theoretical and practical aspects of e-Business and e-Commerce through an exploration of the digital economy. The module will cover the latest business trends and various business models adopted in e-commerce so that students are able to recognise and relate to the current practice in business. The module will also cover topics such as digital marketing where students will have hand on experience with various tools used for digital marketing; online payment and security systems for ecommerce will also be covered.
15 credits
Digital Libraries Management: The unit explores the technical and practical aspects related to digital libraries with particular attention to the problems posed and advantages offered to multimedia collections. Issues related to the digitization of multimedia material (images, large-format graphics such as maps or poster, audio or video), `born digital¿ material, its classification and cataloguing is studied in lectures and hands-on experience is acquired in example classes. Laboratory sessions equip students with a thorough understanding of the practical implications of setting up and maintaining an online digital library. Workshops with professionals and practitioners enrich the academic teaching with real-life cases.
15 credits
Researching Social Media: The module will examine the key theoretical frameworks and methods used in social media studies. Students will explore the following questions: 1) What can be learnt about society by studying social media? 2) How should researchers construct ethical stances for researching sites such as Facebook and Twitter? 3) What are the traditional and digital research methods and tools that can be applied to conduct research on social media? 4) What are the strengths and weaknesses of these methods?
15 credits
Information Governance and Ethics: The purpose of this module is to investigate topics related to the handling and governance of digital information and data in organizational and networked contexts. This will include an exploration of a) substantive issues and concerns e.g. accountability, decision-making, freedom, identity, intellectual property, openness, privacy, risk, security, and surveillance b) the design and use of relevant technologies e.g. Internet, DPI, digital rights, open source, P2P, social media c) systematic approaches and frameworks used in the regulation, governance and use of information in organizational and networked contexts e.g. copyright/left, data protection, freedom of information etc. Examples from business, government, health, law, and technology illustrate the topics investigated
15 credits
Public and School Library Services: This module will enable students to understand and critically evaluate key elements of the principles, functions, practice, value and impact of school and public library services. The course will present the roles of these services, and the extent to which they support the educational, recreational, information and social needs of all members of society. There will be an exploration of key issues affecting school, public and prison library services today, and the extent to which they work independently and together to support the educational, recreational and social needs of the users. Recent and ongoing research will underpin the entire unit.
15 credits
Big Data Analytics: Data Science techniques often need to be applied to large amounts of data to generate insights. To deal with volume, velocity, and variety of data we need to rely on novel computational architectures that focus on scaling-out data processing as compared to the classic scale-up approach. Such systems allow to add computational resources to a distributed system depending on requirements and load which changes over time. In this module we will give students knowledge about modern scale-out system architectures to perform data analytics queries over very large structured/unstructured datasets as well as to run data mining algorithms at scale.
15 credits
Digital Advocacy: This module will examine how digital media are used to facilitate and promote the campaigns of contemporary advocacy groups and Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Theoretical perspectives such as connective action and the clicktivist critique of online activism are introduced in order to explore the effectiveness of online campaigns. Students will also consider the criteria by which such campaigns can be considered successful, drawing on a range of case studies including the Occupy Wall Street movement and the so-called `Arab Spring' in North Africa and the Middle East in 2011.
15 credits
Business Intelligence: The module aims to provide students with an understanding of the way in which business people use information and why they use information. Students will study the key channels and sources that may be used, and key issues concerning the value of information and library services within business. The module will concentrate primarily on external information resources. Students will learn through a combination of lectures and practical exercises, with opportunities to use business-focused electronic information services.
15 credits
ICTs, Innovation and Change: This module aims at examining and exploring how organizations and human activity systems cope with change due to the new implementation or updating of Information Systems and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). This change occurs in complex social environments and has cultural, political, structural and ethical impacts that need to be carefully managed. The module will examine and explore how both managers and Information Systems practitioners can be better prepared for the unpredictability, unintended outcomes and possible harmful consequences of change caused by the introduction or update of Information Systems and ICTs. Therefore, the module aims at providing an understanding of both approaches and techniques for the managing of this change.
15 credits
Database Design: Effective data management is key to any organisation, particularly with the increasing availability of large and heterogeneous datasets (e.g. transactional, multimedia and geo-spatial data). A database is an organised collection of data, typically describing the activities of one or more organisations and a core component of modern information systems. A Database Management System (DBMS) is software designed to assist in maintaining and utilising large collections of data and becoming a necessity for all organisations. This module provides an introduction to the area of databases and database management, relational database design and a flavour of some advanced topics in current database research that deal with different kinds of data often found within an organisational context. Lectures are structured into three main areas:¿An introduction to databases¿The process of designing relational databases¿Advanced topics (e.g. data warehouses and non-relational databases)The course includes a series of online tasks with supporting `drop in¿ laboratories aimed at providing you with the skills required to implement a database in Oracle and extract information using the Structured Query Language (SQL).
15 credits
Academic and Workplace Library, Information and Knowledge Services: This module introduces students to the purposes, functions and practices of a range of academic research and other specialist library and information/knowledge services in the public and private sectors. It considers the challenges of delivering and developing services in a demanding, fast-moving and complex environment. Lectures are combined with sector-based case studies presented by visiting speakers drawn from diverse backgrounds giving extensive opportunities for interaction with specialist practitioners.
15 credits
Archives and Records Management: The module aims to prepare students for professional work in two related disciplines: archives management and records management. Students will develop their knowledge of archives and records management by being introduced to key issues and theories in the context of acrhives and records management in a changing environment. Topics include: best practice in and archives records management, retention and disposal schemes, preservation, electronic records, standards, classification schemes and file plans. Students will also develop research skills: (1) enabling them to search archives, record and special collections to aid them in answering research questions; and (2) they will also develop oral history techniques, giving them the skills in gathering archival material.
15 credits
Global Journalism: Journalism, Globalization and Development: This module examines the relationship between journalism and the main challenges of globalisation and development. It analyses the place of journalism in the globally interconnected, and yet divided world. Through the discussion of key theoretical concepts and specific examples of media narratives from different parts of the world, the module explores ways in which media can assist people and communities to meet wellbeing challenges, and critically assesses why global media represent globalisation and development issues in a certain manner. The module will study media representations of the North/South divide; coverage of humanitarian crises and major global issues; the relationship between journalism and political imagining of distant others; and the potential of new media technologies to facilitate activism and social change.
15 credits
Global Journalism: Journalism in Britain: Students will learn about the historical development and current debates in the news media in the UK and also the evolution of the related field of Journalism Studies. It will introduce themes which may be of interest in encouraging students to think of MA dissertation proposals later in the semester.
15 credits
International Law and the Use of Force: Recent conflicts in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq have attracted much debate on the legality of going to war. This module looks at that international legal debate, drawing upon practice and doctrine in the area known traditionally as the jus ad bellum. The topics considered are: limitations upon war in international war; the prohibition on the use of armed force in the UN Charter; the right of self-defence; humanitarian intervention; collective security and UN military action; and regionalism and collective security.
15 credits
International Human Rights: Philosophical, Moral and Legal Foundations: The protection of human rights presents major challenges to the international community. Before the issues of prevention and remedies can be addressed, however, some basic questions must be tackled. What are human rights? How are they to be defined? Is there a hierarchy of rights? Who violates human rights? Should human rights protection vary across the globe, taking account of cultural diversity or should it be universal? What is the relationship between State sovereignty and human rights? What is the relationship between human rights and humanitarian law? This module examines the theoretical, moral, political and cultural issues which have shaped and continue to influence modern international human rights law. Case studies will be examined to foster critical knowledge and analysis.
15 credits
Policing and Society: The aim of the module is to explore relationships between the police, citizens and their wider socio-political context. After all, the police are the 'litmus paper' for the unfolding dynamics of society. The module starts by familiarising students with key concepts, such as discretion, coercion and accountability. The module then goes to explore in-depth the history of policing, theories of policing, police powers and citizens' rights, community policing and patterns of policing in late-modern global societies, including civilianisation, privatisation and transnationalisation. This module draws partly on empirical evidence from England and Wales and other common law jurisdictions, but is also grounded in sociological theories about policing and society.
15 credits
International Security Institutions and Law: The module will examine the political and military approaches to security by certain international institutions such as the UN, EU, NATO and African Union as well as the legal framework that applies to their security mandate. More specifically, it will examine the mechanisms, resources, and activities of these institutions in the area of security and how law facilitates, regulates or even constrains their security activities. For example it will consider how the UN approaches security, what tools are at its disposal as well as the role of law in its security operations. It will also consider the political and legal relationship between different institutions in the area of security as for example in peacekeeping.
15 credits
Critical Introduction to Tax Law: This module will explore existing UK tax policy, and the problems that this presents from both theoretical and practical perspectives. The module will first consider the origins of the existing law, before examining the overarching principles against which tax law can be judged. It will then assess the current framework against these principles, focusing first on income taxes before moving to taxes on capital, particularly capital gains tax and inheritance tax. The current scheme of corporate taxation will be also examined. The module will then consider the particular issues of tax avoidance facing policymakers, before analysing the central anti-avoidance measures.
15 credits
Global and Gender Justice in Private Law: This module will examine issues of gender justice in private law which raise to a different extent global justice issues: sex trafficking, image-based abuse and reproductive torts. In addition, it will highlight the regressive effect of tort law, the tension between efficiency and distributive justice and the relevance of these inquiries to global justice. Two themes would emerge from these inquiries: the contribution of `irresponsible' demand to supply-side exploitation; and the potential of progressive use of the concept of property to afford better protection to the `have-nots'.
15 credits
Discrimination Law: This module examines the law of age, religion or belief, disability, race, sexual orientation and sex discrimination including direct and indirect discrimination, genuine occupational qualifications, justification, remedies and the duty of reasonable adjustment. Also investigated are positive action and positive discrimination, theoretical aspects including the economics of discrimination, the position of groups in the law, and the limits of the law.
15 credits
Theorising Punishment in a Global Perspective: This module provides an advanced introduction to penal theory – the philosophical, political, legal and social theory of criminal punishment. It highlights the four major questions that penal theorists engage with: the definitional (what is criminal punishment?); the justificatory (Should we punish? Why?); and the distributive (How much should we punish?). We typically ask and answer these questions in the abstract, but this course situates them comparatively, exploring how the answers offered differ between different historical periods and across transnational and international boundaries.
15 credits
International Criminal Law: The module introduces students to crimes of an international nature committed by individuals that affect the interests of States and require an international response. The history and development of international crimes and responses to them is considered. It includes: the history and development of international criminal law, an examination of crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide and aspects of terrorism; the role of restorative justice in the context of these most serious of crimes; and some of the evidentiary issues associated with international criminal justice.
15 credits
Gender and Violence: Gender and Violence focuses on inter-personal violence - sexual violence; 'domestic' violence; 'domestic' murder; male-on-male violence; and child abuse. The module examines whether and how extreme violence could be theorized as gendered. It explores how sexual and 'domestic' violence have been and are represented in popular discourse; in the law; in criminal justice processes; and in service provision and it traces developments in these areas, using case-studies and international comparisons.
15 credits
Landscape Professional Practice: The aim of this module is to provide students with an introduction to elements of the landscape profession that they will require to understand in order to become practising Landscape Architects and, in time, Chartered Members of the Landscape Institute. Three subject areas are covered; Professional Practice, Landscape and Environmental Law and Landscape Contracts. These will touch upon issues relating to being a professional landscape architect, relevant landscape and environmental law and contract law as it applies to the practice of landscape architecture and the nature, forms and use of contracts used in the landscape profession.
15 credits
Landscape Professional Practice: The module covers three core areas relating to landscape architecture practice: Professional Practice, Environmental Law and Planning, and Landscape Contracts. These will touch on issues such as ethics, professional appointment and relationships, the Landscape Institute and Pathway to Chartership, relevant landscape and environmental law and contract law, contract documentation, forms of contract and procedures.
10 credits
Landscape Planning: An introduction to core methods, concepts and contexts for contemporary landscape architectural planning, and more advanced studies in strategic large scale design, following from LSC6111 and LSC6112. Through an integrated project: methods of landscape planning and strategic design approaches including research, survey, analytical and creative processes are applied, using relevant media, tools and sources. The project addresses an extended urban or peri-urban (often infrastructural) landscape such as river corridor, post-industrial district, urban forest or extensive park. Theory and methods are delivered through an intensive series of lectures, workshops and seminars addressing theory, ecology, society, ethics and culture and approaches to landscape planning and strategic design areaqpplied in the project.
25 credits
Landscape Urbanism and Design: An advanced study of contemporary landscape architecture at design scale, including implementation and management. Through an integrated project, methods of strategic, and site-specific design, implementation and management are applied, using new and familiar media, tools and sources. The project addresses an urban landscape of intermediate scale, relating landscape to buildings, from strategy to detail, to create a climate resilient cultural urban public realm. An intensive series of lectures, workshops and seminars addressing theory, society, ethics and culture and approaches to ecology and vegetation and topographic, water and constructional studies are applied in the project.
25 credits
Landscape Research Topics and Dissertation: This module will build on students' learning in LSC6115 Introduction to Landscape Research taken in Autumn semester. It will support students in the development of their research proposal and preparation for their dissertation. The module will provide opportunities for students to identify their area of research and agree their supervisor. They will identify key literature, their research approach and develop research ethics and risk assessment as appropriate. Students will further embed their knowledge of the use of turnitin.
10 credits
Strategic Management: This unit introduces key theories of Stategic Management of business organisations; those concerned with strategy design and development, techniques and frameworks for crafting strategic options, competitive challenges of a global market environment, implementation of strategy and change. This theoretical understanding will then be illustrated and examined by reference to the way particular companies in contrasting industries have designed and executed their strategies.Particular attention will be devoted to expose students to many facets of strategy formulation/analysis and strategy implementation issues.
15 credits
International Business Strategy: This unit introduces key theories of international business strategy - those concerning the rationales for international expansion, the choice of foreign market entry strategy and the impact on the economies of host countries. This theoretical understanding will then be illustrated and examined by reference to the way particular companies in contrasting industries have developed and implemented their international strategies. Particular attention will be devoted to the role played by the international business environment and its institutions, understanding and critique of various theories of the multinational enterprise, evaluating key strategic issues facing the multinational enterprise, and exploring inter-relationship between host government policies and multinational company strategies.
15 credits
Supply Chain Accounting and Finance: The unit focuses on developments in supply chain accounting and finance. New organisational forms demand new approaches to accounting and finance in order to maximise opportunities arising out of collaborative forms of engagement. Firms compete with each other on the relative merits of their respective supply chains and therefore accounting and finance practices must support this reality rather than being rooted in traditional organisational settings. The unit will critically evaluate accounting and finance in this context and identify developing tools and techniques in the area.
15 credits
Global Supply Chain Leadership: Global Supply Chain Leadership is a module designed to enable students to learn the latest strategic thinking and issues in developing a strong leadership to manage a global supply chain. Some theories from strategic management, organisations, international business, HR and leadership will be used. This is a multi-disciplinary module that prepares students with the relevant knowledge and skill sets required in order to successfully manage a global supply chain.
15 credits
Issues in Finance: This module develops student understanding of significant and contemporary issues in the fields of finance and accounting and their capability to independently research theory, alternative perspectives and/or practice to form a critical evaluation of a topic
15 credits
International Financial Reporting: The module should develop within students a critical understanding of the theory, principles and empirical practice upon which modern international corporate reporting is based. In particular, it will explore the application of multi-national regulatory frameworks and examine in detail the conceptual, political, and technical aspects of controversial accounting/reporting standards and their impact upon reported results.
15 credits
Performance Management: This module develops student understanding of the management of corporate performance beyond budgetary control. It considers contemporary pressures on strategic managers, such as the competitive environment, stakeholding, sustainability and risk that cause us to question the traditional singular focus on internal financial metrics. The module uses conceptual models and innovations in practice to provide alternative frameworks which address these multiple dimensions. Its content is technical and behavioural, as recognition of both is essential to designing a performance management system which suits a particular organisational context, and is aligned with its objectives.
15 credits
European Business: This module introduces the main features of European economic integration most relevant to business, including the Single Currency. It sets out the main characteristics of the different national economic systems of the main countries of Europe ¿ Germany, Britain, France and Italy. It explains the challenges the `transition¿ (ex-communist) economies of Central and Eastern Europe have faced, and the way these economies are changing. It seeks to draw lessons from the European experience for economic integration in other regions of the world.
15 credits
International Finance: This module is designed to provide students with an in-depth understanding of specific issues in international finance. Exposure to advanced finance concepts, knowledge and skills are provided, which are academically challenging and can also be applied practically in the workplace. Students will develop an understanding of international context within which large modern corporations operate and the opportunities and risks that multinational corporation's face. The practical use of various financial instruments and strategies to manage risk will be highlighted.
15 credits
Managing Festivals, Events and Creative Performances: This module explores the growth development, characteristics, issues and influences relevant to international art fairs, festivals, artistic performances and events and their impact on localities in terms of income generation, providing added value to tourist spaces, and their role in showcasing cultures and cultural products and places. It is primarily concerned with management of those art fairs, exhibitions and events that either showcase cultures or are located within the broad field of Creative and Cultural Industries, providing access to cultural products and cultural capital.
15 credits
Company Project: This module provides an opportunity for students to work on a company project. The aim of the project is to enable students to develop their understanding of, and response to, client needs. During their work on this module, students will develop their teamwork and project management skills.
15 credits
Fundraising management: sponsorship, philanthropy and the state: This module provides students with an understanding of the various income-generating sources available to the creative and cultural industries. It focuses on how the private sector, business and individuals, has financed the sector, and how these forms of finance have changed historically. The module will also explore the changing role of public, government funding as well as assessing the strengths of cultural policy in supporting the financial viability of the sector. The module will be delivered through lectures and group discussion of case studies during seminar sessions.
15 credits
Managing Creative Brands: Managing Creative Brands aims to develop students' understanding, knowledge and analytical skills in relation to the management of creative brands (i.e. artists, organisations, and other branded entities, such as films, festivals , etc.) within the Creative and Cultural Industries (CCI) context, and specifically in relation to artist(e), group, organisational and other types of brands. The module content includes theoretical approaches to brand management in a range of CCI sectors, for example, film, fine art, music, literature, and heritage. In contrast to Cultural Marketing, this unit focuses on cultural, symbolic, aspects of CCI business and artistic propositions.
15 credits
Managerial Economics: This unit aims to develop an understanding of economics, designed to equip managers with the skills needed to understand business contexts and formulate appropriate strategy. The module explores the implications of supply, demand and industry structures for strategic decision making and focuses on some of the important models in the field and their application in practice. All lectures are supported by short break out sessions to illustrate different concepts and workshop-based seminars to work through particular examples and models.
15 credits
Management Inquiry: This module introduces students to the nature of management inquiry: data gathering and research practices in which managers typically engage. It covers the research methods which are used to gather and analyse quantitative and qualitative data for management purposes. It also covers the managerial practice of specifying, commissioning, interpreting and evaluating research data.
15 credits
Strategic Organisational Change Design: This unit provides the theoretical background to strategic organisational change, including key concepts of organisational design and organisational development, together with presentation and discussion of a range of generic and proprietary approaches (Team Action Management - TAM, Balanced ScoreCard) to strategic organisational development. It then follows the TAM methodology to derive a design for the planned organisational changes.
15 credits
Strategic Organisational Change Planning: This unit provides a programmatic approach to the steps necessary in converting an outline organisational change design into a fully worked through programme implementation plan. It involves elements of project management and of financial resource projection and management.
15 credits
Retail and Services Marketing: Various marketing concepts and practices could be applied in different business contexts. This module will evaluate how these retail marketing theories are used in a retail and a services setting. In addition, the module will also examine how the current retail environment affects its business operations. Student will be introduced to various services marketing conceptual frameworks and learn about the importance of service quality as well as its measurement.
15 credits
Marketing in Society: This unit deals with the social context of marketing. It draws on a variety of issues engaging contemporary marketing practice and examines the implication of the the adoption of the marketing concept as one of the dominant business aproaches, as well as its widening use as a tool for framing and solving societal issues.
15 credits
Risk and Uncertainty: Organisations continually face uncertainty regarding various aspects of the environment in which they operate and a myriad of risks associated with various aspects of their businesses. This module discusses the behavioural aspects of economic agents that shape their attitude towards risk and the weaknesses of risk management processes within corporations. It also discusses the process of managing uncertainty through the creation and management of a portfolio of (real) options. The module will be delivered through lectures that will be supplemented with tutorials, and students will be assessed through an essay/coursework and a final examination which covers both theoretical and practical developments.
15 credits
Emerging Market Finance: The module will discuss the rationale and process of financial liberalisation in emerging market economies, emphasising the challenges associated with striking the balance between liberalisation of the financial sector to enhance allocational efficiency of financial resources and regulations to mitigate market failure and systemic risk. The module content encompasses discussion of reforms and regulation of the banking and insurance sectors, the capital market, and the capital account of balance of payments. The module will be delivered through lectures that will be supplemented with tutorials, and students will be assessed through an essay/coursework and a final examination.
15 credits
Supply Networks Management: This unit will enable students to understand the complexities of managing supply networks across different industries. It will introduce students to the relevant principles and management frameworks to effectively identify and analyze the problems associated with network management. The unit will highlight the importance of supply networks in successfully managing the businesses, and will enable students to evaluate emerging trends in current and future industry landscape. Practical examples and case studies will be discussed to provide practitioners' perspectives over various issues in supply networks management.
15 credits
Managing Museums and Cultural Heritage Sites: The module defines and critically appraises the concepts and dimensions of museums and heritage spaces and examines the politics and uses of such sites. It considers local museums, World Heritage Sites and `Starchitecture¿ new builds such as the Guggenheim, Bilbao and the Louvre Abu Dhabi. It examines policy, funding and the day to day management of individual museums and heritage spaces against the background of national government agendas and inter-governmental agreements that underpin large scale developments. It looks at provision of such cultural spaces from both the operator and visitor management perspectives and includes site visits within the locality.
15 credits
Applying Psychology to Work and Organisations: This module will provide models for reflecting on evidenced based practice (e.g., the scientist-practitioner model) and specific tools (e.g., critical incident), techniques (e.g., interviewing and group facilitation) and abilities (e.g., assertive communication and conflict resolution) to enable the gathering, analysing and feeding back of data in organisational contexts. This is an interactive module consisting of theoretical and practical inputs and the opportunity to apply knowledge and abilities through discussion, individual presentation and feedback, group activities, skill development and evaluation, with the outputs being captured in critical reflection and portfolio entries. Effort has been made to match the assessment methods of this module with those used in Stage 2 of the QOccPsych so that this forms a logical progression from this module and the MSc programme.
15 credits
Research Methods for Occupational Psychologists: The module provides coverage of quantitative and qualitative methods for psychology postgraduates, including a critical overview of the ontological and epistemological assumptions that underlie both methods. As a result of undertaking this module, students are able to understand the rationale for using different research designs and methods. Teaching sessions use lectures, discussion, and practical exercises. The students engage in skill-based sessions in areas such as interviewing skills, theory development, and various methods of qualitative analysis such as discourse analysis, thematic analysis and interpretative phenomenological analysis. The module also covers the emerging field of evidence-based occupational psychology and innovative technologies in research methods.
15 credits
Well-being and Work: This module covers one of the core knowledge areas required for Occupational/Work Psychology and explores how work relates to individual and organisational well-being by considering the role of work and employment. It will cover areas related to the employment lifecycle, patterns of work, occupational health, stress and emotions, the causes, symptoms, assessment, prevention and management of stress, bullying and harassment, positive psychological perspectives and the promotion of wellbeing. Individual differences and diversity in responses will be considered. Critical evaluation of the psychological evidence base for relevant interventions and how these might be implemented and evaluated in practice will also be discussed.
15 credits
International Corporate Governance: The module provides students with an understanding of systems of corporate governance worldwide, identifying significant differences in modes of governance regulation, provision of incentives for managers, market influences and employee representation. It will equip students to compare different systems and appreciate the impact of internationalisation on national governance systems. The module will require students to make use of a range of relevant material including textbooks, academic research and regulatory publications.
15 credits
Research Methods for Finance and Accounting: This module provides a general understanding of finance and accounting research methods. The module will equip students with the practical skills necessary to successfully complete a research project leading to the preparation of a dissertation. The module will consider how to develop appropriate research aims, objectives and questions. The module will address the available sources of data, data collection and analysis methods (quantitative and qualitative), and the philosophical underpinning of the principal research traditions. The module will also cover how to develop a critique of current literature, draw conclusions and form arguments as part of writing up a dissertation.
15 credits
Financial Management: This module aims to provide knowledge about the ways in which organizations raise finance and how they make decisions under a variety of conditions of how best to use that finance once it has been raised. As such the module will introduce the students to different types of markets, the regulation of those markets and the different types of finance that are available in those markets. Students will also be introduced to the different uses that organisations may make of finance and a range of decision-making tools that are used to select between different uses of available finance.
15 credits
Marketing Research: This module enables students to gain an understanding on how to conduct research in the marketing environment. The module will evaluate the process and practices of marketing research through the use of different research designs and methods. In addition, the module will examine various types of analytical methods. This module will require students to develop skills in working as groups as the assessments will be based on group presentation and report.
15 credits
International Services Marketing Management (HKBU): Website Version:This module addresses the importance of the services industry in the international environment, and the distinctive characteristics of services. Students develop an understanding of key challenges and issues in relation to international services marketing and how they can be managed. Students will be better equipped to master the relevant knowledge and to formulate strategies to solve business problems in an international context.
15 credits
Strategic Marketing (HKBU): Website Version:This module provides students with the knowledge and experience of planning and executing marketing strategies. It is specifically designed to prepare students for the challenges in global markets. It balances theories and practices and aims to equip students with critical thinking and problem solving abilities for the challenges of international markets.
15 credits
International Marketing Research (HKBU): Website Version:This module provides an overview of international marketing research. Specifically, the course is designed to equip students with the skills for marketing research in the global market context. By the end of the course students will have acquired sophisticated research techniques which are required for their dissertation, including the development of research questions and research plan, selection of appropriate data collection methods, fieldwork supervision, data analysis techniques, and communicating (reporting) results.
15 credits
Socially Responsible Marketing in an International Context (HKBU): Marketing does not operate in a vacuum and as such it impinges on all sectors of society. Global marketing activities are often lambasted for being reckless and socially irresponsible - misleading advertising, cultural inappropriateness, tax evasion, dumping, physically dangerous or tainted products are just some examples of marketing activities that are, by some, considered to be a reasonable means of making money. By taking a critical reflection on the nature of marketing practice, the module explores the interrelated areas of corporate social responsibility, marketing ethics and social marketing. The effect of global marketing activities on a broad range of societal constituencies is considered, and how these marketing activities can be used in a positive way to generate advancement and well-being for the global society. The role of social responsibility in the marketing process is also considered in terms of the roles and responsibilities of consumers, manufacturers, and governments.
15 credits
Employee and Organizational Development: This module investigates the theory and practical operation of training and development initiatives from the individual, group and organisational perspective. The focus of the module is on learning and the whole process from needs analysis to evaluation will be covered. Methods and tools for learning and development will be critically analysed and their impact on employee and organisational outcomes assessed.
15 credits
International Human Resource Studies: This module investigates labour market trends and human resource practices within diverse political, economic, social and regulatory contexts. In addition to analysing the impacts of globalisation, international institutions and national governments on employment policy and regulation, it also examines the human resource practices of particular foreign direct investors, multinational corporations, and public sector organisations in the majority and minority world (Global South/ODA recipients and Global North). Particular attention is accorded to trends in the deployment of people across the world of work, and to how HR can be utilised within different cultural contexts.
15 credits
Employee Performance Management: This module investigates the practical operation of different forms of performance management, their implementation, their change and their impact upon the individual with specific reference to motivation theory and reward management. It considers how recent social, economic and technological changes might be impacting upon the members of organizations and giving rise to new modalities of performance management as managers attempt to cope with increasing levels of uncertainty.
15 credits
Research Methods: The unit provides an introduction to a wide range of research methods used in management research. It prepares students for their dissertation by helping them to make an informed choice of objectives and methods (design, data collection and analysis) for thier own research. It also prepared students to review the literature and critically evaluate the methods used by others, to consider ethical issues around research and to prepare a plan for their dissertation research.
15 credits
Branding: This unit engages students with different theoretical perspectives on the nature of brands, their management, and the relationship between brands and their socio-cultural context. The learning process exposes the students to a wide range of brand examples. Students draw on the theoretical perspectives to write an analytical critique of a specific leisure brand.
15 credits
International Management: The first part of the module exposes students to the challenges and opportunities of managing internationally. The second part of the module covers management practices in four regions: North America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and Asia. The module provides students with management tools and frameworks that will enhance their effectiveness when operating internationally. It enables the students to identify, compare and contrast different management practices adopted internationally and appreciate the impact of national cultures and business systems on leadership styles, decision making styles, and interpersonal dynamics across cultures.
15 credits
Creating Entrepreneurial Ventures: In this module, consideration is given to how and why the `enterprise culture¿ has become a popular phrase for individuals, organisations, communities and governments alike. The various historical, economic, political and social assumptions about the nature of enterprise and entrepreneurship are examined. In addition, the module will examine many individual and organisational case studies of emerging, growing and mature businesses in order to assess the factors and challenges involved in starting and running your own business. In this module clients will also have the opportunity to evaluate their personal orientations to enterprise and entrepreneurship and sharpen their appreciation of how notions of enterprise get expressed within different contexts (communities, social enterprise, regional development, family and small business or owner managed settings.
15 credits
Employee and Organizational Development: This module investigates the theory and practical operation of training and development initiatives from the individual, group and organisational perspective. The focus of the module is on learning and the whole process from needs analysis to evaluation will be covered. Methods and tools for learning and development will be critically analysed and their impact on employee and organisational outcomes assessed.
15 credits
International Political Sociology of Civil Wars: Based on contemporary approaches to International Relations and Political Sociology, this module will introduce students to the politics of civil war, the dominant form of armed conflict today. The module will open with an overview of international conflict trends and the debate on the 'new' versus 'old' nature of present-day wars. The second part will focus on structural determinants of the cross-national and sub-national variation in civil wars. The remainder will explore the micro-level foundations of fighting, from the 'greed' versus 'grievance' and 'opportunity' versus 'motivation' debates, to the complex interaction of rationalist and constructivist mechanisms of mobilization and recruitment.
30 credits
Policy-Making in the Real World: Policy making is an increasingly complex process, involving a range of 'wicked problems' and a growing set of options for addressing them. Given the multiple risks and crises they must deal with, how can policy makers come up with effective policy, learn from mistakes and deal with unexpected events? What tools can they employ to do so and how can we evaluate their success or failure? This unit will provide a theoretically informed, but practice-focused approach to these questions. Students will gain a range of practical skills through innovative group projects and visiting speakers from the policy world.
30 credits
Feminist and Decolonizing Approaches to International Relations: Bodies, Coloniality, Knowledge: This module problematizes core IR concepts and themes through an alternative 'geopolitics of knowledge' that comprises postcolonial, decolonial, feminist and queer, Marxist and post-Marxist approaches to IR theory. The first part provides an understanding of key moments, processes, actors and practices in the emergence of the modern system of sovereign states. The second part interrogates key concepts and themes in IR, including violence, the body, capitalism, globalization, sovereignty and anarchy, hierarchy and hegemony/empire, and indigeneity. In place of the 'West versus the Rest', the module will examine the imperial dimension of these themes while revealing the mutually constitutive relations between metropoles/colonies in the formation of modernity both materially and ideationally.
30 credits
Wellbeing in Politics and Policy: There has been a dramatic rise in political interest in wellbeing over the past decade. Politicians and policy-makers in a range of contexts - national and international - have moved towards embracing wellbeing as a more comprehensive, inclusive and appropriate goal of public policy than the traditionally narrow focus on indicators of economic prosperity. This has led to the development of wellbeing frameworks that embrace indicators of subjective wellbeing (e.g., happiness), environmental and social concerns alongside economic indicators. For some these developments have the potential to transform aspects of politics and policy in the long term. This module explores conceptual, empirical and policy-related aspects of wellbeing. It examines competing definitions, understandings and measurements of wellbeing and related concepts such as quality of life and happiness. It aims to give students a clear understanding of how and why wellbeing has risen up political agendas, the significance of developments in policy to date and the potential for wellbeing as a political idea and guide to policy.
30 credits
Capitalism and Crisis: This module explores the relationship between capitalism and crisis through the prism of the causes of and fallout from the 2008 crash. Part 1 introduces and unpacks the core concepts of the module - capitalism, crisis - and presents a brief historical overview of pre-2008 economic crises in order to provide some necessary context and comparison points. Part 2 surveys competing explanations of the 2008 crisis, by starting narrow (i.e. regulation of banking) and then broadening out (i.e. evolution of capitalism). Part 3 examines the fallout from the 2008 crisis, including the extent to which the crisis was truly global and the variety of political responses to the crash.
30 credits
Development and the State: This module will explore and critically assess the political economy of development. It does so by focusing on the interplay between processes of economic transformation and the political strategies pursued by states in the name of national development. The module is interdisciplinary, drawing on development studies, the political economy of growth and transformation, and comparative capitalisms. Part one reviews the most salient theoretical themes in approaches to capitalist development. This will put students in a position to understand more specific theorisations of capitalist development as a state strategy in a world characterised by uneven and combined capitalist development. Part two focuses more specifically on the state. This section will bring the more generic issues reviewed in Part One into a focused 'developmental' framing. Part three will open up to more ambitious evaluative work in which normative questions are asked and the prospects for capitalist development are contested.
30 credits
Freedom: Freedom is one of the most important political values, if not the most important one of all. This module investigates the political value of freedom via an engagement with the literature in contemporary political theory. To do so it focuses on: competing theories of freedom (negative, positive, republican); the relationship between freedom and other values (autonomy, equality, security); and a number of applied issues (the harm principle, freedom of expression, freedom of association, freedom of movement). The approach is theoretical and philosophical with the overall aim being to equip students to analyse and evaluate political arguments which invoke the value of freedom.
30 credits
Professional Skills for Psychologists: This unit will provide training in a range of professional skills including (a) writing grant proposals and understanding the submission criteria and review processes for papers and grant proposals, (b) speaking to an audience on different research topics, giving a presentation about a psychology project, using Powerpoint, and preparing handouts, (c) discussing ethical issues related to psychological research, teaching and practice, interpreting the British Psychological Society's and the American Psychology Association's codes of practice, understanding the work of ethical committees and professional discipline committees.
30 credits
Methods for International Social and Policy Analysis: The course will introduce fundamental ideas in data analysis and research methods in international comparative social and policy research. This unit introduces basic concepts such as what a methodology is as well as incorporating issues such as ethics and different philosophical perspectives on research design. The unit deals mainly with practical issues around the design of a research project including appropriate choice of methods and data. This includes an evaluation of available methods and software at a quantitative and qualitative level. The unit also focusses on methods for international policy analysis, including documentary research and policy evaluation
30 credits
International Social Change: Analysing Policy Responses: This unit examines policy responses at national, international and global levels to significant contemporary social changes occurring across the globe, including population ageing, migration, globalisation and new labour market risks and family change. It introduces the theoretical frameworks utilised in the analysis of social policy in global, international and comparative contexts, and the architecture of international and global social policy governance, so that students can understand the nature of social policy responses and their outcomes, as well as reasons for international variations in the logic of policy responses. It also introduces students to key debates about policy alternatives and futures.
15 credits
Digital Media in a Datafied Society: This unit examines the social consequences of widespread use of social media, a key characteristic of digital society. It explores what happens as a result of the digitised and networked sharing of personal information and life experiences of all kinds, in times of datafication (that is, the transformation into data, numbers and statistics aspects of social life which formerly did not exist in such forms). The unit reviews theoretical literature on social media, data and society and addresses specific debates and issues, including: social media data mining; social media surveillance; the economic value of social media data; data tracking, privacy, rights and data subjects; governing social media data mining; data activism and open data; data visualisation; new forms of data work; data and everyday life.
15 credits
Visual Methods for Social Scientists: The module explores different approaches to understanding social reality by collating, creating and analysing images. The course will cover several methods such as compositional analysis, content analysis, and discourse analysis. It will also cover the use of different media such as magazine images, video and photography in social research. Ethical and intellectual property issues will also be dealt with such as copyright, anonymity and consent during the research process. Including the visual as part of a mixed methodology in research will underpin much of the material. The students will be expected to take photographic images during the course.
15 credits
Advanced Quantitative Methods for Social Research: The course will introduce more advanced uses of multivariable statistics in the social sciences. This unit then covers several methods that are often employed across the social sciences. These will include: Multiple Regression (including Ordinary Least Squares and Logistic Regression) and more advanced extensions such as multilevel models and longitudinal techniques. Students will undertake a small secondary data analysis project of their own devising for assessment.

15 credits
Advanced Qualitative Methods: This unit introduces students to a variety of advanced qualitative research techniques common to the social sciences, but which can be used in wider cross-faculty research contexts. The unit provides students with a philosophical introduction to advanced qualitative methodology, and will introduce a selection of advanced and pioneering research techniques, which will include techniques such as: creative approaches to qualitative interviewing, the use of sensory and mobile methods, participatory research techniques (including the use of diaries and drawings), qualitative longitudinal research, memory work, and life history approaches.
It will also introduce all students to the potential of re-using qualitative data and to advanced analytical techniques (including Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis). Students will also learn about innovative approaches to writing and communicating qualitative research. Finally, the module will also introduce students to a range of ethical issues arising from creative and innovative approaches to qualitative research.
15 credits
Working Beyond Disciplines: The purpose of this module is to provide an introduction to interdisciplinary study for research students in the social sciences, highlighting the importance of research which reaches beyond disciplinary boundaries, and exploring the differing approaches through which such research can be achieved. By engaging students with the specific thematic pathways that are central to the intellectual project of the White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership, it introduces students to `grand challenges for the social sciences that relate to their own proposed research areas. Through this, it links interdisciplinary epistemological approaches to their application in the context of students own proposed research projects.
15 credits
Cities of Diversity: Acknowledging diversity within cities is increasingly regarded as central to successful planning, urban development and city making and is a very hotly debated issue currently, particularly with #MeToo, Brexit and Trump! But what do we mean by diversity and what theories exist to help us understand it? This module will focus on various aspects of diversity in the form of differing social identities (such as age, ethnicity, sexuality, disability and gender – including focusing on masculinity within cities) but also critically explore the ways in which diversity is understood by policy makers and city managers. The module will focus on cities in both the global South and North and consider the significance of migration in relation to diversity in both contexts. The module will rely on a critical engagement with literature from the discipline of geography, planning, urban studies and development studies.

15 credits
Citizen Participation in Planning and Development: Recent decades have seen a proliferation of initiatives to involve citizens in policy-making, planning and urban governance. There is widespread agreement that ‘citizen engagement’ can play a positive role in democratizing urban development. However, public participation raises a range of significant challenges for urban professional practice. This unit will draw on critical debates about the roles citizens and publics can and should play in shaping the city to reflect on the theory and practice of participation. The module is taught through lectures, seminars and workshops which structure learning, and help students to research case studies of participatory initiatives.
15 credits
Transport Planning: This module will provide students with an introduction to transport planning and policy. The module develops students' ability to think critically about the framing of transport policy using UK transport planning as an example. It will focus on how planners in localities give shape to effective transport strategies, which balance a range of environmental, social and economic objectives.
15 credits
Advanced GIS Methods: This unit is aimed at students who already have a good degree of knowledge in ArcGIS. The module aims to develop in students a high degree of competence in relation to advanced spatial analysis, understanding spatial approaches to problem solving, and the theories and precepts which underlie software applications in GIS. The module is taught in a series of inter-related computer workshops focusing on real-world data and problem scenarios. The assessment for this module is based on a multiple choice exam and a 2,000 word advanced methods report.
15 credits
Issues in Housing: The aims of the module are twofold: to build both on substantive knowledge, theory and skills about housing gained in earlier parts of both the UG and PG courses, with an emphasis on policy analysis; and to look more closely at the links between housing and planning (in its widest sense) at the local and regional level.
15 credits
International Real Estate Market Analysis: This module will provide a comprehensive introduction to key concepts and approaches to the analysis of international real estate markets. This module makes a simple operational distinction between mature, emergent and transitional markets as a first step towards a systematic framework for analysis. It gives an introduction to specific real estate markets and the ways in which they function, and offers generalizable conclusions about the wider operation of global real estate markets. Students will develop knowledge and understanding of global political economy as a context for interpreting real estate markets.
15 credits
Planning Law: The course is intended to give students an expertise in the legal framework for the planning system and to set that legal framework within the wider context of law in the United Kingdom. It considers the origins of planning law and seeks to provide explanations for the powers that the law confers on decision makers. The course focuses particularly on the development control aspects of planning law and looks at the rights and duties of applicants, local authorities and the Secretary of State in making and determining planning applications. It considers the criteria for decision making and the possibilities for the redress of grievance. It considers planning law in the light of wider discussions about human rights and planning gain.
15 credits
Advanced Software Skills in Urban Design: This option module will provide students with the opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge of key 2D, 3D and immersive technology (Virtual reality and augmented reality) design software packages which are increasingly required to visually communicate development proposals and ideas within the urban design and planning professions. The module will equip students with a broad understanding of different methods of communicating urban design ideas using digital technologies, and a critical appreciation of the strengths and weaknesses of a variety of design software packages enabling the effective selection and utilisation of appropriate software in order to perform a range of different urban design tasks.
15 credits
Investment Valuation: This module builds on the principles of valuation introduced in the Autumn Semester and enables students to develop in-depth specialist knowledge of the investment method of valuation. It therefore focuses on the valuation of commercial real estate investments (office, retail and industrial property), both on a freehold and leasehold basis, for a variety of investment purposes. You will learn to deal with a variety of valuation scenarios by developing and using spreadsheets and provides a further opportunity to prepare a professional valuation report for a client.
15 credits
Law of Business Leases: The aim of the module is to introduce and explore pertinent aspects of the legal system relating to commercial and business leases. The module covers areas essential to the work of the surveyor involved in managing assets and the built environment. It thus enables students to develop abilities in offering professionally defensible legal surveying advice.
15 credits
Sustainable development: a critical investigation: This module provides critical, in-depth analysis of a concept which is central to planning and development, yet is notoriously ambiguous and impossible to define in an uncontested way. Students will explore and debate the contestable nature of sustainability through the innovative use of computer gaming technology. Using a city-building game (Cities: Skylines) to develop a `sustainable’ virtual city and then `deconstructing it’ intellectually, the aim is to provide students with the understanding and conceptual tools to approach their own and others’ claims to deliver `sustainable development’ in a constructively critical way.
15 credits
Managing Cities: The Seoul Case Study: This unit provides students with the opportunity to explore and research the management and development of major cities, and is based on an in-depth case study and field visit to Seoul in the Republic of South Korea to enhance their understanding. The module will provide students with direct experience of the contemporary management and governance of sustainable and global urban development, with exposure to real practices and to the socio-economic and physical contexts experienced by the population of a major South-East Asian metropolitan area. The module contributes to students' transferable skills through teamwork, research design and implementation, overseas collaboration and presentation skills.
15 credits
Health, Wellbeing and the Built Environment: This module explores the built environment as a determinant of health and well-being and examines how planning and urban design can contribute to improvements in health. Beginning with an exploration of the historic relationship between planning and public health, the module focuses on how the built environment supports or undermines health in relation to mental health, ageing, obesity, air quality and noise pollution. The module also introduces the notion of health impact assessment and further reflects on the contribution of planning to environmental justice and the reduction of inequalities in health.
15 credits

Reflections on Architectural Design: The unit introduces the history, theory and application of design methodologies in architecture and related practices. Based on a critical analysis of precedents and approaches, students will be expected to develop their own methods for use in architectural design
15 credits
Communication Diversity & Difficulties: A: This unit allows students to select up to three topics in the field of children's language and communication for more detailed study. Topics may include the following: autism spectrum disorders, language and communication in the early years, literacy difficulties, developmental language disorders (DLD), language and behaviour, language & communication in adolescence, and multilingualism. Theoretical perspectives and research findings within each topic are evaluated. Implications for practice are explored. Course content is delivered across a continuum to allow students to develop from their own level of existing knowledge and understanding.
15 credits
Contemporary Issues in Landscape Research: This module exposes students to a wide range of current issues and debates in science, social science, arts and humanities of relevance to the pursuance of research in landscape and related fields and is delivered through a mix of invited speakers and workshop discussions.
5 credits
Applying Psychology to Work and Organisations: This module will provide models for reflecting on evidenced based practice (e.g., the scientist-practitioner model) and specific tools (e.g., critical incident), techniques (e.g., interviewing and group facilitation) and abilities (e.g., assertive communication and conflict resolution) to enable the gathering, analysing and feeding back of data in organisational contexts. This is an interactive module consisting of theoretical and practical inputs and the opportunity to apply knowledge and abilities through discussion, individual presentation and feedback, group activities, skill development and evaluation, with the outputs being captured in critical reflection and portfolio entries. Effort has been made to match the assessment methods of this module with those used in Stage 2 of the QOccPsych so that this forms a logical progression from this module and the MSc programme.
15 credits
Research Methods: The unit provides an introduction to a wide range of research methods used in management research. It prepares students for their dissertation by helping them to make an informed choice of objectives and methods (design, data collection and analysis) for thier own research. It also prepared students to review the literature and critically evaluate the methods used by others, to consider ethical issues around research and to prepare a plan for their dissertation research.
15 credits
Professional Skills for Psychologists: This unit will provide training in a range of professional skills including (a) writing grant proposals and understanding the submission criteria and review processes for papers and grant proposals, (b) speaking to an audience on different research topics, giving a presentation about a psychology project, using Powerpoint, and preparing handouts, (c) discussing ethical issues related to psychological research, teaching and practice, interpreting the British Psychological Society's and the American Psychology Association's codes of practice, understanding the work of ethical committees and professional discipline committees.
30 credits
Strategic Organisational Change Design: This unit provides the theoretical background to strategic organisational change, including key concepts of organisational design and organisational development, together with presentation and discussion of a range of generic and proprietary approaches (Team Action Management - TAM, Balanced ScoreCard) to strategic organisational development. It then follows the TAM methodology to derive a design for the planned organisational changes.
15 credits
Strategic Organisational Change Planning: This unit provides a programmatic approach to the steps necessary in converting an outline organisational change design into a fully worked through programme implementation plan. It involves elements of project management and of financial resource projection and management.
15 credits

You will apply the skills and training from the core modules to an independent research project module taught within the department of your choice. This will either be in the form of a dissertation or high level-academic project proposal at the discretion of your department tutor.

Students will take one of these modules:

Independent Research Project by Proposal: This unit enables students to undertake an in-depth study on a topic of their own choice, and is guided by one-to-one academic supervision based in their disciplinary area. It aims to enable students to develop and demonstrate skills in the definition and planning of a substantial piece of enquiry that will further and deepen knowledge in their chosen specialist field. The independent research project by proposal will demonstrate the ability to identify research questions through literature-based analysis, and to show how these questions could be investigated through detailed research design.

Students without previous experience of conducting a high-level academic research project (normally demonstrated through prior completion of an MA-level dissertation or equivalent work in a relevant field of study) will undertake the Independent Research Project by Dissertation, instead of this module.
60 credits
Independent Research Project by Dissertation: This unit enables students to undertake an in-depth study on a topic of their own choice, and is guided by one-to-one academic supervision based in their disciplinary area. It aims to enable students to develop and demonstrate skills in the planning, definition and management of a substantial piece of enquiry that will further and deepen knowledge in their chosen specialist field. The independent research project by dissertation will demonstrate skills in the design and conduct of research: this may involve theoretical or policy literature-based analysis, and may additionally involve empirical exploration, either through primary or secondary research, of a relevant topic.
60 credits

The content of our courses is reviewed annually to make sure it's up-to-date and relevant. Individual modules are occasionally updated or withdrawn. This is in response to discoveries through our world-leading research; funding changes; professional accreditation requirements; student or employer feedback; outcomes of reviews; and variations in staff or student numbers. In the event of any change we'll consult and inform students in good time and take reasonable steps to minimise disruption. We are no longer offering unrestricted module choice. If your course included unrestricted modules, your department will provide a list of modules from their own and other subject areas that you can choose from.

Teaching

Lectures
Seminars
Computer workshops
Independent study
Individual tutorials

By introducing students to interdisciplinary research practice and the research challenges within their specific academic subject, the MA Social Research provides the strongest possible foundation for PhD study or a career in research across the full range of social science disciplines.

Dr Mark Taylor
SMI Lecturer of MA in Social Research

Assessment

Group work
Essays
Project reports
Portfolios
Oral presentation
Independent research project

Duration

1 year full-time
2 years part-time

Entry requirements

Minimum 2:1 honours degree, or international equivalent, normally in a discipline related to your intended specialism.

Entry requirements for international students

Overall IELTS score of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in each component, or equivalent.

Other English language qualifications we accept

We also accept a range of other UK qualifications and other EU/international qualifications.

If you have any questions about entry requirements, please contact the department.

Fees and funding

Financial information for postgraduate taught courses

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You can apply for postgraduate study using our Postgraduate Online Application Form. It's a quick and easy process.

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More information

Course page on Sheffield Methods Institute website

Sheffield Methods Institute website

Contact

SMI-admissions@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 8345

Any supervisors and research areas listed are indicative and may change before the start of the course.

Recognition of professional qualifications: from 1 January 2021, in order to have any UK professional qualifications recognised for work in an EU country across a number of regulated and other professions you need to apply to the host country for recognition. Read information from the UK government and the EU Regulated Professions Database.