This programme represents an innovative development in higher degree options in the biological sciences. It is targeted at biological and health science graduates who are interested in the major challenges in health and development today and who wish to broaden their understanding of immunology, its importance in global health and the factors that impact on immunological intervention strategies in health and disease. An important component of the course covers emerging and reemerging diseases including diseases of poverty
The programme will be delivered as 12 taught modules and a lab-based research project. The taught modules include fundamental, clinical and applied immunology, global health and diseases of poverty, epidemiology, medical geography, systems biology, clinical trials, patenting, licensing and bioethics. Each module includes tutorial and/or practical sessions that complement and expand on the lecture content. A series of weekly workshops and seminars will cover important aspects of postgraduate study, including study skills, grant and report writing, scientific writing etc.
Duration: 1 year Full-time
Air pollution damages human health, ecosystems and vegetation, and is expected to worsen in many regions. Every year, air pollution costs EU economies US$ 1.6 trillion and is linked to 7 million premature deaths globally. Developing effective strategies for the management and control of air pollution is a key environmental challenge facing society today.
This course is designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the causes and effects of air pollution, and the management measures and engineering technologies available for its control. This is a recognised and sought after qualification within the professional environmental field in the UK and abroad. Students successfully completing the course find employment as air quality experts within environmental consultancies, industry or local government departments.
Accreditation
This programme is accredited by the Committee of Heads of Environmental Sciences (CHES), the education committee of the Institution of Environmental Sciences (IES). CHES is the collective voice of the environmental sciences academic community and serves to enhance the quality of environmental education worldwide. A programme accredited by CHES is assured to meet high standards, contain a strong component of practical, field and theoretical activities, and has excellent opportunities for training, work experience and links to the professional environmental sector. Students enrolled on CHES accredited programmes can apply for free Student Membership of the IES and for a fast-track route to membership once they graduate, starting you on a route towards becoming a Chartered Environmentalist or Chartered Scientist.
The programme is also accredited by the Institute of Air Quality Management.
The course combines taught modules with an independent major research project. The taught modules introduce the nature of our atmosphere, its composition and meteorology, air pollutant emissions, air pollution chemistry and climate change / carbon management, together with the practical measures used to limit emissions from sources ranging from power stations to vehicles and the legislative and policy framework used by national and local authorities to enforce air quality objectives. The research project allows students to undertake an in-depth investigation of a particular aspect of air pollution of interest to them, and further their level of understanding.
This programme is run by the Division of Environmental Health and Risk Management.
About the Division of Environmental Health and Risk Management
The Division is based in the well-equipped, purpose-built facilities of the University's Public Health Building. Research attracts extensive funding from many sources, including the Department of Transport; the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA); the Environment Agency; the Department of Health; the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and European Union. The collaborative nature of much of this work, together with the mix of pure, strategic and applied research, often involving interdisciplinary teams spanning physical, biological, chemical, medical and social sciences, provides a dynamic and internationally recognised research environment.
The Division is led by Professor Roy Harrison who is a member of the U.K. government’s Air Quality Expert Group, Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, and Committee on Toxicity. He often gives media interviews on subjects including the Volkswagen emissions scandal.
Computing
You will have access to common software tools used to model air pollution (for example, ADMS and the DMRB as used by many local authorities). These are used in teaching sessions/workshops, and also available for research projects. We also have experience with more specialised packages such as CMAQ for research project use.
Laboratories and Atmospheric Measurement Instrumentation
We are well equipped for atmospheric measurements. Instrumentation available for the measurement of atmospheric particulates (aerosols) ranges from hand-held particle monitors which may be taken into homes and buildings, through various manual and automated filter sampling systems, to TEOM instruments as used for air quality monitoring. On the research side, we operate a number of Aerosol particle Spectrometers and an Aerosol Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer. For gaseous pollutants, monitors are available to monitor ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, in addition to gas chromatographs which can detect a wide range of organic compounds. The School operates its own weather station, and various meteorological instrumentation is available.
Other laboratory analytical instrumentation includes GC-MS and LC-MS instruments, ion chromatography and atomic absorption spectrometers which can measure a wide range of environmental constituents and pollutants. Training and guidance on the use of instrumentation is available if you are interested in using these facilities for your research projects.
Teaching
The MSc in Air Pollution Management and Control is taught by staff from the School of Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences.
Teaching is delivered through lectures, workshops and problem sessions, and off-campus visits to sites with specific air pollution problems (e.g. an incinerator, landfill site, local air quality monitoring station). We also visit a £15m facility built to study the impact of climate change on terrestrial carbon cycle at the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR). In order to give our students experience of the Management and Control aspects of the course, we make visits to Birmingham City Council Air Quality Group and to the Tyseley Energy Recovery Facility. Teaching sessions are supplemented by online resources which may be accessed remotely and students own (guided) personal reading.
A feature of the course is the use of external speakers to deliver an expert view through lectures and workshops on specific aspects. These range from experts such as Professor Robert Maynard (formerly Head of Air Pollution for the Department of Health) and Professor Dick Derwent (atmospheric ozone modelling and policy advice) to recent course graduates, now working in consultancy and local government, who run workshop sessions on pollutant dispersion modelling.
Our Risk Analysis MA, MSc has a unique focus on the societal, health, safety and environmental aspects of risk – rather than the financial aspects. We will provide you with a deep knowledge and understanding of social science theories, concepts, techniques and organisational approaches to risk assessment, management, governance and communication.
In recent years, the ideas, concepts and tools of risk analysis have come to dominate the way in which we conceive and respond to an ever-expanding range of societal threats to the environment, health, security, prosperity or even lifestyle. However, how we assess, manage, govern and communicate risk is regularly the source of political conflict, and this poses dilemmas for policymakers, public and private sector organisations and individuals alike. It is
increasingly recognised that such issues –evident in crises from food safety to banking – cannot be addressed by simple technical ‘know-how’ alone. They require understanding of the political, organisational and social contexts in which decisions are made.
Our course draws together a unique combination of risk scholarship from across the social sciences, including psychology, political science and sociology, to provide an advanced academic foundation in risk studies. In doing so, it will equip you to critically analyse risk issues in a wide range of public policy, organisational and societal settings, to evaluate the dynamics of risk governance and management options, and to develop reflexive communication strategies.
Teaching
We will teach you through a combination of lectures and seminars, and you will typically have 20 hours of this per module. We also expect you to undertake 180 hours of independent study for each module. For your 12,000 word dissertation, we will provide four workshops and five hours of one-toone supervision to complement your 587 hours of independent study. Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work.
Assessment
Performance on taught modules in the Geography Department is normally assessed through essays and other written assignments, oral presentations, lab work and occasionally by examination, depending on the modules selected. All students also undertake a research-based dissertation of 12,000 words.
This course will enable you to undertake further doctoral research or enter careers as risk specialists. Our graduates work in industry, consultancies, governmental and nongovernmental agencies. Past graduates have used the skills they developed with us to enter and excel in a variety of positions including the World Bank, European Commission, HM Government, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, UK Food Standards Agency, US Department of Homeland Security, Medical Research Council, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, KPMG, SwissRe, Ernst and Young, Marsh Risk Consulting, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Total, L’Oreal, Network Rail, Sainsburys and ING.
Our Global Health & Social Justice course is a unique study pathway that combines the study of social science and anthropology with philosophy. Covering topics such as inequalities in preventable mortality, disease, disability and access to medical care across countries, it will help you to develop advanced skills in the critical analysis and possible solutions for global health inequalities.
The Global Health & Social Justice course will provide you with a demanding study pathway covering dynamic topics within global health. You will explore major issues and debates, as well as develop the capacity for critically assessing the scientific research and practices aiming to address global health inequalities. You with also cover the fundamental aspects relating to philosophical debates about social justice and health equity.
The course offers you flexibility with the choice to study either full or part-time. You will explore a range of required modules such as Designing Quantitative and Qualitative Research, Foundations in Global Health and Social Medicine, Critical Global Health and also Global Health Ethics, plus a range of further required and optional modules depending on your choice of pathways.
The MSc in Global Health & Social Justice is ideal for anyone wishing to develop a rigorous understanding of the dynamic field of global health; it is suitable for health professionals, policy makers, philanthropists, those who work in governmental and non-governmental organizations, and potential PhD students and academics.
It provides access to the major issues and debates in global health, develops capacity for critically assessing the scientific research and practices aiming to address global health inequalities. It also grounds students in the philosophical debates about social justice and health equity.
Teaching
We will teach you through a combination of lectures and seminars, and you will typically have 15 hours of this per 15-credit module over a 10 week term. We also expect you to undertake 135 hours of independent study for each module. Typically, one credit equates to 10 hours of work.
Assessment
The department assesses students on a combination of essays, written examinations, oral presentations and the dissertation. The nature of assessment varies by module.
Graduates from this course have gone on to the following destintations:
Visit our website for more information on fees, scholarships, postgraduate loans and other funding options to study Digital Humanities at Swansea University - 'Welsh University of the Year 2017' (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017).
Digital Humanities at Swansea has research strengths in innovative digital applications and critical studies of digital culture in several fields, where researchers in Arts, Humanities and Social Science areas are collaborating with Computer Scientists. These fields include applications and devices for the UK and international heritage sector, intellectual and literary history, digital editing, innovative mapping applications, applied linguistics and translation, digital mass media and experimental media, online cultures, digital pedagogy, digital security, war and crime, and societal impacts of digital technologies in both the rich and poor worlds. We are home to the Centre on Digital Arts and Humanities (CODAH), which connects arts and humanities, social science and computing researchers.
An MA by Research in Digital Humanities gives you the chance to pursue a project based around your own passions and interests, leading to a qualification which can open the door to an academic career or boost employment prospects outside academia (typically in the private sector, the Civil Service, or education).
The MA by Research in Digital Humanities will give you the freedom to explore a topic of your choosing and develop a methodology under the close supervision of two experienced academics but without attending regular classes as required in taught programmes.
You will be supervised closely by two experienced academics in your field. Typically, you will meet them fortnightly in the first term and at regular intervals thereafter. Meetings are logged and goals agreed each time.
All research students in Digital Humanities are required to attend skills and training courses at College and Institutional level. They give presentations to other research students and staff at departmental seminars and the annual departmental postgraduate symposium in June and the College of Arts and Humanities conference in October. Advanced research students may have opportunities to teach undergraduate tutorials and seminars. You have a budget (currently £200 per year) to attend conferences outside Swansea.
Digital Humanities boasts a dynamic research and teaching environment which has already won attention and funding from outside bodies such as the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Wellcome Trust and the EU, most recently a multi-million EPSRC grant for “CHERISH-DE”.
COAH staff with relevant expertise are located within all the COAH Departments (Languages, Translation and Communication; English Language and Literature; History and Classics; Political and Cultural Studies). COAH staff work closely on digital research with staff in other Colleges, especially the College of Science (home to Computer Science, Geography), the College of Human and Health Science (Psychology, Public Health, Health Data), the College of Law (Criminology).
Computer Science research at Swansea has particular strengths in human-computer interaction, ubiquitous computing, devices for resource-constrained communities, medical applications and informatics, visual computing, data visualisation, theoretical computer science.
We are surrounded by data. The variety and amount we collect and store grows every day, from the simplest of retail transactions to the complex and intimate medical records of millions.
Why do we store data? Where do we store it? How do we retrieve it? What do we use it for?
There is an increasing demand for individuals who can manage and control the way data is used. These individuals require an understanding of computer science and mathematics as well as a range of sector specific skills which can be applied in a variety of business environments.
The Data Science and Analytics MSc is a highly flexible course which offers the opportunity to develop a range of skills, including analysing structured and unstructured data, analysing large datasets and critically evaluating results in context, through a combination of compulsory and optional modules. By choosing appropriate modules you can follow specific pathways, in business management, healthcare or geographic information systems (GIS), which will allow you to tailor the programme to suit your background and needs.
The course combines expertise from the Schools of Computing, Geography and Mathematics with that of Leeds University Business School and the Yorkshire Centre for Health Informatics. This collaboration allows you to benefit from a range of data science perspectives and applications, supporting you to tailor your learning to your career ambitions.
This programme explores the issues that shape population health and build the knowledge and skills necessary to address them.
Over the course of the last decade global health has received dramatically increased attention, both as an emergent academic discipline and in terms of heightened policy salience.
Global health concerns have become a central component of foreign and security policy and of development and human rights agendas, and have reshaped debates regarding the social impacts of global economic and environmental change.
Finding answers to the key questions confronting global health policy and practice is vital. Through this programme you will explore the issues that shape population health and build the knowledge and skills necessary to address them.
From the impact of globalisation and the recent development of influential global health partnerships to the complex relationships between health objectives and the trade policies of leading states, you’ll learn to understand, critically appraise and apply key concepts and theories within policy studies, international political economy and public health science.
Situated within the Global Public Health Unit, this programme offers innovative research-led teaching that draws on academic expertise from disciplines including public health, political science, social policy, economics, medicine, epidemiology, geography and anthropology.
Our location within the Graduate School of Social and Political Science gives students access to an academically challenging but friendly and supportive environment and to diverse postgraduate courses offered in one of Europe’s leading centres of social science research.
This programme is affiliated with the University's Global Health Academy.
You will complete one compulsory course and a number of option courses.
Following the taught courses, you will work towards an independently researched dissertation.
We have structured the programme to enable you to undertake a placement during your dissertation.
On completion of this programme you will be able to understand, critically appraise and apply key concepts and theories within policy studies, international political economy and public health science with specific reference to social and economic determinants of population health status; public health policy norms; concepts of epidemiology and research methods; and processes and institutions of public policy-making.
You will also develop the skills to:
This highly regarded qualification will improve your chances of securing rewarding roles. Recent graduates have taken up employment and research positions with NGOs, health agencies, government departments and international organisations.
We have structured the programme to enable you to undertake a placement during your dissertation, ensuring you graduate with valuable experience and contacts.
The transferable skills you gain in areas such as communication and research will give you an edge in the employment market, whatever your eventual career.
A number of our students, particularly from social science backgrounds, use this programme to prepare for applications to medical school or a PhD programme.
Our programmes are also recognised for training purposes by the UK Faculty of Public Health, and a number of practising doctors undertake study with us.
There is an established need for advanced analytical training in population health research, as explicitly stated by most funding bodies in medicine and in other disciplines. The emergence of ‘Big Data’ has focussed the minds of many on appropriate data analytic skills training. This programme which is a development from the MSc Epidemiology and Biostatistics is the only taught postgraduate programme in the UK that specialises in the analysis of observational studies, routine healthcare data, and that adopts a focus on causal inference.
The programme offers intensive training in data analytic techniques tailored to the needs of career enhancers and career changers with a focus on health. It can be studied full time over 12 months or part time over 24 months.
You will take compulsory modules, including our innovative Professional Skills for Health Data Analysts module, designed to give you the skills and experience to work effectively in research, public health or health services research. It includes, for example, ethics, academic writing for publication, consultancy, management and leadership skills.
The programme will train scientists in the cutting-edge quantitative skills needed for health research; with the proficient expertise required to be able to work in a variety of fields related to health, together with in-depth knowledge and nurtured in thinking that yields the ability to undertake robust scientific enquiry using health data of various kinds.
The programme will provide strong foundations in the skills and knowledge of data analytics with relevance to health; we will stretch students to acquire and implement advanced techniques through optional modules that will allow their learning to be tailored towards discipline-specific paths appropriate to their future planned career.
At graduation, students will find themselves at the forefront of the discipline of health data analytics, with advanced knowledge and skills appropriate to all and any careers involving observational health data.
This programme examines global migrations and social justice by addressing questions such as who moves and why, who is allowed to settle and where, what are the roles of states, institutions and civil societies in these processes. It provides advanced training in social science research methodology to fulfil Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) postgraduate research training requirements.
You will take five core courses and one optional course as well as complete a dissertation or a practical project.
You may also be able to choose from courses in the other subjects in the School of Social & Political Sciences.
On completing the programme, you will be equipped to apply your learning to a wide range of opportunities locally, nationally and internationally. This might include working with policy-making bodies, local and national governments, community organisations, NGOs and third sector organisations. The emphasis on applied learning makes this programme relevant to a range of professional settings where graduates may be working with asylum seekers, refugees and migrants, for example in education, social work, housing, equalities, campaigning and advocacy work, community development, human rights advocacy work, social research. The MRes also provides the necessary foundations to students considering further study through doctoral research.
This programme provides a comprehensive introduction to understanding contemporary research on global migrations and social justice. Unique in Scotland, it addresses questions such as who moves and why, who is allowed to settle and where, what are the roles of states, institutions and civil societies in these processes.
You will take three core and three optional courses as well as complete a dissertation or a practical project. Courses will be delivered via lectures and seminars supported by appropriate multi-media material, such as monographs, videos, podcasts, journal articles, reports and survey data. Coursework will involve project work, workshops and field based activities.
The dissertation options have been designed to bring together practice and academic learning, allowing you to reflect on the experience of being directly and actively engaged with service providers and asylum seekers, refugees and migrants, working alongside them to explore how research may be transformative for organisations, individuals and communities.
You may also be able to choose from courses in the other subjects in the School of Social & Political Sciences.
On completing the programme, you will be equipped to apply your learning to a wide range of opportunities locally, nationally and internationally. This might include working with policy-making bodies, local and national governments, community organisations, NGOs and third sector organisations. The emphasis on applied learning makes this programme relevant to a range of professional settings where graduates may be working with asylum seekers, refugees and migrants, for example in education, social work, housing, equalities, campaigning and advocacy work, community development, human rights advocacy work, social research. It will also provide the necessary foundations for further study through doctoral research.
