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Essential Academic Skills for Degree or Masters Level Study - 20 Credits - Module

Currently viewing course to start in 2023/24 Entry.

Academic skills are the foundation building blocks we use to communicate our knowledge, demonstrate our understanding, and advance our thinking on any topic. This module is aimed at students who wish to develop these essential skills in order to improve their capabilities and excel at university....

  • Level CPD
  • Study mode Short Course
  • Location City South
  • Award Module
  • Start date September 2023
  • School School of Nursing and Midwifery
  • Faculty Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences

Overview

Academic skills are the foundation building blocks we use to communicate our knowledge, demonstrate our understanding, and advance our thinking on any topic. This module is aimed at students who wish to develop these essential skills in order to improve their capabilities and excel at university.

Whether you are returning to university study after a break or you simply want to refine your skills for Level 6 or 7 study, this module is tailored to your needs and delivered by nurturing and caring experts in academic skills. 

This course is open to International students.

What's covered in this course?

This module will explore, discuss, and practice the essential skills required for successful degree-level or masters level study. These skills include those related to general study - such as literature searching, planning and use of evidence -  to those related to assignments - such as  academic writing, critical analysis and referencing – and those related more widely to personal/professional development – such as reflection, enquiry and problem-solving.

The module is flexible however, and as such the precise content is tailored to the development needs of students, with multiple sessions being set aside for one-to-one tutorials and bespoke workshops. This approach involves students being active partners in their own development, in both directed and self-directed learning, upon which you will receive regular feedback and opportunities to discuss progression with the module team, in order to optimise the development of your academic skills.  

A blended-learning approach is adopted for this module, incorporating a mix of classroom sessions, online activities and self-directed learning. The module is also designed to be collaborative, and you will be invited to work with, encourage and share experiences with your fellow students, something the small cohort size of this module enables.

The module is delivered by a dedicated and caring team of academic skills specialists, as well as invited experts, who will support you along your development journey.  

Why Choose Us?

  • The module covers the essential skills to be successful at degree level study with additional emphasis on wider skills for continuing personal and professional development
  • Delivered by dedicated and caring staff who are experts in academic skills teaching
  • Small cohort teaching with many opportunities for one-to-one tutorials and bespoke workshops
  • Students are an active partners in their development. Content and support is tailored your needs
  • Blended learning approach, utilising a range of innovative online technologies to complement in-class content

Studying with us during the Covid-19 pandemic

The University has put in place measures in response to Covid-19 to allow us to safely deliver our courses. Should the impact of the pandemic continue in future years, any additional or alternative arrangements put in place by the University will be in accordance with the latest government public health advice, health and safety legislation, and the terms and conditions of the student contract.

Fees & How to Apply

Please select your student status to view fees and apply
  • UK Student
  • International Student

UK students

Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.

Award: Module

Starting: Sep 2023

  • Mode
  • Duration
  • Fees
  • Short Course
  • 19 weeks
  • TBC

International students

Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament. View fees for continuing students.

Award: Module

Starting: Sep 2023

  • Mode
  • Duration
  • Fees
  • Short Course
  • 19 weeks
  • TBC

If you're unable to use the online form for any reason, you can complete our PDF application form and equal opportunities PDF form instead. The University reserves the right to increase fees in line with inflation based on the Retail Prices Index or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament up to a maximum of five per cent.

How to apply

Complete the online application form via the link above, including the name of the module you are enrolling onto. 

Entry requirements

This module is suitable for any student wanting to develop their academic skills. It would be particularly useful for students who have had a break from higher education and are returning to study, for international students new to UK higher education, and for students wanting to improve and refine their academic skills.

Course in Depth

Level 6

Level 7

Course structure

Level 6

This module is practice-led, with most of the time and attention being paid to the practice of doing academic work and the skills required to do it successfully. This is supplemented (where appropriate) by theories and concepts related to the skills we explore.

The course is structured around the core contact session, for which there is pre-session and post-session activities to be done. Many of these will involve the completion of online activities.

The vast majority of time on this module will be spent in directed and self-directed study, rather than inside the classroom. Much of this will be based upon your own identified learning needs and tutorial support is offered by the module team to help in the progression of this development. 

Level 7

This course is tailored towards health and social care practitioners who are undertaking Masters level study and wish to develop their academic skills.

Through a programme of blended learning you will have to opportunity to develop skills of enquiry, reflection and problem solving. You will be encouraged to think critical and share in practice experiences with your fellow students, as well as engaging in both directed and self-directed learning activities.  You will be an active partner in your own learning and development and in return you will receive regular feedback and feedforward aimed at developing the academic skills require for successful study at MSc level. 

This module is particularly beneficial for international students who are undertaking MSc level study in the UK.  Practitioners working at a senior level in health and social care will also benefit from undertaking this programme of study which has a strong focus on personal and professional development.  

International

Birmingham City University is a vibrant and multicultural university in the heart of a modern and diverse city. We welcome many international students every year – there are currently students from more than 80 countries among our student community.

The University is conveniently placed, with Birmingham International Airport nearby and first-rate transport connections to London and the rest of the UK.

Our international pages contain a wealth of information for international students who are considering applying to study here, including:

Facilities & Staff

 

Our Facilities

Our School of Nursing and Midwifery is based at our City South campus in leafy Edgbaston.

We’ve spent £41million expanding our facilities at City South. These facilities offer hands-on practical experience, replicating the spaces you will come across in professional practice.

In a sector where new techniques are constantly being discovered, we work hard to ensure that you learn using the most up-to-date equipment available. Alongside physical spaces such as a mock operating theatre and wards, we also make use of online and virtual technology, such as our virtual ward and virtual case creator.

See more of our skills facilities at City South

Centre for Skills and Simulation

The Centre for Skills and Simulation offers a range of different spaces which replicate situations that you will encounter in practice. These include hospital wards, an operating theatre and a home environment room.

Our mock wards enable you to get a feel of what a ward is really like before you head out for your first placement. The hospital wards can be adapted from low care to high dependency care environment with the necessary monitoring equipment.

The home environment room is the perfect space for teaching communications skills and allows us to simulate a community setting for our students. It is particularly useful for mental health nurses, learning disability nurses and midwives.

Simulation Manikins

We have several Simulation men (SIM men) and simulation babies (SIM babies) which are anatomically correct manikins used for teaching specific techniques such as advanced adult and paediatric life support skills, acute and high dependency clinical skills, first aid and communication skills. The manikins contain software which replicates real symptoms, and can manipulate indicators such as blood pressure, pulse and heart rate for extra realism. SIM man can even ‘talk’ to the students as they are treating him, to add another dimension to learning.

Computer Facilities

The Seacole building has two open-access IT Suites which offer PCs, printers, photocopiers and scanners. There is also an IT Helpdesk for quick and easy help with your computing or internet issues.

Our PCs utilise the latest Intel i5 core technology, all with:

  • Fast (unrestricted) internet connectivity
  • Ability to save files to USB, DVD & CD
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Research and statistical software
  • Storage space which can be accessed from any PC across the University and from home

Our PCs are also designed to support students who may have difficulties with reading and writing, featuring specialised software with zooming/magnification and screen reading capabilities, which may also be customised for individual student needs.

In addition to desktop PCs, we also offer a laptop loan facility, allowing students to borrow a laptop for up to six hours while on campus.

Our staff

Dr Simon Cook

Senior Lecturer

Simon is a passionate teacher and researcher with specialisms in human geography, mobilities, physical cultures, and research and academic skills support. At BCU, I am a Senior Lecturer in the HELS Academic Development Department, providing academic, research and publishing skills support to students and staff in the Faculty of Health,...

More about Simon

Rebecca Gibbons

Lecturer in Academic Skills

At Birmingham City University, Rebecca’s role includes offering regular academic skills sessions across the faculty. These sessions are usually tailored to meet students’ needs so are negotiated with module teams in advance. She also spends much of her time working with students on a 1:1 basis or in groups in academic tutorials. The role also...

More about Rebecca

Jonathan Potter

Lecturer in Academic Skills

Jonathan provides academic skills support for students at all levels within the Faculty of Health, Education, and Life Sciences. This includes in-course sessions, as well as extracurricular provisions such as workshops and one-to-one tutorials, and online resources. Previously, he has taught academic writing across all faculties at Coventry...

More about Jonathan

Enquiries

Module Leader

If you have any queries about this course please contact the Module Leaders:

Essential Academic Skills for Master’s Level Study

Essential Academic Skills for Degree Level Study

Professional Navigator

Our Professional Navigator, Nicola Clarke, are also on hand to offer guidance and will help you to choose which modules are best for you, taking into account your aims, professional or clinical experience, KSF requirements and your academic achievements.

Call Nicola on +44 (0)121 331 6162.