Teaching provision varies according to the programme. Our research programmes primarily involve one-to-one research supervision, as well as seminar-based teaching. In our research programmes, we always emphasise the importance of professional development more broadly.
A key part of this is our Wednesday postgraduate seminar where students present their own material to students and staff. We encourage our students to attend and get involved in the department's many research events already mentioned above. In addition, the College of Arts and Law Graduate School provides teaching and research training for our PhD students.
Teaching on the Masters-level modules involves mainly small-group seminars. A typical class-size is between 5 and 15 students. Students prepare for these sessions by reading the set text for the seminar. The seminars themselves are then a mix of interactive lectures, group discussions, and student presentations. In addition, each Masters-level student is assigned a supervisor for the dissertation component of the degree, who will guide them through the process of planning and writing their dissertation.
For more information about supervisions, dissertation-writing, modules or other teaching-related aspects, please contact Dr Will Davies at w.davies@bham.ac.uk.
Distance learning programmes
In addition to our on-campus programmes, we offer two taught Masters programmes by distance learning. The teaching on these modules is all done online. We use a variety of methods from video and audio to interactive discussion boards. These programmes are especially suitable for professionals in full-time work and people living outside Birmingham. We are currently in the process of developing further online modules and will expand the range of MA programmes by distance learning in the near future.
For more information about distance learning, please contact Professor Yujin Nagasawa at y.nagasawa@bham.ac.uk.