Skip navigation Skip to main navigation for this site Skip to navigation for this section

  • Professional Studies (BSc)
  • 2013/2014 entry
  • Contact us
  • Assessment

    • Reports, presentations, essays and a research project report. There are no examinations.

  • Attendance
      • The Work-Related Learning and Approaches to Research modules require some weekly attendance.
      • Other modules are more flexible, relying partly on self-managed learning.
  • Duration
      • Two years part-time.
  • Entry requirements
      • Foundation degree/HND or HNC/equivalent professional qualifications.
      • If no formal qualifications, an appropriate level of work experience.
  • Fees and funding
  • Location
      • Central London.
  • Teaching

    • Workshops, presentations and seminars, supplemented by individual support (either face-to-face or online).



Need more help?

Leave your email address and get up-to-date information on finance and our free advice sessions.




By registering your email you are agreeing to receive emails from Birkbeck, University of London. We will not share your details with anyone else. Click here for Birkbeck data policy .

Professional Studies (BSc) - 2013/2014 entry

Have you ever thought it would be interesting to study your job or workplace as a degree subject? Well now you can. By combining learning gained in the workplace with academic study, you can build on your Foundation Degree, HND or HNC (prior experiential learning – APEL – will also be assessed) to complete this innovative honours degree. With its emphasis on professional development and practice, the course supports you in reflecting on your practice in the workplace, and uses conceptual models to improve your insight into workplace activities. You will also undertake a workplace project, enhancing your expertise in the workplace through academic study and research at degree level.

  • Course structure

    • If you have a Foundation Degree from Birkbeck, the programme consists of three modules (two taught modules worth 30 credits each at Level 6 and a workplace research project worth 60 credits):

      • Professional Learning Review: supports you in your reflection on, and analysis of, your previous workplace learning (both formal and informal), helping you to identify your professional strengths.
      • Approaches to Research: provides a clear understanding of the main assumptions contained in many approaches to research. It involves the critical evaluation of a range of research methods, so that you can select the one most appropriate for your proposed research. It provides a methodological basis for the work-based project module.
      • Researching the Workplace (workplace project module): instead of a conventional honours dissertation, you will undertake research related to your own activities and/or your organisation. The module builds on Approaches to Research, by using methods developed in that module to undertake independent research.

      If you have vocational qualifications from elsewhere, you will need to take two additional modules (each worth 30 credits at Level 5) before taking the modules listed above. The additional modules are:

      • Work-Related Learning: provides you with the opportunity to experience group work and develop the skills required in managing meetings and other aspects of teamwork. Students work together in small, self-managed groups to evaluate a range of approaches to a given area of professional practice (for example, equal opportunities, recruitment practices and motivational processes).
      • Work-Based Learning: gives you the opportunity to undertake a small independent project, based either on your workplace, voluntary activities, or on the simulation of workplace practice. This module gives you the chance to develop and demonstrate a range of professional skills, such as project planning and presentation skills.
  • Apply now