Teaching
This course has two components – your modules, as described above, account for two-thirds of your time and effort. Alongside these you will work on a major project, accounting for one-third of your overall grade.
Each module on IMS will be delivered over a 3-week duration, designed to follow the pedagogical model of 'engagement, immersion and consolidation'.*
Week 1 will blend asynchronous online study with formal lectures to provide the necessary background knowledge and define the focus of the module.
Week 2 will continue and expand on this with hands-on software labs, simulations, and syndicate exercises to immerse you in the concepts and practices of the domain.
Week 3 will focus on consolidating the knowledge gained through synthesis and problem-solving. This will be through a mix of individual and team-based tasks, simulations, and mini-projects and will provide you with the opportunity to reflect and discuss in face-to-face seminars and collaborative online forum activities.
All our module leaders are experts in their fields and are supported by external speakers working in organisations at the forefront of their fields.
In addition to your taught modules, you will undertake a major project as part of your Master's degree, which will develop your research and analytical skills and enable you to specialise. This is nominally 600 hours (60 CATS points) of learning, mainly taking place during the Spring and Summer terms. You will be expected to engage regularly with your Project Supervisor or Coach and to provide progress updates and drafts of your work to an agreed schedule.
Class sizes
This course can accommodate around 30 students.
Typical contact hours
This course is modular in structure.
Module delivery patterns vary, but most will be delivered in a short learning block of up to 4 weeks, allowing your focus to be on one module at a time. Each module nominally accounts for 150 hours, which includes scheduled classroom time and online sessions as well as your independent study and assessments.
The Study, Professional and Analytical Skills (SPA) Module also consists of 150 hours of learning and is purposefully designed to meet the complex learning and professional needs of postgraduate students. The module is taught across the year, and is composed of three interlinked yet distinctive learning strands: Study Skills, Professional Skills, and Analytical Skills. SPA is a blended module, which runs asynchronously and synchronously with the student learning journey, providing a programme of carefully designed learning activities, materials, and resources.
Assessment
Assessment is primarily through individual written Post Module Assignments (PMAs). Some modules also have assessed individual and/or group in-module exercises including worksheet exercises, model-building tasks, presentations and computer-based tests.
Your project submission is likely to include both a written and a presentation element, and accounts for 33% of your overall academic grade.
Your timetable
Core modules will be allocated to students at the end of the first week of term - you will then be able to view your individual module schedule for the rest of the year via the WMG module selection system.
Your elective module will be bookable through the same system later in the term.
Modules will include scheduled classroom time and online sessions as well as your independent study and assessments, and will usually be delivered within a 4 week timeframe. Occasional classes and study skills sessions may be held at weekends or in the evenings.
As a Master's student, you are expected to manage your own time appropriately. On average, you are expected to commit 38-40 hours of study each week, in order to successfully achieve your Master’s degree.
This is a full-time postgraduate course - undergraduate term dates do not apply. Whilst there are no holidays as such, there will be no teaching scheduled when the University is officially closed, during the two weeks over Christmas and New Year.
