Block 1 modules

The music business today represents innovation, creativity, opportunities and connectivity. It is a global business that facilitates interpersonal, intercultural, and international interaction. This module provides an introduction to the music business environment.

You'll explore key concepts used in categorising and analysing music business sectors, industries and organisational typologies. You'll be presented with a selection of relevant case studies and take part in class debates and discussions.

This module usually includes a field trip to a music or entertainment venue.

Read the full description of Essentials of the music business in the module catalogue.

Have you ever wondered how special effects are created and produced in films? This module provides an insight into special effects and the opportunity to develop practical filmmaking skills.

You'll learn how to set up a digital camera, as well as frame and compose shots. You'll then learn how to record video shots against a green screen in a television studio. With your recorded material you'll learn how to use professional special effects software to create some animated sequences using your photographs and video shots.

For the Filmmaking module, I enjoyed the practical approach of the classes and the teacher was very kind and helpful.

Read the full description of Introduction to special effects in filmmaking in the module catalogue.

What is special about online communication? How can the language we use in a tweet change communication? Are language learning apps such as Duolingo the future of language learning? Will Google eventually replace human translators? We live in an increasingly digital world. The digitisation process has been accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic. In this module, we will discuss what this means for language(s) and international communication.

The module examines the nature of human communication and the specifics of online communication. It will introduce basic linguistics concepts with a special focus on aspects of digital language use. We’ll then discuss the rise of language apps and machine translation tools, and what these mean for different industries. You’ll learn to critically examine technological advances. You’ll consider their impact on language and communication. You’ll also reflect on your own experiences and learn to develop a concrete case study.

Read the full description of  Language and international communication in the digital age in the module catalogue.

Societies are significantly shaped by their histories. But how do we reckon with our past when it involves large-scale injustices such as, for example, slavery, genocide or colonialism? This module examines recent debates in moral and political philosophy that have aimed to answer this problem.

In the first week, you’ll consider the question of who might have a responsibility to make reparations. You’ll also consider to whom this responsibility could be owed. In the second week, you’ll explore the different forms that reparations can take. Throughout the module, you’ll use these philosophical explorations to assess real life historic injustices.

The module usually includes a field trip to the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool. 

Read the full description of Reparation for historical injustices in the module catalogue.

This module delves into the profound impact of revolutions in modern history. You will consider key questions like, “How have revolutions shaped the modern world?” and “What distinguishes a revolution from revolts and rebellions?” Through this exploration, you will gain an understanding of a selection of major upheavals in world history. 

Throughout this module, you will study a variety of global revolutions from the seventeenth century onwards, such as the Glorious Revolution, the French Revolution, the Haitian Revolution, the Cultural Revolution, the Russian Revolution, the fall of communism, and the tumultuous events of 1848, often referred to as ‘the year of revolutions.’ You will examine primary sources from these revolutions, such as first-hand accounts, images, and videos. 

Please be aware that this module may include discussions of war and violence, which could be distressing to some students. The module includes a field trip to a location within Leeds or the local region. 

Module subject to final approval 

Country houses (stately homes) are one of Britain’s greatest contributions to world culture, but who created them and why? Have they always functioned as ‘containers’ for art collections or have they had deeper meanings and a wider social impact?

Using Yorkshire’s world-class country houses as case studies, this course will introduce you to topics such as the builders of the country house, the rise and fall of the great estates and the ‘upstairs’ lives of the men, women and children who lived in the country house and the ‘downstairs’ world of the men and women who served them. 

​​​​​​Tutor-led visits to houses such as Temple Newsam, Harewood House and Castle Howard are an important feature of this course. 

Castle Howard was unique and the story behind it was interesting. It is not a place I knew about before taking the module and would have never found out about it on my own.

Read the full description of The English country house in the module catalogue. 

This module provides an introduction to the key sectors of the events industry and the value of them to the economy. 

You’ll develop an understanding how the determinants of demand has changed. You’ll explore how this affects the events planning process and the meeting of stakeholder demands and needs. 

The module includes a field trip to a local events venue.

Read the full description of An introduction to global events management in the module catalogue.

Are you interested in exploring the key functions of management? Do you want to learn about the challenges managers face and develop your management skills? This module introduces some of the key concepts and theories in the field of management.

You'll explore the evolution of management schools of thought and explore essential tasks such as planning, organising, staffing, controlling, and leading. You'll have the opportunity to develop your management skills by taking on management tasks as a team and presenting a group project.

The module usually includes a field trip to Manchester United. This module is particularly suitable for students who have no previous experience of studying management.

I enjoyed the diversity within the modules. The content was taught in a student-friendly way and the field trips made it possible to get an even better insight.

Read the full description of Management in organisations in the module catalogue.

This module provides an introduction to the key concepts within the sports business environment. You’ll consider the wider sports industry and the Sports Business Ecosystem will be used to frame understanding.  

You’ll be able to demonstrate an awareness of the extent of the contemporary sports business environment. You’ll explore challenges to organisations within the global sports business environment. You’ll examine the role of major stakeholders from a marketing perspective, particularly around sponsorship and fan engagement.

The module includes a field trip to a local sports venue.

Read the full description of Sports business and marketing in the module catalogue.

Human history has seen successive pandemics wiping out large swathes of populations and throwing societies into turmoil. The advent of the large-scale use of antibiotics in the last century was an epochal defining event. For the first time, there was a tool to control infection signalling a new-era of ‘public health’. This era is rapidly coming to an end with the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and virulent bacterial pathogens.

This module will discuss these themes and challenges in an evolutionary framework. You’ll explore how computational and data science is crucial in dealing with the rise of AMR and develop practical genomics and data science skills.

Read the full description of Bacterial genomics: combating the rise of antimicrobial resistance in the module catalogue.

Big data is becoming more and more important in fields from science to marketing, engineering, medicine and government. This module introduces the principles of data mining and text analytics. You'll apply these principles in practical exercises with a data mining toolkit and real data. You'll compare a range of different techniques and algorithms and evaluate their performance. 

You'll take part in practical team work as part of a data mining and text analytics challenge. You're not expected to have previous expertise in data mining but you should be familiar with using and creating data files. For example, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, YouTube videos, Wikipedia web pages, X, Facebook or other social media data.

Please note, you're expected to use your own laptop for this module. Before the summer school, you must have set up user accounts at kaggle.com and a video streaming site eg YouTube. You'll also need to download the free WEKA data mining toolkit from the WEKA open-access website. The module usually includes a field trip to the National Science and Media Museum. 

My first time trying a totally different subject which was challenging and interesting. Data mining will be helpful for my postgraduate study in the future.

Read the full description of Data mining and text analytics in the module catalogue.

Fluid dynamics lies at the heart of many societal and industrial challenges. It has practical application in the engineering and physical sciences. Fluid dynamics also has applications in geophysical, astrophysical, environmental and biomedical regimes.   

This module will pair lectures with hands-on experiments and workshops. You’ll explore many different aspects of fluid behaviour. This will include laminar flow, vortices and turbulence. You’ll also examine a variety of fluid states, such as droplets, non-Newtonian fluids and creeping flows.  

You’ll have the opportunity to learn from experts in the Leeds Institute for Fluid Dynamics. This module will encourage you to think about the many ways in which fluids affect our lives. The module usually includes a field trip to the Tees Barrage.

Read the full description of Fluid dynamics in theory and practice in the module catalogue.

Do you have an interest in the sciences and want to learn more about how the natural world works? Are you interested in scientific discovery and applying practical skills to solve global issues? Are you keen to see how fundamental principles of mathematics and physical science continue to affect and shape the world we live in?

This module gives an introduction to a range of sciences. Topics include atmospheric changes, chaos theory, the mathematics of voting systems and estimation. The module usually includes a field trip to a science museum such as Magna in Sheffield or the Life Science Centre in Newcastle.

You'll develop your science journalism and scientific writing skills. You’ll also gain practical scientific skills in world-class facilities and laboratories. Students enrolled on the module will need to create a FutureLearn account.

The professors for the natural sciences courses were amazing. They were a really memorable highlight of my Leeds experience. 

Read the full description of Natural sciences in the module catalogue.

Are you interested in gaining an understanding of the evolving field of conflict analysis? This module provides an introduction to the nature and causes of armed conflicts as well as their resolution.

Initially the module focuses on motivations driving different forms of conflict, for example, greed versus grievance and ethnicity. The second part of the module introduces types of interventions to conflicts and methods of conflict resolution. This is an interdisciplinary module with elements of traditional conflict management approaches combined with contemporary scientific studies on cooperation and conflict.

Field trips for this module in the past have included a visit to the city of York and the Cold War Bunker.

It was a fantastic course and I am very glad I chose to study it. The content, both theory and practical activities, was very good and contributed to getting to know my classmates.

Read the full description of Conflict analysis in international politics in the module catalogue.

The leadership and management of sport and physical activity has never been more important. With growing levels of inactivity and the impact of COVID-19 on activity behaviours, the ability to develop and lead effective interventions is crucial. This module considers how leadership is a critical element to developing projects and working in teams.

You'll reflect on and understand your own leadership skills and how they are transferable to a real-life project situation. The module will also focus the issues facing sport, physical activity and outdoor education and provide you with the opportunity to develop a researched intervention to tackle a specific issue.

You'll work in collaboration with peers to develop intervention ideas and to test your leadership skills in a range of engaging team-based challenges and activities. The module usually includes a field trip to the Yorkshire Dales.

Through this module, I had the opportunity not only to experience British culture and the British way of life, but also to explore my potential and try new things.

Read the full description of Developing leadership through sport in the module catalogue.

Law is a diverse and stimulating discipline which is integral to everyday life. Every person in society has experience of how the law affects their lives. From crime and policing to the courtroom, or from banking to individual rights. This module provides the fundamentals of knowledge and an introduction to the English Legal System.

It examines a range of core subject areas of law, such as human rights, constitutional and criminal. Practical activities will include statute-building, debates on law and ethics and mooting. 

This module usually includes a field trip to the Yorkshire Law and Order Museums in Ripon, a stunning cathedral city in North Yorkshire.

This module gave me the full experience that I had imagined before I came here. I also liked the subject since I am also studying Law which is why I’m fascinated with how the law works here in the UK.

Read the full description of The path to justice in the module catalogue.

This module is now at full capacity and no longer taking new applications.

What is the relationship between wealth and poverty? How did the current global hierarchy of wealth and power come about? Are countries in the Global North powerful because they dominated, plundered and exploited the Global South? The module analyses the profound socio-economic and political effects of European colonialism.

You'll explore the impact of these factors on the making of the modern world, study key drivers and repercussions of colonialism in the Americas, Asia and Africa and develop an understanding of related features of the global political economy. 

The module usually includes a field trip to the People’s History Museum in Manchester and a walking tour.

This module gave me the chance to learn about British history and culture, understand different teaching models and make some good friends around the world! Moreover, it also enabled me to improve my independence and creativity.

Read the full description on Wealth and poverty in the module catalogue.