University College London

London, United Kingdom

Available Courses

This course focuses on the role of interdisciplinarity in breaking down old boundaries of knowledge and its role in creating new ways of thinking about knowledge. You will study the history of knowledge, how it came to be divided into disciplines and what is happening to disciplines today under pressure from the web and the knowledge revolution. You will also study Superconcepts which bridge older disciplines in order to unify areas of thought and to create productive new links.

Further information: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/module-catalogue/modules/approaches-to-knowledge-introduction-to-interdisciplinarity-BASC0001

Weekly lecture and workshop-seminar sessions will engage students in identifying and exploring the basic principles of successfully writing and reading prose fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction. Class discussion time will be given over to topics such as dialogue, character development, point of view, and structure. A reading list of contemporary prose fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction texts will be used as the basis for lectures and as example technique texts and as the springboard for in-depth critical analysis. During workshop-seminars, students will engage in peer assessment, providing oral and written critiques of classmates’ creative writing (submitted on a rotating basis). Weekly tutorials will also be provided to allow for further detailed, personal critique and ongoing development of an individual student’s creative writing and practice.

Students will also work as part of an editorial team, alongside the module tutor, to produce a group publication, with each student taking on and learning about specific roles in the editorial and publishing processes. This will result in a group publication featuring creative writing work by all group members.

Please note places on BASC0007 are limited and interested students must submit a small portfolio of creative writing to be considered. Please email uasc-ug-office@ucl.ac.uk for details of the portfolio requirements.

Further information: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/module-catalogue/modules/creative-writing-BASC0007

In this course, you will study the relationship between science, religion and progress. Topics include the Church and the Copernican Revolution; Descartes, Hobbes and Newton; catholic and protestant science throughout Europe; science and religion in the ancient world, in Islam and China; the role of Christianity in Europe’s “scientific revolution” of the seventeenth century; Darwin and Evolution; cosmology and religion; and Scientism and Militant Atheism.

Further information: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/module-catalogue/modules/science-meets-religion-in-the-global-community-BASC0008

In this course, you will analyse the interplay between migration and health, i.e. the physical, mental and social well-being of migrants. The ability of a migrant to integrate into a host society is based upon combined mental, physical, cultural, and social well-being. Absence of physical ill-health is not by itself sufficient for successful integration in a host society. However, the structural inequalities experienced by migrants have a significant impact on overall health and well-being.

Further information: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/module-catalogue/modules/migration-and-health-BASC0011

This course takes an interdisciplinary view of psychology and sets leading experimental and theoretical results within real-world contexts. The aim of the course is to introduce students to the application of psychology in the real world and the consequences of misunderstandings in the public sphere as opposed to the resolution of problems in the laboratory. Students will be introduced to the use of psychology in business and industry, sport, public policy, education, the media and other areas of the real world. They will learn the difference between experimental aims and the public use of experimental data and to appreciate the challenges of how to communicate complex neuro-scientific data to the public.

Further information: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/module-catalogue/modules/psychology-in-the-real-world-BASC0015

This module aims to introduce students to conceptual and analytical tools to analyse the nature of inequalities in the Global South, and the role of development practitioners in bringing about transformative change.

Part one will introduce the conceptual framework of the module, and will focus on introducing the key terminology and tensions of global processes which are influencing urban change in the Global South. Part two will explore the role of the development practitioner, supporting students to reflect upon their own ethics and methods of engagement. Part three will adopt a case study approach to explore different strategies which have been used by local communities and development practitioners and organisations to address inequalities, and the strengths and challenges of these.

Further information: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/module-catalogue/modules/urban-inequalities-and-global-development-BASC0018

This module will provide an experience in interdisciplinary thinking, but one strongly influenced by the perspective and production of the course leader, the artist Alfonso Borragán. It will call on a wide-ranging set of materials from art, anthropology, architecture, philosophy, biology, physics, mathematics, neurology and geology and introduce the students to the work of some thinkers and practitioners working in those areas. Further, it will visit a diversity of experts on different fields to contribute and experiment with the aforementioned materials. To sum up, the module will be enriched with the projects and interests of each student contributing to the interdisciplinary dimension of the module.

Further information: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/module-catalogue/modules/art-and-interdisciplinarity-measuring-the-world-BASC0020

Energy provision and use faces a range of unprecedented challenges – from the global through national and local scales – including decarbonisation and other environmental goals, security of supply, equity and access to energy, the role of competitive markets, and resource depletion. You will study the scope and challenges of energy supply and demand, key concepts in the science of energy, potential technological options, the trade-offs in market design, the role of analytical tools, and the economic and social drivers of energy use.

Further information: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/module-catalogue/modules/sustainable-energy-BASC0028

This module explores the concept of information and its relation to data and knowledge, taking an historical perspective through examining the past, present and future of associated institutional repositories and collections (libraries, archives, museums, galleries, data vaults) as well as the different historical forms of information sources (moving from the papyrus and codex up to contemporary forms such as the database). The module engages students in a critical, interdisciplinary examination of the role institutions and collections play in validating and verifying information and information sources, and scrutinises the interplay between audiences, politics, aesthetics, material forms and the socio-economic, technological and socio-cultural elements in which information is situated.

Further information: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/module-catalogue/modules/information-through-the-ages-BASC003 

This BASc course forms an introduction to the theoretical concepts required for Year 2 computer science courses.

However, the course also provides a stand-alone introduction for students interested in the theory of computation and its links with logic and language theory. The first part of the course will focus on mathematical logic and the second part will address the fundamentals of computation, automata and language theory.

Further information: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/module-catalogue/modules/logic-computation-and-language-theory-

BASC0040

This module offers an introduction and analytical approach to Race and Gender and considers what work the concepts of gender and race might do for us in a critical – specifically feminist and anti-racist struggle. The module covers topics concerned with:

– the need to identify and explain persistent social inequalities between male and female, between people of different colours; this includes identifying how social forces under the guise of biological forces work toperpetuate such inequalities

– the effects of interlocking oppressions (e.g. Crenshaw (1993) The intersectionality of race, gender, class)

– how gender and race are implicated in a broad range of social phenomena beyond the sexual and racial difference

– accounts of situated lived experience of women as effective tools in the fight against injustice

Further information: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/module-catalogue/modules/race-gender-and-feminism-BASC0042

This module starts off with a tailored overview of mainstream and critical international relations theory, before applying these to real-world events. At the core of the module is a question of how globalisation has affected the role of states in global politics, particularly against the backdrop of populist nationalism and ever-growing global challenges.

The first weeks introduce main theoretical streams by discussing whether international relations are defined by anarchy or hierarchy. Once equipped with basic conceptual tools, students will focus on globalisation as a driver of global (and national) politics, as well as critically evaluating the emancipatory potential of globalisation and the liberal international order. The second half of the course then focuses on five big topics in contemporary international politics: security, development, climate change, health governance and the future shape of global politics.

Further information: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/module-catalogue/modules/approaches-to-global-politics-BASC0045

This BASc module covers the basic principles of machine reasoning, exploring the foundations of the rapidly developing field of artificial intelligence, and outlining the mathematical techniques used in both knowledge representation and future artificial intelligence modules.

The first part of the module will introduce the mathematical and logical theories used in the development of machine reasoning and knowledge representation. The students will learn the notions of agent based systems (e.g., intelligent agents, problem-solving agents, knowledge-based agents), the syntax, semantics and use of first order logic in knowledge representation and inference systems. Modal logics for AI will be briefly presented as an overview on more advanced topics in knowledge representation.

The second part of the module will focus on learning and reasoning under uncertainty by using probabilistic techniques (e.g., Naïve Bayes models and Bayesian networks, introductory hidden Markov models) as an introduction to expert systems and machine learning.

Further information: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/module-catalogue/modules/machine-reasoning-and-expert-systems-BASC0047

This course offers you the opportunity to engage with art thinking and art practice. It proposes a collective and experimental space based on the individual projects of each student. This course strengthens an analytic and experiential perspective regarding art practice as a method of research and its potential to understand our relation with the world from different disciplines and practices.

Students are invited to consider Science and Art as related systems to interpret the world and to speculate about ways of di-measure reality (incommensurability). It will provide the students with a wide range of approaches into art research and art practice and subjective approaches to scientific research and practice to expand the variety of ways of thinking. It aims to encourage critical awareness and individual ways of looking at, and understanding the world through making.

Further information: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/module-catalogue/modules/art-and-interdisciplinarity-2-BASC0049

This module will provide an overview of new thinking on public health, which integrates the arts and sciences to address current health and social care issues. Topics will include an initial lecture on “The Art and Science of Public Health” and then specific lectures focusing on the application of arts and scientific approaches to public health, for example, public health systems and structures, behavior change theories, arts in public health communication, public health interventions for noncommunicable diseases, creative approaches in public health, arts in mental health promotion, public health inequalities, public health in the workplace, participatory global public health, co-designing health architecture, public health and the environment.

Further information: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/module-catalogue/modules/the-art-and-science-of-public-health-BASC0055

This foundational module will explore the interdependencies between natural systems and human disease in a time of rapid environmental change. Acknowledging diverse and changing perspectives on health and the environment across history and cultures, students will be introduced to emerging concepts and issues in this field, fundamental approaches to assess evidence for causal relationships between environment and disease as well as begin to develop an understanding of the complex socioecological systems within which remedial action can be taken.

Further information: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/module-catalogue/modules/environmental-change-and-disease-BASC0079

Audio is becoming an increasingly attractive way to tell stories that might be impossible to tell in other art forms.

The international rise of the podcast in recent years, galvanised by the release hugely successful Serial Podcast in 2014, has brought a new, younger audience to audio documentary. Independent organisations such as Audible are creating audio documentary content to keep up with the demand – ‘The Days that Changed the World’ series being the most recent. Research based organisations such as The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations see the benefit of using audio in their research as it gives anonymity to participants while simultaneously creating a much more engaging way of presenting research. Creatives are enjoying the capability of working with a broad range of stories as the form allows so much more freedom and access.

Further information: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/module-catalogue/modules/documentary-radio-a-practice-based-introduction-ANTH0084

This module will provide you with a theoretical and historical overview of the field of contemporary digital interactive factual (non-fiction) narratives.

It is a module for storytellers from all backgrounds that want to use digital platforms (web, mobile, tablet, apps, VR, AR, MR, AI, immersive theatre…) to speak about our “shared world” by innovating and involving the user/inter-actor within their story world. Whether you come from journalism, documentary, film, ethnography, social communication or any other field, the challenge of creating for digital platforms is to move from a story-telling to a story-experiencing approach. This is the creative journey that the module proposes: to delve into the history of interactive narratives since the invention of the World Wide Web, learn about its current genres and platforms and be ready to navigate future trends in immersive media.

Further information: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/module-catalogue/modules/interactive-factual-narratives-ANTH0205

Communication is critical to the production of architecture: between designers, clients, builders, manufacturers, stakeholders and the public. The AIS programme promotes a broad conception of architecture and a diverse interrogation of the making, inhabitation and interpretation of the built environment. In these interdisciplinary dialogues, facility with a wide range of visual communication skills is critical.

Further information: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/module-catalogue/modules/architectural-investigation-representation-BARC0171

This course is aimed specifically at BASc students to help them learn through practice and for Slade students to consider drawing as a mode of thought. It examines a series of practices of drawing in Fine Art emphasizing the development of concepts of drawing.

Please note places on SSFA0034 are limited and interested students must submit a small portfolio of work to be considered. Please email uasc-ug-office@ucl.ac.uk for details of the portfolio requirements.

Further information: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/module-catalogue/modules/methodologies-of-drawing-module-