School of Social, Historical and Literary Studies

Journalism

Employability skills are deeply embedded into all the journalism degrees:

• The curriculum is closely aligned to the professional qualifications offered by the National Council for the Training of Journalists which oversees the training and education of hundreds of journalists in the UK each year.
• Students have the opportunity to take the NCTJ qualifications during their course. These qualifications are highly regarded by employers throughout journalism.
• Students acquire all the knowledge, skills and techniques required by newspaper, magazine and online journalism employers.
• Students work as reporters, news editors, sub-editors and designers in realistic working environments throughout their course producing material in a range of formats which helps hone skills in communication, writing and editing.
• This also develops students’ transferable skills including self-organisation, meeting deadlines, time management, working under pressure and writing for a variety of audiences.
• They also put their learning into practice in work placements with a variety of media employers gaining first hand experience of professional newsrooms. Employers place a high value on work placements during the recruitment process.

History

History students develop teamwork skills on our Group Research module, agreeing a collaborative research topic and working toward an oral and written report. Oral communication skills are enhanced through assessed contributions to seminars in European History, while self-motivation, presentation skills are encouraged in the Independent Research module. Employability skills are also built in to a first-year skills-based unit, and we run the History Workplace Experience unit in year 2 that offers our undergraduates the chance to work with one of Portsmouth’s heritage sites, such as the Historic Dockyard or the National Museum of the Royal Navy.

Sociology

Sociology teaches a range of capabilities and skills that are valued by prospective employers and are easily transferable to the workplace. You will have the capacity to analyse arguments and interrogate data, to handle information from a variety of sources, to manage and analyse large amounts of complex information, to undertake independent and team-based research, to construct and communicate reasoned arguments, to write in a concise and informative way and to manage your own time and projects efficiently. You will also have developed excellent written and oral presentation skills, essential qualities in a graduate. These transferable skills are used in a wide range of career opportunities across the private, public and voluntary sectors.

In addition, the subject specific skills of a sociology graduate are highly valued by employers. The in-depth of knowledge of human societies, the ability to critically evaluate central issues affecting society and the capacity to gain insights into how people respond to a variety of situations will enhance your employability in a range of fields. Graduates from our sociology degree programmes pursue careers in a wide variety of professions, including the police force, housing services, local government, youth work and the civil service. Many have also entered careers in marketing, advertising, journalism, banking and finance. Some also continue their education in postgraduate programmes of study, either related to their sociology degree or that take them into specific careers like law, social work, teaching, probation, counselling and journalism.

English literature

Studying English Literature helps students to develop high level analytical, oral, written and presentational skills, which translate well into the workplace and are highly valued by employers. In addition to these generic skills, we have designed material into our curriculum to support student employability more directly. Employability issues are embedded in our first year skills units, and students are also asked to deliver group presentations, providing the opportunity to work with others to achieve a specific goal, enhancing their abilities as team-players and giving them the experience of organising a project and delegating roles and responsibilities. For second year students, the Literary Prizes and Public Acclaim unit features a publisher’s report as one of its assessment tasks, which allows students to directly link their skills in academic analysis to a workplace context. In addition to this, throughout their studies, students will be encouraged to work as independent learners, and to develop their time management skills both by working to course work deadlines, and within exam situations.

Politics and international relations

Politics and International Relations provides students with a wide range of skills and knowledge which is very attractive to employers. The range of specialist expertise offered at Portsmouth means that students are able to undertake comparative study not just of the UK but of other regions such as the Middle East, Russia, Africa and other European states. In addition they can study issues such as conflict resolution, development, climate change, security. This enables ourstudents to take advantage of employment opportunities in a whole range of governmental and non-government organisations not only at local but national and international level.

The assessments and content of the courses are geared to ensuring that students develop a wide range of skills which employers are looking for such as research skills, data collection and analysis, as well as the ability to work independently and manage their own projects. Students’ teamworking and presentational skills are polished in the degree through the seminar work and group assessments. Students also make use of the briefing and policy documents used by politicians, think tanks and NGOs. This means that our undergraduates are already familiar with the kinds of skills, such as writing of reports and briefing papers, that are required for work in a whole range of local, national and international organisations.