Overview
1st place in the 2022 National Student Survey for Combined Studies.
What makes some nations rich and others poor? Are there some places on earth you just wouldn’t want to live? Is it just economics and leadership or are deeper factors at work? If you’d like to explore the answers to these questions, this course is for you.
Within the core spine of your Global Challenges degree, you will take an in-depth look at issues such as climate change, sustainable development, migration, terrorism, inequality and poverty and how they affect the world we live in. Alongside this, with the Social Cohesion pathway you will delve into the pressing need to address social wellbeing.
Looking at the multiple challenges of economic hardship, unemployment, terrorism, and mass human migration, you will address the causes and consequences of social inequalities, and the ways in which they can be tackled.
In your first year you will explore global issues like capitalism, poverty, social injustice and social infrastructures as you start you to think critically about the influence of power in social inequality.
In your second year you will focus on social cohesion and social wellness and how it relates to the challenges associated with the migration of displaced peoples and the role cyberculture and cybersecurity. In your final year, you will study social conflict as you explore war, violence and human rights violations.
Throughout your course you will build your ability to work in teams as you build skills in project management, debates, presenting and team pitches. A third year Enterprise Project will help to bring all these skills together as you work on a group project with a real organisation.
You have the option to apply for an internship at the end of your first year and can take a one-year placement between years two and three, giving you valuable work experience and a step ahead for your career when you graduate.
At the end of the course, your knowledge of social issues and your problem solving capabilities will allow you to follow a career with a focus on making change for good.
"I wanted to study something that combined science with geopolitics in order to understand the world that we live in today." - Giacomo Garberoglio
"I wanted to study something that combined science with geopolitics in order to understand the world that we live in today." - Giacomo Garberoglio
You can explore our campus and facilities for yourself by taking our virtual tour.
Course content
Your Global Challenges course is structured around a core spine of compulsory modules where you'll tap into the expertise of several departments from across the university.
In addition, you'll study a set of modules which are focused on your Social Cohesion pathway to build your specialist knowledge.
Core elements of your degree have been developed to work in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). As the lead United Nations agency in tackling some of the most pressing challenges facing our world, this partnership ensures that what you’ll learn is timely, relevant and responsive.
In practice this includes working on real life case studies that bring the skills and experience of industry experts and academics to the student learning experience, to respond to live briefs aimed at supporting the UNDP’s international development priorities.
This connection not only ensures your project work will be specific and focused, but also develop your problem solving and project delivery skills in ways that, beyond supporting your future career, have the potential to bring real world impact through our partners.
Compulsory
- Methods for addressing global and local challenges
- Addressing Global Challenges II
- Global Challenges: contested science, ethics and numbers
- Understanding Social Cohesion Concepts and Structures
- Systems of Society: Analysis and Exploration
- Approaches to Media: Interpretation and Dissemination
- Introduction to Social CohesionThis module provides an introduction to the causes and consequences of social inequalities as well as the processes and approaches by which they might be confronted. Introduction to Social Cohesion explores the pressing issues of our age including global capitalism, global poverty, social justice, democratic processes and social infrastructures.
Compulsory
- Movements & Technologies
- Constructing Knowledge: Developing a qualitative methods toolkit
- Practical and theoretical responses to the challenges of global change
- The World through Data
- Migrations Portfolio
- Dialogue and Dissent: Reflections and Responses- Policy Briefing
- Civic Design and Social Cohesion
Compulsory
- Challenges & Communities
- Evidence Based Policymaking
- Investigating Challenges and Communities
- Global Challenges in Practice
- Arts and Sciences Dissertation in Global Challenges
- Global Challenges in Practice Enterprize Project
This course can be studied undefined undefined, starting in undefined.
This course has a placement option. Find out more about work placements available.
Please note that all modules are subject to change.
Read more about the structure of undergraduate degrees at Brunel.
Careers and your future
Today’s workforce seeks graduates who are not only flexible and determined, but also have the awareness and ability to respond to the challenges faced by different industries across a rapidly-changing world.
Global Challenges is both a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science. Having developed skills in scientific, social scientific and humanities fields, our graduates will be able to confidently engage with a range of perspectives, evidence bases and stakeholders.
Ultimately, graduates will be able to actively contribute and lead the necessary change needed to respond to emerging issues. You’ll be able to innovate and improve processes in a dynamic manner, and to actively contribute to improving outcomes for employers, or as an employer yourself.
Graduates from this programme will be equipped for roles in a number of industries including, but certainly not limited to, business, media and communications, systems design and consulting, international development, healthcare, government and diplomatic services
UK entry requirements
2024/25 entry
- GCE A-level ABB-BBC.
- BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma DMM in any subject.
- BTEC Level 3 Diploma DM in any subject with an A-Level at grade C.
- BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma M in any subject with A-Levels grade BB.
- International Baccalaureate Diploma 29 points.
- Obtain a minimum of 112 UCAS tariff points in the Access to HE Diploma with 45 credits at Level 3.
- T levels : Merit overall in Media, Broadcast and Production.
A minimum of five GCSEs are required, including GCSE Mathematics grade C or grade 4 and GCSE English Language grade C or grade 4 or GCSE English Literature grade B or grade 5.
Brunel University London is committed to raising the aspirations of our applicants and students. We will fully review your UCAS application and, where we’re able to offer a place, this will be personalised to you based on your application and education journey.
Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants as well as our full GCSE requirements and accepted equivalencies in place of GCSEs.
EU and International entry requirements
If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list. This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made.
English language requirements
- IELTS: 6.5 (min 5.5 in all areas)
- Pearson: 59 (59 in all subscores)
- BrunELT: 63% (min 55% in all areas)
- TOEFL: 90 (min R18, L17, S20, W17)
You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our English Language Requirements page.
Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options through our Brunel Language Centre.
Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants. This information is for guidance only and each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Entry requirements are subject to review, and may change.
Fees and funding
2025/26 entry
UK
£9,535 full-time
£1,385 placement year
International
£20,400 full-time
£1,385 placement year
Fees quoted are per year and may be subject to an annual increase. Home undergraduate student fees are regulated and are currently capped at £9,535 per year; any changes will be subject to changes in government policy. International fees will increase annually, by no more than 5% or RPI (Retail Price Index), whichever is the greater.
More information on any additional course-related costs.
See our fees and funding page for full details of undergraduate scholarships available to Brunel applicants.
Please refer to the scholarships pages to view discounts available to eligible EU undergraduate applicants.
Teaching and learning
Global Challenges is an emerging and exciting subject area which will challenge you to think differently about humanity's relationship with the contemporary world.
You'll have the chance to choose one of four specially curated pathways alongside the ‘core spine’ of the degree so your learning experience will be truly unique. This programme offers you the opportunity to switch between science and non-scientific disciplines whilst providing both local and international contexts to ground everything you learn. This will ultimately give you full exposure and knowledge to the challenges society faces globally, without any restrictions.
Uniquely, the programme is designed in study and assessment blocks. In Levels 4 and 5, the core study block consists of 50 credits and the pathway study block of 70 credits. In Level 6, the core study block consists of 70 credits, whereas your pathway study block is weighted as 50 credits
Main activities include:
- lectures (weekly);
- seminar (weekly),
- pathway small group classes (weekly);
- module classes curated by your pathway lead.
All lectures, seminars, pathway small group classes and module classes curated by your pathway lead are in-person, on campus. Attendance will enable you to participate fully and with minimal disruptions, and ensure you are able to engage in meaningful discussions.
We are committed to enabling dynamic knowledge sharing, and students have noted repeatedly that in-person learning makes personal connections with like-minded peers not only easier but that this form of bonding forges opportunities for deeper understanding of key concepts and support in learning.
Through seminar series and a network of staff members, students are also connected with industry partners in order to independently access extracurricular opportunities, paid employment or internships.
Students are strongly advised to purchase core texts from module reading lists, although copies are also available via Brunel Library.
Access to a laptop or desktop PC is required for joining online activities, completing coursework and digital exams, and a minimum specification can be found here.
We have computers available across campus for your use and laptop loan schemes to support you through your studies. You can find out more here.
The aim of this new Bachelor of Arts and Sciences is to develop your knowledge and understanding of the natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, technology, philosophy and ethics and how they can contribute to identifying, understanding and responding to global issues and concerns.
This is the first course of its kind to offer students opportunities to work across disciplines in a global context between science, social science and humanities disciplines.
You'll be taught by staff who are actively engaged in research or relevant professional practice, making your learning up-to-date with current findings in real-world experiences which will feed into teaching. You'll learn in a variety of ways including lectures, tutorials, workshops and seminars, as well as one-to-one supervision in your final year project.
Should you need any non-academic support during your time at Brunel, the Student Support and Welfare Team are here to help.
Assessment and feedback
Course assessments are synoptic in nature as they will draw on the knowledge you acquire across the various disciplines covered. Assessment methods may include presentations, written and audio-visual reports in the form of vlogs and blogs, essays, examinations, laboratory worksheets, coursework, and peer assessment.
Read our guide on how to avoid plagiarism in your assessments at Brunel.
