Preparing for semester one

The transition from undergraduate to postgraduate can be a daunting prospect for some applicants. To ease the process, we have devised a series of helpful guidelines and non-compulsory activities to prepare you for the best possible start to your studies.

Postgraduate-level teaching: what to expect

As a postgraduate student, you will be expected to undertake more self-directed, independent learning. You will be required to think for yourself and develop critical reading and writing. This means having the ability to assess whether an argument is coherent and well supported by evidence. 
 
You should express your ideas and opinions in your own words, both in class and in your assignments. Memorising and recalling large amounts of information will be less important than building critical arguments.
 
Plagiarism is the term used to describe the use of else’s words or ideas in your own work, without adequately acknowledging or referencing the source. You can plagiarise by quoting (using the exact words of another source) or paraphrasing (putting the ideas of another source into your own words). 
 
Plagiarism is treated very seriously at Loughborough University London. Penalties for plagiarism can be very severe; you could fail a module or your entire course. This attitude towards plagiarism may be different from what you are used to, so make sure that you are familiar with how to quote and paraphrase correctly when including references in your work.
 
Whilst you will be provided with support on referencing and avoiding plagiarism from the University Librarian as part of your studies, you can familiarise yourself with the information below ahead of your studies with us.
Plagarism advice sheet Adobe PDF document, 78KB Citing and Referencing Advice Adobe PDF document, 344KB

Preparing for your programme

You will be expected to take an active part in live discussions and activities from day one. Your academic faculty will encourage you to challenge yourself, ask questions and engage with your peers in order to progress your understanding to a much deeper level. 
 
Your lectures and tutorials are formatted so that you can put forward new ideas, raise issues and interact with the teaching in a stimulating and supportive environment.

Block teaching 

At Loughborough University London, many of our modules are taught in short, 3-4 week bursts rather than over a full semester. This is an intensive form of learning which encourages you to become immersed into a topic for a short period of time. Unlike traditional University teaching, which is paced through the course of a semester, you will avoid the distraction of multiple modules running in parallel and will be able to focus all of your efforts into a much smaller range of topics.
 
If you are studying full-time, it is likely that your timetable will allocate approximately three lectures per module per week, with each module being accompanied by a regular tutorial or seminar session. If you are studying part-time, you can find out how many hours you are likely to be in class per week by emailing london-enquiries@lboro.ac.uk up to 8 weeks prior to the start of your programme.
 
Attendance is monitored in all classes.

Action-based learning

Action-based learning is a key component of every module at Loughborough University London and is a core part of the Collaborative Project module, which is studied by all full-time master's students. You will work with students from a range of disciplines for the duration of the module, and will explore innovative and creative solutions to a brief, which is supplied by a real business or organisation.
 
By engaging with students from a range of backgrounds and by working in partnership with a real business or organisation, you will develop a broad range of advanced problem-solving, communication and team-working skills. To best prepare for this exciting module, take a look through some of our previous collaborative projects.

Assessments

Assessments vary across modules, but most modules require written assessment in the form of essays. However, you may also be assessed by exams, case studies, group work, presentations, posters, reports or learning diaries/journals. All assignments will have strict deadlines.

Tuition fee payments

There are a number of ways you can pay your tuition fees. Tuition fees can be paid for all programmes in one sum by the fourth week of the first term. Alternatively, you may pay your fees in 3 equal termly instalments from October to May by direct debit from a UK bank account. Some students pay their fees through a sponsor. For more information, please see here.

Recommended reading

For each module you will be provided with a reading list. In some modules you will be expected to read something for each class, for others, you may just be provided with readings suggested to develop your understanding of the topic. All books on a reading list will be available from the Library, often electronically.

Before your studies begin, you may wish to browse through the recommended reading below, which aims to prepare you for the start of term.

Design Innovation programmes

To get an idea of the level of reading required for our Institute for Design Innvoation programmes, please see the following article:

Beckman, S. L., & Barry, M. (2007) Innovation as a learning process: Embedding design thinking. California management review, 50(1), 25-56.

Digital Technologies programmes

To get an idea of the level of reading required for these programmes, please see the following article:

L’heureux, A., et al. (2017). Machine learning with big data: Challenges and approaches. IEEE Access, 5, 7776-7797.

Diplomacy and International Governance programmes

Diplomacy, Business and Trade MSc

To get an idea of the level of reading required for this course please see the following article:

Gilboa, E. (2008). Searching for a theory of public diplomacy. The annals of the American academy of political and social science, 616(1), 55-77.

Diplomacy and International Governance MSc

To get an idea of the level of reading required for this course please see the following article:

Adler-Nissen, R., Galpin, C., & Rosamond, B. (2017). Performing Brexit: How a post-Brexit world is imagined outside the United Kingdom. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 19(3), 573-591

Security, Peace-building and Diplomacy MSc

To get an idea of the level of reading required for this course please see the following article:

Ratner, S. R. (1997). Peacebuilding and the Limits of Liberal Internationalism. International Security, 22(2), 54-89.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship programmes

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management MSc

To get an idea of the level of reading required for this course please see the following article:

Lawson, B., & Samson, D. (2001). Developing innovation capability in organisations: a dynamic capabilities approach. International journal of innovation management, 5(3), 377-400.

Entrepreneurship, Finance and Innovation MSc

To get an idea of the level of reading required for this course please see the following article:

Mollick, E. (2014). The dynamics of crowdfunding: An exploratory study. Journal of business venturing, 29(1), 1-16.

Managing Innovation in Creative Organisations MSc

To get an idea of the level of reading required for this course please see the following article:

Wilson, N. C., & Stokes, D. (2005). Managing creativity and innovation: The challenge for cultural entrepreneurs. Journal of small business and enterprise development, 12(3), 366-378.

International Management programmes

To get an idea of the level of reading required for our International Management programmes, please see the following article:

Witt, M. A., & Redding, G. (2013). Asian business systems: Institutional comparison, clusters and implications for varieties of capitalism and business systems theory. Socio-Economic Review, 11(2), 265-300.

Media and Creative Industries programmes

Global Communication and Social Change MA

Foundations in Communication and Social Change

Programme Director, Dr Jessica Noske-Turner, has put together some introductory and foundational texts on the topic of global communication and social change(listed in alphabetical order):

To read the full open access reading list, please visit our blog.

Media and Creative Industries MA

To get an idea of the level of reading required for this course please see the following article:

DiMaggio, P., Hargittai, E., Neuman, W. R., & Robinson, J. P. (2001). Social implications of the Internet. Annual review of sociology, 27(1), 307-336.

Sport Business programmes

Sport Analytics and Technologies MSc

To get an idea of the level of reading required for this course please see the following article:

Gantz, W., & Lewis, N. (2014). Sports on traditional and newer digital media: Is there really a fight for fans?. Television & New Media, 15(8), 760-768

Sport Business and Innovation MSc

To get an idea of the level of reading required for this course please see the following article:

Skinner, James; Engelberg, E. Terry (2017): New problems, new challenges: embracing innovative approaches to sport research. Loughborough University. Journal contribution.

Sport Business and Leadership MSc

To get an idea of the level of reading required for this course please see the following article:

Arnold, R., Fletcher, D., & Molyneux, L. (2012). Performance leadership and management in elite sport: recommendations, advice and suggestions from national performance directors. European sport management quarterly, 12(4), 317-336.

Sport Marketing MSc

To get an idea of the level of reading required for this course please see the following article:

Ratten, V., & Ratten, H. (2011). International sport marketing: practical and future research implications. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, 26(8), 614-620.

Supporting you

The academic faculty, professional services team and LSU London will provide you with a strong support network to help you through every step of your postgraduate journey.
 
For more information about the range of support services available to you, please see our student support pages.