ARU Certificate for Professional Development (ARUCPD)

ARUCPD is a free, ARU-accredited, award-winning co-curricular course available to students across all faculties in Cambridge and Chelmsford. Every module has been designed to be relevant to industry and to give ARU students a competitive edge in the job market.

Current students can find out more on My ARU.

What is ARUCPD, and what makes it unique?

Each ARUCPD module is designed with input from academics, students, and industry professionals to ensure that the modules offer relevant and progressive knowledge and skills.

ARUCPD is a co-curricular activity, meaning it runs alongside your course. At the start of each trimester, you will have the opportunity to join one of the modules running.

Your degree studies should always remain a priority, which is why ARUCPD is created with you in mind. Generally, you'll be expected to engage with the module for approximately 50 hours, including work outside of face-to-face teaching and meetings, depending on your working style and productivity.

Whether you're balancing your studies with work, raising a family, caring responsibilities, a disability, or any other social or personal factors, you should be able to find a module that fits around your existing commitments.

Key facts

"You can literally choose a module depending on your lifestyle and you'll never be disappointed.

"My ARUCPD modules helped me to enhance the skills I had and made me feel more confident and secure in my abilities but also allowed me to gain new skills in goal setting, time management, critical thinking, and innovation."

Althea
BSc (Hons) Business with Tourism Management

ARUCPD modules will enhance your degree course and overall university experience in a variety of ways:

  • You'll develop new skills, which can open up fresh ways of thinking.
  • You can discover subject areas that are not directly connected to your degree course.
  • You can pick modules on topics you are familiar with already, allowing you to brush up on old skills and grow in confidence, or get ahead of the game by studying a topic you'll return to later in your degree.
  • You'll connect with students across different levels of study, campuses, courses, and faculties.
  • You'll become part of our ARUCPD community, with access to exclusive events such as CV-writing workshops tailored to showcasing ARUCPD, and guest lectures.
  • If you are applying for part-time work, placements or internship alongside your studies, you can demonstrate to potential employers how you've gone above and beyond, and how you developed your professional skills at university

"I can clearly see how ARUCPD modules I took complemented my main studies.

Not only have I gained so many additional skills, ARUCPD has supported me with my studies by outlining key areas then covered in my modules, making understanding content in my classes much easier."

Lucy
BSc (Hons) Business Management

Any extra- and co-curricular activities will help set you apart from the crowd, but ARUCPD offers standout skills and benefits such as:

  • Accreditation: modules will show on your degree transcript alongside your degree, providing solid evidence of skills development and learning that employers look for.
  • Chances to try subject areas outside of your current field of study.
  • Opportunities to use work-related, practical skills in your assessments.
  • Experience of being part of a multi-cultural community of individuals with different working styles, from different faculties and courses.
  • Networking opportunities.
  • Access to exclusive events, including employability workshops.
  • New skills to apply to your degree studies, which could improve your overall grade.

92% of students agree that ARUCPD brought value to their CVs and helped them improve their career prospects.

"ARUCPD is great, and it's a huge boost to my CV.

"Being able to highlight my co-curricular activities and skills gained from the ARUCPD modules has allowed me to receive two competitive year-long finance internship offers."

Cameron
BSc (Hons) Banking and Finance
"The modules I have completed have proven to be extremely beneficial in my career search and have provided me with invaluable experience."
Sultonmurod
BSc (Hons) Banking and Finance

We have different modules running each trimester, and these will continue to change based on what employers are looking for.

In previous years, module subjects have included:

  • Building businesses
  • Sustainability
  • Social media
  • Bloomberg
  • Sage Business Cloud Accounting
  • Mental agility
  • Being your own boss
  • French for business
  • Negotiating
  • Mooting
  • Sales
  • Investing
  • Developing products
  • Working with and understanding data

There are currently over 20 different modules available. Some are delivered by ARU academics or external industry experts, while others are student-led or based on independent study.

"The variety of skills developed through ARUCPD has been incredibly beneficial and they help me both with studies and in working life.

"These modules opened doors for me that I would have otherwise not even knocked on, thinking it’s not for me because it’s too hard or too technical, or just doesn’t match with my previous qualifications or experience. They gave me a chance to test the waters in two areas that I didn’t see myself studying."

Agnes
MBA Master of Business Administration

Want to find out more?

Get in touch with one of our dedicated ARUCPD team members at [email protected]

Current students can find out more on My ARU.