Computer Science BSc

Institution City University London
Method At the institution
Location London
Type Undergraduate
Course fee By request

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Computer Science BSc

Academic title Computer Science BSc
Course description Course overview

Professional recognition

This course is recognised by the British Computer Society for exemption from their professional examinations and offers a pathway to Chartered status.

Are you interested in how software really works?

Computer science focuses on investigating how computer software works and how it can be used to solve real-world problems.

A degree in Computer Science from City will provide you with a strong, broad-based education in computing as a scientific and technological discipline.

You will gain:

    * an appreciation of the foundations of computation
    * an understanding of the structure of programming languages
    * the skills to put these concepts and technologies into practice.

Whilst at City, you will

    * acquire expertise in a wide variety of technologies
    * acquire an in-depth understanding of the principles and theories that underpin the technologies
    * learn commercially valuable skills
    * work with our internationally renowned research groups learning the latest developments in computer science.

This degree is suitable for you if:

    * you have a strong interest in software technologies and you want to know how they work, how to build them, and how to use them
    * you are looking for a career in which a comprehensive grounding in computing will give you the advantage
    * you want the fundamental knowledge and skills to keep up to date in a field in which rapid and accelerating change is the rule rather than the exception.

Course content

This degree is part of the computing undergraduate programme, the common structure is described below. Specialist topics covered include:

    * Functional programming
    * The Haskell programming language
    * Compilers
    * Theory of computation

Our degrees are challenging, intensive and require commitment and motivation. In return you will receive a thorough, interesting and well-regarded education taught by highly-motivated experts. This will give you an excellent start to your career in the IT industry.

The structure of your degree is based around three parts, each corresponding to one year of a three-year degree. Commonality is emphasised as far as possible, allowing you maximum flexibility to change your degree course once registered.

A one-year placement can be taken between the second and final year. Alternatively, you can choose the Professional Pathway route, where Parts II and III are spread over three years whilst you work part time on a placement - see the section on Placements and the Professional Pathway for details.

Part I: Foundations
You will gain a firm foundation in computing in the following modules:

    * Programming in Java
    * Software Engineering
    * Systems Architecture
    * Databases
    * Mathematics for Computing
    * Business and Organisations

Communication and professional development skills, essential for a successful career in IT, are also covered.

The first year is identical for all our courses, allowing you ample time to make an informed choice of which computing degree to study.

Part II: Core knowledge and skills
You will learn the core knowledge and skills needed in the IT profession, including topics such as:

    * Object-Oriented Analysis and Design
    * Networks and Operating Systems
    * Research and Professional Issues
    * A team project, a quarter of your second year, plays an important role in developing your team-working skills in a software development environment
    * Depending on your course you will take either Human-Computer Interaction (Business Computing and Information Systems) or Data Structures and Algorithms (all others).

You will also study two modules relevant to your specialism, such as functional programming for computer science, or organisational behaviour for business computing. This is described further in the specific course entries.

Part III: Advanced topics
The centrepiece of final year is your individual project; this will demonstrate to employers that you can apply your knowledge and devise a novel solution to a problem. Your project may be undertaken in conjunction with one of our research groups in artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction or software engineering. Alternatively, you may undertake your project with the company you worked for whilst on placement.

You will also take an advanced module in the area of specialisation of your degree.

You will also have the opportunity to gain knowledge of your specialism and broaden your education by selecting four modules from our wide range of final year elective modules. Example electives are:

    * Advanced Databases
    * Advanced Music Informatics
    * Bioinformatics
    * Business Engineering with ERP Solutions
    * Business Object Technology
    * Computer Graphics
    * Data Mining
    * E-Commerce
    * Management of IT Strategy
    * Project Management
    * Requirements Engineering
    * Software Agents
    * Theory of Computation

In addition to the above, you may take up to two of the four elective modules from the specialist modules taken in the second year of the other computing courses.

Teaching and assessment

Teaching is a combination of lectures, case studies, seminars, and laboratory sessions. Project and group work aim to develop creativity and problem solving and play a major part of the course. Communication and professional development skills are covered in the first year. Teaching is also supported online by the CitySpace e-learning system.

Assessment is by examination and coursework though some components, such as the team project, are assessed by coursework alone. A large individual project is undertaken in the final year. Your final degree classification is calculated from your second and final years, with the weighting 40 per cent to 60 per cent.