Undergraduate 2013

A place to inspire you / An approach to challenge you


Computer Science

Key facts
Start year: 2013
Location: Canterbury
Award/s: BSc (Hons)
Type: Full-time
Options: Year in industry

Computer Science is an exciting and rapidly developing subject that offers excellent employment prospects and well-paid careers.

At the University of Kent, we teach you the fundamentals of computer science as well as giving you the opportunity to choose from a broad range of options in areas such as computer security and cryptography, mobile computing and parallel computing.

Our degree programme can be studied as the Computer Science general degree, where a subject focus is decided during the course of your study, or as a themed degree, such as Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence), where a specific focus is decided at the time of enrolment and named in the degree title.

Well over half our students choose to do a year in industry. This gives you work experience, a salary and the possibility of a job with the same company after graduation. The Kent IT Clinic option offers the opportunity to learn how to become an IT Consultant by providing computing support to local businesses while earning credit towards your degree.

The School of Computing is an internationally recognised Centre of Excellence for programming education, with 95% of our research judged to be of international quality. The School is also home to two National Teaching Fellows, authors of widely used textbooks and award-winning Java teaching systems such as BlueJ and Greenfoot.

Modules

Stage 1

You take eight 15-credit core modules which are likely to cover the following topics: the foundations of computing, computer systems, networking and programming.

Stage 2

You take eight 15-credit core modules which are likely to cover the following topics: advanced programming, algorithms, databases, software engineering, consultancy, concurrency, operating systems and networking.

Stage 3

Core module
  • Computing Project or Consultancy

Further modules are chosen from a range, covering: computational intelligence, computing education, future computing, IT consultancy, security, and programming languages and systems.

Year in industry

There are year in industry options on all our programmes. The School of Computing's dedicated Placement Team help you to find a placement, and support you during the year. Students go to a wide range of companies including IBM and Intel, or overseas to employers in locations including Amsterdam, Hong Kong and the USA.

Teaching and assessment

Most modules run for a single 12-week term, and are usually a combination of lectures, seminars, private study and practical sessions. Assessment is by a combination of coursework and end-of-year examination and details are shown in the module outlines on the web. Project modules are assessed wholly by coursework.

Entry requirements

Passing the computer science pathway of the Kent IFP guarantees you entry onto the first year of all single honours degree programmes.

Not sure? How about...
  • Computer Systems Engineering
  • Computing – Joint Honours
  • Multimedia Technology and Design
  • Web Computing

    • Offer levels

    ABB at A level in any subject, IB Diploma 33 points overall or 16 points at Higher Level.

    BTEC Extended Diploma Distinction, Distinction, Distinction.

    Direct entry to Stage 2: typically, Distinction at HND level.

    Required subjects

    GCSE Mathematics grade C or in IB Diploma 5 in Mathematics or 6 in Mathematics Studies.

    Careers

    Those students who choose to take the year in industry option find the practical experience they gain gives them a real advantage in the graduate job market. In addition, the Kent IT Clinic gives you the opportunity to take on consultancy work for local companies, giving you real-world experience and earning credits towards your academic studies. Our high graduate employment rate speaks for itself, with recent graduates going on to work at Accenture, BT, Cisco, GlaxoSmithKline, IBM, Intel, Lilly, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Oracle, Thomson Reuters, Siemens and T-Mobile.

    For more information on the services Kent provides to improve your employment prospects, visit www.kent.ac.uk/employability

    Professional recognition

    G400, G404, G4G7, G4GR: These programmes have full Chartered IT Professional (CITP) accreditation from the British Computer Society (BCS).

    G403, G406, G421, G420: Full accreditation has been applied for.

    Further information

    Student profile

    Subject leaflet (pdf)

    School:

    Enquiries:

    T: +44 (0)1227 827272

    E: information@kent.ac.uk

    Publishing Office - © University of Kent

    The University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NZ, T: +44 (0)1227 764000

    Last Updated: 08/11/2011