Business Information Technology

Business Information Technology - BSc (Hons)
with a Year in Industry

Undergraduate Open Day

Join us at our Canterbury campus on Saturday 22 April from 10:00 - 14:00 (BST). Hear from staff and students about our courses, find out about our accommodation and see our stunning campus for yourself.

The Business Information Technology degree gives you the skills you need for the practical application of computing to areas typically found in industry. These include e-commerce, information systems and computer consultancy.

Overview

Business and commerce need a skilled workforce who understand the foundations of information technology and the principles of business practice. This degree provides a balance of business and information technology and responds to industry needs, enhancing your employment prospects.

Reasons to study a Business Information Technology degree at Kent

  • Study a balance of computing and business oriented modules
  • Learn to use current technology in communications, databases and web solutions to analyse business problems and develop effective solutions
  • Choose to add a year in industry after the second year, giving you work experience, a salary and the possibility of a job with the same company after graduation
  • Course informed by stakeholder panel of industry experts who give feedback on the skills employers need from a modern workforce
  • Partial accreditation from BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.

What you’ll study

You learn a combination of business and software technology; together these give you the ability and confidence to operate comfortably in the business world. The first and second year are comprised of compulsory modules to give you a solid grounding in both computing and business. In your final year, you can choose from a range of optional modules in areas that you want to explore in more depth or that will help with your chosen career path.

Year in industry

Your year in industry takes place between your second and final years, giving you invaluable work experience. You earn a salary and there may be the possibility of a job with the same company after graduation.

It is also possible to take this degree as a three-year programme, without a year in industry. For details, see Business Information Technology.

Featured video

Watch to find out why you should study at Kent.

Accreditation

This degree has been accredited by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. Accreditation is a mark of assurance that the degree meets the standards set by BCS. An accredited degree entitles you to professional membership of BCS, which is an important part of the criteria for achieving Chartered IT Professional (CITP) status through the Institute. Some employers recruit preferentially from accredited degrees, and an accredited degree is likely to be recognised by other countries that are signatories to international accords. Plus, RITTech for Year in Industry. 

Entry requirements

The University will consider applications from students offering a wide range of qualifications. All applications are assessed on an individual basis but some of our typical requirements are listed below. Students offering qualifications not listed are welcome to contact our Admissions Team for further advice. Please also see our general entry requirements.

  • medal-empty

    A level

    BBB

  • medal-empty GCSE

    Mathematics grade C

  • medal-empty Access to HE Diploma

    The University welcomes applications from Access to Higher Education Diploma candidates for consideration. A typical offer may require you to obtain a proportion of Level 3 credits in relevant subjects at merit grade or above.

  • medal-empty BTEC Nationals

    Distinction, Distinction, Merit

  • medal-empty International Baccalaureate

    30 points overall or 15 points at HL including HL or SL Maths at 4 or SL Maths Studies at 5

  • medal-empty International Foundation Programme

    Pass all components of the University of Kent International Foundation Programme with a 60% overall average and 50% in LZ013 Maths and Statistics (irrespective of whether GCSE Maths or equivalent has been obtained in pre-foundation studies).

  • medal-empty T level

    The University will consider applicants holding T level qualifications in subjects closely aligned to the course.

International students

If you are an international student, visit our International Student website for further information about entry requirements for your country, including details of the International Foundation Programmes. Please note that international fee-paying students who require a Student visa cannot undertake a part-time programme due to visa restrictions.

Please note that meeting the typical offer/minimum requirement does not guarantee that you will receive an offer.

English Language Requirements

Please see our English language entry requirements web page.

Please note that if you do not meet our English language requirements, we offer a number of 'pre-sessional' courses in English for Academic Purposes. You attend these courses before starting your degree programme.

Form

Register for email updates

Course structure

Duration: 4 years full-time

The course structure below gives a flavour of the modules and provides details of the content of this programme. This listing is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.

Fees

The 2023/24 annual tuition fees for this course are:

  • Home full-time £9,250
  • EU full-time £16,400
  • International full-time £21,900

For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.

For students continuing on this programme, fees will increase year on year by no more than RPI + 3% in each academic year of study except where regulated.* 

Your fee status

The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.

Fees for year in industry

Fees for Home undergraduates are £1,385.

Fees for year abroad

Fees for Home undergraduates are £1,385.

Students studying abroad for less than one academic year will pay full fees according to their fee status.

Additional costs

Find out more about accommodation and living costs, plus general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.

Funding

We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.

Search scholarships

Kent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. See our funding page for more details. 

The Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence

At Kent we recognise, encourage and reward excellence. We have created the Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence. 

The scholarship will be awarded to any applicant who achieves a minimum of A*AA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications (including BTEC and IB) as specified on our scholarships pages.

Teaching and assessment

Teaching

Within the School of Computing are authors of widely used textbooks. Programmes are taught by leading researchers who are experts in their fields.

Teaching is based on lectures, with practical classes and seminars, but we are also introducing more innovative ways of teaching, such as virtual learning environments and work-based tuition. Work includes group projects, case studies and computer simulations, with a large-scale project of your own choice in the final year.

Overall workload

Each stage comprises eight modules. Most modules run for a single 12-week term. Each module has two lectures and one to two hours of classes, usually making 14 formal contact hours per week and eight hours of 'homework club' drop-in sessions each term.

Academic support

We provide excellent support for you throughout your time at Kent. This includes access to web-based information systems, podcasts and web forums for students who can benefit from extra help. We use innovative teaching methodologies, including BlueJ and LEGO© Mindstorms for teaching Java programming.

Teaching staff

Our staff have written internationally acclaimed textbooks for learning programming, which have been translated into eight languages and are used worldwide. 

Assessment

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.

The marks from stage one do not go towards your final degree grade, but you must pass to continue to stage two. 

Most stage two modules are assessed by coursework and end-of-year examination. Marks from stage two count towards your degree result. You must pass stage two to go on your year in industry.

The year in industry forms an integral part of your degree and constitutes 10% of your final grade. Assessment comprises an employer evaluation, a reflective report and a logbook/portfolio.

Most stage three modules are assessed by a combination of coursework and end-of-year examination. Projects are assessed by your contribution to the final project, the final report, and oral presentation and viva examination. Marks from stage three count towards your degree result.

Percentage of the course assessed by coursework

In stage three your project counts for 25% of the year's marks. 

Contact hours

For a student studying full time, each academic year of the programme will comprise 1200 learning hours which include both direct contact hours and private study hours.  The precise breakdown of hours will be subject dependent and will vary according to modules.  Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.

Methods of assessment will vary according to subject specialism and individual modules.  Please refer to the individual module details under Course Structure.

Programme aims

The programme aims to:

  • attract and meet the needs of those contemplating a career involving a significant element of computing and those motivated primarily by intellectual interests in applied computing and business administration
  • provide a sound knowledge and systematic understanding of the principles of business information technology
  • provide generally applicable skills that will be of lasting value in a constantly changing field
  • offer a range of modules covering the foundations of business IT
  • offer a range of options to enable students to study in depth selected areas of applied computing and/or business administration
  • provide teaching that is informed by current research and scholarship and which requires students to engage with aspects of work at the frontiers of knowledge
  • develop general critical, analytical and problem-solving skills that can be applied in a wide range of different business, computing and other settings.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding

You gain knowledge and understanding of:

  • hardware: the major functional components of a computer system
  • software: programming languages and practice, tools and packages, computer applications, structuring of data and information
  • communications and interaction: basic computer communication network concepts
  • communication between computers and people, the control and operation of computers
  • practice: problem identification and analysis, design development, testing and evaluation
  • organisations, their environment and their management, including people, operations management, finance, marketing and organisational strategy
  • social science concepts and theories and the ability to apply them to business and management contexts
  • aspects of the core subject areas from the perspective of a commercial or industrial organisation.

Intellectual skills

You gain the following intellectual abilities:

  • modelling: knowledge and understanding in the modelling and design of computer-based systems in a way that demonstrates comprehension of the trade-off involved in design choices
  • reflection and communication: present succinctly to a range of audiences rational and reasoned arguments
  • requirements: identify and analyse criteria and specifications appropriate to specific problems and plan strategies for their solution
  • criteria evaluation and testing: analyse the extent to which a computer-based system meets the criteria defined for its current use and future development
  • methods and tools: deploy theory practices and tools for the specification, design, implementation and evaluation of computer-based systems
  • professional responsibility: recognise and be guided by the professional, economic, social, environmental, moral and ethical issues involved in the sustainable exploitation of computer technology
  • computational thinking: demonstrate a basic analytical ability and its relevance to everyday life
  • critically evaluate arguments and evidence
  • analyse and draw reasoned conclusions concerning structured and, to a more limited extent, unstructured problems
  • apply some of the intellectual skills specified for the programme from the perspective of a commercial or industrial organisation.

Subject-specific skills

You gain subject-specific skills in the following:

  • design and implementation: specifying, designing and implementing computer-based systems
  • evaluation: evaluating systems in terms of general quality attributes and possible trade offs presented within the given problem
  • information management: applying the principles of effective management, organisation and retrieval skills to information of various kinds
  • tools: deploying effectively the tools used for the construction and documentation of software, with particular emphasis on understanding the whole process involved in using computers to solve practical problems
  • identifying, formulating and solving business/decision-making problems using appropriate qualitative and quantitative tools
  • creating, evaluating and assessing options, in a range of business situations, applying concepts and knowledge appropriately
  • communicating effectively, orally and in writing, about business issues.

Transferable skills

You gain transferable skills in the following:

  • communication: making succinct presentations to a range of audiences about technical problems and their solutions
  • IT: effective information retrieval, including the use of browsers, search engines and catalogues, and effective use of general IT facilities
  • numeracy: understanding and presenting cases involving a quantitative dimension
  • self-management: managing your own learning and development, including time management and organisational skills.

Independent rankings

89% of Kent Computer Science and Information Systems graduates were in graduate-level jobs or further study 15 months after graduation. (The Guardian University Guide 2023)

Computer Science at Kent scored over 87% for graduate prospects in The Times Good University Guide 2023.

Careers

Graduate destinations

Graduates who have both IT knowledge and business skills can expect excellent career prospects. Our graduates have gone on to work in:

  • software engineering
  • mobile applications development
  • systems analysis
  • consultancy
  • networking
  • web design and e-commerce
  • finance and insurance
  • commerce
  • engineering
  • education
  • government
  • healthcare. 

Recent graduates have gone on to develop successful careers at leading companies such as:

  • BAE Systems
  • Cisco 
  • IBM
  • The Walt Disney Company
  • Citigroup 
  • BT.

Help finding a job

The University has a friendly Careers and Employability Service, which can give you advice on how to:

  • apply for jobs
  • write a good CV
  • perform well in interviews.

Career-enhancing skills

To help you appeal to employers, you learn key transferable skills that are essential for all graduates. These include the ability to:

You can also gain extra skills by signing up for one of our Kent Extra activities, such as learning a language or volunteering.

Professional recognition

This degree has partial Chartered IT Professional (CITP) accreditation from the BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. 

Apply for Business Information Technology with a Year in Industry - BSc (Hons)

If you are from the UK or Ireland, you must apply for this course through UCAS. If you are not from the UK or Ireland, you can apply through UCAS or directly on our website if you have never used UCAS and you do not intend to use UCAS in the future.

Find out more about how to apply

All applicants

International applicants

Contact us

bubble-text

United Kingdom/EU enquiries

Enquire online for full-time study

T: +44 (0)1227 768896

earth

International student enquiries

Enquire online

T: +44 (0)1227 823254
E: internationalstudent@kent.ac.uk

network

School website

School of Computing

Discover Uni information

Discover Uni is designed to support prospective students in deciding whether, where and what to study. The site replaces Unistats from September 2019.

Discover Uni is jointly owned by the Office for Students, the Department for the Economy Northern Ireland, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales and the Scottish Funding Council.

It includes:

  • Information and guidance about higher education
  • Information about courses
  • Information about providers

Find out more about the Unistats dataset on the Higher Education Statistics Agency website.