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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. The Business Information Technology degree incorporates much of the Computing BSc course, but also includes business-oriented modules.
Overview
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 Consultancy option offers the opportunity to learn how to become an IT Consultant by providing computing support to local businesses while earning credits 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.
Think Kent video series
Computers are very good at mechanical tasks but can they be creative? In this talk, Dr Anna Jordanous from the School of Computing looks at why we would want to study computers being creative and what we can learn from this work. Anna is based at the Medway campus and teaches at both Canterbury and Medway.
Independent rankings
In the National Student Survey 2015, 87% of School of Computing students were satisfied with the overall quality of their course.
The School of Computing at Kent is ranked 3rd in the UK for graduate prospects in The Guardian University Guide 2016, and, in the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey*, 96% of students had found employment or gone on to further study within six months of graduating in 2014.
In the National Student Survey 2015, business studies was ranked 5th in the UK for student satisfaction. In The Complete University Guide 2016, business and management was ranked 2nd in the south-east for overall performance.
*conducted by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA)
Course structure
The course structure below gives a flavour of the modules that will be available to you 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. Most programmes will require you to study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. You may also have the option to take ‘wild’ modules from other programmes offered by the University in order that you may customise your programme and explore other subject areas of interest to you or that may further enhance your employability.
Teaching and assessment
Most modules run for a single 12-week term, and usually include a combination of lectures, seminars, private study and practical sessions.
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. 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.
Programme aims
The programme aims to:
- meet the needs of those contemplating a career involving a significant element of computing and those motivated by intellectual interests in applied computing and business administration
- provide a sound knowledge and systematic understanding of the principles of business information technology
- teach skills that will be of lasting value in a constantly changing field
- offer a range of modules covering the foundations of business IT
- enable students to study in depth selected areas of applied computing and/or business administration
- provide teaching informed by current research and scholarship 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, finance, marketing and organisational strategy
- social science concepts and theories and the ability to apply them to business and management contexts.
Intellectual skills
You gain the following intellectual abilities:
- an understanding of the modelling and design of computer-based systems in a way that demonstrates comprehension of the trade-off involved in design choices
- communication: present rational and reasoned arguments to a range of audiences
- identify and analyse criteria and specifications appropriate to specific problems and plan strategies for their solution
- analyse the extent to which a computer-based system meets the criteria defined for its current use and future development
- deploy appropriate 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
- demonstrate a basic analytical ability and its relevance to everyday life
- critically evaluate arguments and evidence
- analyse and draw reasoned conclusions concerning structured, and unstructured, problems.
Subject-specific skills
You gain subject-specific skills in the following:
- design and implementation: specify, design and implement computer-based systems
- evaluation: evaluate systems in terms of general quality attributes and possible trade offs presented within the given problem
- information management: apply the principles of effective management, organisation and retrieval skills to information of various kinds
- tools: deploy 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
- identify, formulate and solve business/decision-making problems using appropriate qualitative and quantitative tools
- create, evaluate and assess options, in a range of business situations, applying concepts and knowledge appropriately
- communicate effectively, orally and in writing, about business issues.
Transferable skills
You gain transferable skills in the following:
- communication: make succinct presentations to a range of audiences about technical problems and their solutions
- IT: knowledge of information retrieval skills (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.
Careers
Graduates who have both IT knowledge and business skills can expect excellent career prospects. Our recent graduates now work at Accenture, Barclays Capital, BT, GlaxoSmithKline, IBM, Intel, KCC, Kent Police, Lilly, Microsoft, Oracle, Thomson Reuters, T-Mobile and Thales.
Entry requirements
Home/EU students
The University will consider applications from students offering a wide range of qualifications, typical requirements are listed below, students offering alternative qualifications should contact the Admissions Office for further advice. It is not possible to offer places to all students who meet this typical offer/minimum requirement.
| Qualification | Typical offer/minimum requirement |
|---|---|
| A level | ABB |
| GCSE | Mathematics grade C |
| Access to HE Diploma | The University of Kent will not necessarily make conditional offers to all access candidates but will continue to assess them on an individual basis. If an offer is made candidates will be required to obtain/pass the overall Access to Higher Education Diploma and may also be required to obtain a proportion of the total level 3 credits and/or credits in particular subjects at merit grade or above. |
| BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma (formerly BTEC National Diploma) | BTEC National Diploma Distinction, Distinction, Merit |
| International Baccalaureate | 34 points overall or 16 points at HL including Mathematics 4 at HL or SL |
International students
The University receives applications from over 140 different nationalities and consequently will consider applications from prospective students offering a wide range of international qualifications. Our International Development Office will be happy to advise prospective students on entry requirements. See our International Student website for further information about our country-specific requirements.
Please note that if you need to increase your level of qualification ready for undergraduate study, we offer a number of International Foundation Programmes through Kent International Pathways.
English Language Requirements
Please see our English language entry requirements web page.
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.
General entry requirements
Please also see our general entry requirements.
Fees
The 2016/17 annual tuition fees for this programme are:
| UK/EU | Overseas | |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time |
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
The Government has announced changes to allow undergraduate tuition fees to rise in line with inflation from 2017/18.
The University of Kent is currently considering whether to increase its regulated full-time tuition fees for all returning Home and EU undergraduates from £9,000 to £9,250 in September 2017. This would be subject to us satisfying the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework and the access regulator's requirements. The equivalent part-time fees for these courses might also rise by 2.8%.
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.* If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk
Funding
Kent offers generous financial support schemes to assist eligible undergraduate students during their studies. Details of our proposed funding opportunities for 2016 entry can be found on our funding page.
General scholarships
Scholarships are available for excellence in academic performance, sport and music and are awarded on merit. For further information on the range of awards available and to make an application see our scholarships website.
The Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence
At Kent we recognise, encourage and reward excellence. We have created the Kent Scholarship for Academic Excellence. For 2016 entry, the scholarship will be awarded to any applicant who achieves a minimum of AAA over three A levels, or the equivalent qualifications as specified on our scholarships pages. Please review the eligibility criteria on that page.