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UCAS code:
I103
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Institution code:
S82
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Location:
Ipswich
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Duration:
Three years full-time. Six years part-time. |
Our BSc (Hons) Computing degree has been designed to provide you with everything you need for a successful career as a computing professional. At every level of the degree, we give you the flexibility to choose from a range of specialist computing modules allowing you to design the degree around your individual ambitions and interests.
Introduction
In the first year of the degree, you will gain a solid foundation in computing, web design, networks and programming. You will also be required to choose one optional module from a range of specialist areas including cyber security, data science and artificial intelligence. In the second year, you will have the opportunity to create a substantial product (commonly, a piece of software, a website or mobile app). You will also undertake the degrees core research skills module in preparation for your final year project and dissertation. In addition to this year's core modules, you will be required to choose three optional modules from a wide range of computing topics. During the final year of your degree, you will complete your final project and dissertation. For this, you will be assigned a supervisor who is familiar with your chosen topic. You will also have the opportunity to choose four optional modules from a further range of computing topics allowing you to adapt your learning towards your career aspirations and interests.
Throughout the degree, you are also encouraged to attend an extensive range of seminars and events provided by guest lecturers with backgrounds in technology, business and academia. These same experts often provide real-world briefs for module assessments allowing you to undertake a project specified by industry to meet an organisation’s real needs.
Key Features:
1. A flexible computing degree giving you the ability to create a degree with your ambitions and interests in mind. You can choose from modules in software development, web and mobile development, artificial intelligence and data science, networking, cloud computing, big data and more.
2. Access to AWS, the world’s largest cloud computing infrastructure. The same infrastructure used by leading technology companies such as Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, Disney and Spotify.
3. Access to world-class specialist laboratories at our newly built DigiTech Centre located at Adastral Park, home to over 100 high-tech ICT companies and BT’s innovation labs.
4. Opportunities to work on real-world projects using the latest technologies.
5. An opportunity to start your own business with the University of Suffolk’s Innovation Centre (IWIC) and gain guidance from business leaders and academics.
On our Computing degree, you’ll learn the technical skills employers want. As you progress through the degree, you’ll begin to develop knowledge and hands-on skills in areas such as cyber security, web development, programming, networking, cloud computing and more. After year two, students have the opportunity to enrol on a year-long paid industry placement.
“The University has a high reputation within the fields of technology especially in relation to the degrees it offers for programming and system design. There is also a clear emphasis on employability after graduation”
Karina Karushkova, Graduate
How will you be taught?
You will be taught by experienced lecturers who use their industry and research experience to demonstrate best practices, industry standards and innovative technologies. You’ll experience a variety of teaching methods including lectures and seminar sessions, totalling at least 12 hours of contact time per week. You’ll also have access to our virtual learning environment, Brightspace allowing you 24/7 access to lecture material and activities, both on and off campus.
How will you be assessed?
Throughout the degree, the emphasis is placed on students completing hands-on projects that they can later present in their professional portfolio to employers. A variety of assessment methods are used, including individual and group-based practical projects, quizzes, technical reports and presentations.
Course modules
This module covers the principles of computer systems, hardware components, the essence of operating systems, and relevant computing-related mathematics. It will provide the foundational underpinning to enable students to progress deeper into the disciplines of computing and networking, and a grasp of the history of computing, recent developments and its possible future.
This module introduces the concepts of web design, with a focus on designing responsive websites for a wide range of desktop, tablet and mobile devices. Students are introduced to HTML, CSS and JavaScript allowing them to create interactive, accessible and visually pleasing websites.
This module introduces the concepts of communications and networking. It explores the Open Systems Interconnectivity (OSI) 7-layer reference model and TCP/IP Routing Suite (the 5-layer Internet reference model). TCP/IP is the model which is most commonly deployed in the majority of modern-day networks.
This module introduces the concepts of programming and a modern programming language. Through programming practical’s, students will become fluent in structured programming constructs, procedural programming and object-oriented programming.
This module will introduce the concepts of operating systems, including their structure, memory and storage management, protection and security. Designed with software developers in mind, it will look closely at real-world operating systems such as Windows and UNIX.
This module provides an understanding of why cyber security matters to business, to society and to individuals, coupled with knowledge of basic concepts, attack techniques, attacker types, and the core elements of cyber assurance.
This module introduces the exciting field of artificial intelligence, covering the history of the discipline and exploring a variety of “classical AI” topics. It then studies the tasks involved in addressing problems involving communication, perception and action, preparing the way for techniques developed in later modules.
This module will cover Python programming with particular emphasis on using Python to solve problems with artificial intelligence and data science techniques. No programming experience will be assumed. The module will begin with the key elements of Python programming and build towards harnessing the standard Python libraries and packages to create solutions.
The module seeks to provide students with the opportunity to produce a complete, substantial software product that incorporates elements such as software design, implementation, testing and the production of documentation suitable for end-users as well as advanced engineering topics
Database systems, particularly those based on the Relational Database Model, play a significant role in the world of Information Technology. This module provides essential knowledge and appreciation of the role of relational database systems, including basic principles and practice of design, implementation and development for both system designers and software engineers. It will include practical exercises in Structured Query Language (SQL)
Research skills are an essential set of capabilities in the toolkit of a computing professional. In this module, students will develop knowledge and understanding of the purpose, processes, methods (surveys, experiments, interviews, case studies, etc.), analysis (qualitative and quantitative), and outputs of research and will be able to apply them. This module also delves into the professional, legal and ethical standards and guidelines that inform and guide best practice in business and computing.
This module builds upon the knowledge gained in Introduction to Web Design module, providing students with an advanced understanding of front-end web development and design technologies. Essential for any career in the web industry, students will utilise advanced frameworks, preprocessors and design patterns to create interactive, accessible and mobile-friendly web interfaces. Through interactive hands-on sessions, students will develop their own online portfolio of work and become familiar with the prototyping and agile development methodologies common to the web industry
Software, networks and databases do not exist in isolation, but form part of systems. Few systems are purely technical but are socio-technical and info-socio-technical in nature, where human beings may be central or peripheral to the system, yet be the weakest link in their security. This module introduces, in the context of cyber security, system thinking and human behaviour, and how social engineering and open-source intelligence may be used in both attack and defence of systems and individuals.
This module will provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to develop scalable serverside applications utilising a range of influential web technologies. Throughout the module, there is an emphasis on preparing students for the web industry by ensuring best practices are followed and industry-standard software and tools are used. Additional topics such as security, ethical hacking, APIs and encryption will also be taught to ensure students have the skills required to design and develop industry-ready web systems.
Data science includes many techniques for classification, analysis and prediction. This module focuses on those techniques relating to data mining and statistically driven approaches. These techniques also have the advantage of being “explainable AI”, more so than deep learning approaches, and some are long established techniques of “business intelligence”.
This module is intended to provide students with an understanding of development for mobile devices with a focus on the constraints of mobile hardware, including interface and networking. Students will learn to integrate input from hardware sensors and work with networked data and services
This module focuses on data structures (e.g. linked lists, trees, heaps, hash tables, etc), algorithms (sorting, searching, dynamic programming, greedy, graph, geometric, cryptographic, string matching and compression algorithms, etc), and advanced programming techniques and other language paradigms.
This module provides software engineers with a more in-depth and hands-on understanding of networking concepts, technologies and protocols. The module will cover a number of specific switching and routing techniques and technologies, including those that are intended to provide a measure of security to such networking devices and how these are configured using scripting languages and/or graphical user interfaces (GUIs).
Industry, commerce and research are being transformed by the potential to capture, store, manipulate, analyse and visualise data and information on a massive scale. The advent of Big Data with its variety, velocity and volume disrupted the way we store and manage data. During this module you will learn NoSQL approaches to data modelling, database design and manipulation
This is a major project in a specialist area of computing, addressing a specific real-world business or research issue, suggested by the student, an employer or a staff member. Projects may be undertaken individually or in groups if the problem topic supports a team approach
Cyber security is now an executive-level concern in most organisations. Cyber security specialists will be required to deliver strategic value to their organisations by ensuring security is intrinsic to system architectures by design and by default, by applying appropriate standards in risk analysis, systems modelling and policy design, and scanning the horizon of emergent threat landscapes to discern new issues.
This module covers the full range of skills and knowledge required for “Big Data” including parallel and NoSQL databases, statistical modelling and programming, machine learning, data analytics and visualisation.
A sufficiency of inexpensive computing power, sufficiently large datasets and a number of key theoretical advances created deep learning techniques which have facilitated a wave of accuracy increases across many computational tasks (computer vision, natural language processing, speech recognition, autonomous driving, etc.), making many applications practical. Deep learning is central to modern artificial intelligence. This module explains the underlying mathematics and techniques and how to use them to achieve similar feats of computational accuracy.
This module provides an opportunity to explore in greater depth several areas of artificial intelligence and data science. This will include an understanding of the domain theory, typical problems faced in the domain and how these might be solved.
This module will provide an opportunity for students to work on a web related design brief supplied by a commercial company or for an outside organisation, competition etc. The module serves as an opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge gained so far on the degree to a commercial brief and to achieve innovative and sophisticated outcomes
This module provides a systematic understanding of distributed operating systems, software services and applications in terms of their architectures, functionality and behaviour. It includes case studies on the “Internet of Things” and cloud computing as well as topics on parallel programming.
There has been a triple convergence of computing, communications and the physical world, leading to the creation of complex cyber-physical systems, reliance on strong cryptography, and the need to instil security into software and cyber-physical systems ab initio in the face of an everevolving threat landscape
Cyber attacks are increasing in frequency and diversity with hostile actors probing for vulnerabilities, cooperating to develop exploits, and deploying these on an industrial scale. Many organisations are essentially under continuous attack from multiple actors. Eternal vigilance through monitoring and logging is essential for reactive and proactive responses. Inevitably some attacks will be successful and effective actions are required to handle these incidents, limit breaches, and collect evidence for investigation. This module covers the preventive elements of systems monitoring, the reactive elements of incident response and follow up elements of cybercrime investigation
On one hand, this provides insights into the mindset of cyber attackers, a secure understanding of the ethics and legal issues in this area, and knowledge and skills in attack technologies and techniques. On the other hand, this module provides a detailed knowledge and understanding of the techniques and tools available to a security professional, and the practical skills in selecting, evaluating, designing, implementing and deploying defences to protect vulnerable software, networks and systems
Career opportunities
Upon graduation from this degree, students can progress into a range of roles, including:
• Data Scientist
• Web Developer
• Mobile App Developer
• Network Engineer
• Data Analyst
• Software Engineer
• Cyber Security Expert
Start your own business
All graduates will also have the opportunity to start their own business within the University of Suffolk Innovation Centre (IWIC). Here, students will have access to hot desk space, networking and collaborative opportunities.
Fees and finance
2020-21
- Full-time tuition fee: £9,250 p.a.
- Part-time tuition fee: £1,454 per 20 credits (Please contact the Infozone for further information)
- International tuition fee: £13,330 p.a.
Further Information
At University of Suffolk, your tuition fees provide access to all the usual teaching and learning facilities that you would expect. However, there may be additional costs associated with your course that you will need to budget for.
Entry requirements
112 UCAS tariff points (or above) BBC (A-Level) DMM (BTEC)
Applicants are also required to have GCSE English and maths grade 4/C or above, or equivalent Level 2 qualifications. Applicants who do not hold these qualifications may be considered on an individual basis based upon their overall application and the course applied for.
If you do not hold these qualifications please contact Admissions directly on 01473 338348 to discuss.
IELTS 6.0 overall (minimum 5.5 in all components) where English is not the students' first language.
If you have previously studied at higher education level before you may be able to transfer credits to a related course at the University of Suffolk and reduce the period of study time necessary to achieve your degree.
Staff
Facilities and Resources
The majority of teaching on this degree will take place on our main Ipswich campus. This location was opened in 2016 and received a £5.5 million-pound investment in both the building and the facilities on offer. The top floor of the Atrium houses 4 high-end computer laboratories complete with industrystandard software and tools.
Specialist modules in data science, artificial intelligence and cyber security mal also take place in the DigiTech Centre at Adastral Park, which was unveiled by Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal on 12th November 2019. A collaboration between University of Suffolk and BT, with funding from the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), it has been established to provide training in cutting-edge digital skills for people looking to pursue careers in the nationally-important information and communications technology (ICT) sector, as well as fuelling high tech businesses who increasingly require access to a talented technology workforce. A regular bus runs from the university to Adastral Park (bus route H66) with the average journey taking only 15 minutes.
