STUDY

Undergraduate

BSc (Hons) Computer Science

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Course options: Professional Placement
Institution code: S82
UCAS code: I103
Start date: September 2025
Duration: Three/four years full-time, four and a half to nine years part-time
Location: Ipswich
Typical Offer: 112 UCAS tariff points (or above) BBC (A-Level) DMM (BTEC), Merit (T Level)
Course options: Professional Placement
Institution code: S82
UCAS code: I103
Start date: September 2025
Duration: Three/four years full-time, four and a half to nine years part-time
Location: Ipswich
Typical Offer: 112 UCAS tariff points (or above) BBC (A-Level) DMM (BTEC), Merit (T Level)

Overview

Our flexible BSc (Hons) Computer Science degree equips you with the practical industry knowledge you need to meet the demand for skilled computing professionals. The course offers a flexible computing curriculum with diverse learning pathways, with the freedom to forge your own course by selecting specialist modules. 

You’ll benefit from the resources of leading tech giants Amazon Web Services, Juniper, Oracle, and our new Google Student Club, and experience world-class specialist labs at our state-of-the-art DigiTech Centre, which is home to over 150 high-tech ICT companies and BT’s innovation labs.  

You’ll engage in real-world projects alongside industry leaders, leveraging cutting-edge technologies and embrace an annual slate of industry events and hackathons to apply your acquired skills. You’ll also have the chance to launch your own venture through the University of Suffolk’s Innovation Labs (ILABS), guided by business leaders and academics.  

Course Pathways 

BSc (Hons) Computer Science (Cyber Security) 

BSc (Hons) Computer Science (Web and Mobile Development) 

BSc (Hons) Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence) 

Create your own pathway 

Combine a wide range of modules in cyber security, software engineering, web design, mobile development, networking, data science, AI, cloud computing, and more, to create a custom curriculum. This degree has been designed to allow you to flexibly follow your interests, whilst ensuring that you reach the advanced knowledge necessary for industry roles through theory and practice 

At the start of your course, you will be allocated a Personal Academic Coach who can explain the options and pathways available so you will always be supported in the decisions you make and can be sure they align with your career ambitions. Students that choose to create their own pathway will be awarded a BSc (Hons) Computer Science degree upon completion of the course.  

Computer Science at the University of Suffolk

A computing student and lecturer discussing something on a laptop

The University of Suffolk is world-class and committed to our region. We are proudly modern and innovative and we believe in transformative education. We are on the rise with a focus on student satisfaction, graduate prospects, spending on academic services and student facilities.

10th

in the UK for feedback satisfaction in Computer Science and Information Systems

(The Guardian University Guide 2023)

2nd

in the East of England for graduate prospects

(The Complete University Guide 2024)

11th

in the UK for social inclusion

(The Good University Guide 2023)

Course Modules

Our undergraduate programmes are delivered as 'block and blend', more information can be found on Why Suffolk? You can also watch our Block and Blend video.   

Downloadable information regarding all University of Suffolk courses, including Key Facts, Course Aims, Course Structure and Assessment, is available in the Definitive Course Record 

This module covers the principles of computer systems, hardware components, the essence of operating systems, and relevant computing-related mathematics. This module will provide the foundational underpinning to enable students to progress deeper into different computing specialisms, and a grasp of the history of computing, recent developments and its possible future. 

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.

The module introduces the concepts of web design, with a focus on designing responsive websites that are targeted at mobile platforms. Students are introduced to HTML, CSS and JavaScript to provide them with an understanding of what goes into the front-end of modern websites. Using a series of case studies, students will analyse the design and layout of a range of existing sites using a number of common analysis techniques.

This module introduces students to the concepts and practice of computer programming.  It is aimed at providing students with an understanding of the fundamentals of computer programming by having them work through a range of tasks focused upon layout, structure and functionality.

This module provides an understanding of why cyber security matters to businesses, to society and to individuals, coupled with knowledge of basic concepts, attack techniques, attacker types, and the core elements of cyber assurance.

This module provides an introduction to the artificial intelligence and data science fields, covering the history of the discipline, and exploring a variety of “classical AI” topics.

This module focuses on all phases of the modern software engineering lifecycle and advanced software engineering topics, including critical software, secure software, formal methods and project management from the practitioner’s perspective. This will be put into practice through the requirements gathering, design, implementation and testing of an extensive project that meets the needs of a particular enterprise.

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. 

Research skills are an essential set of capabilities in the toolkit of a professional software engineer. 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 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.

The module builds upon the content delivered to the students in Introduction to Web Design, 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, pre-processors 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.

The module will provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to develop scalable server-side 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 large-scale web infrastructures.

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.

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 covers basic and advanced security concepts related to wired and wireless networks, and builds upon the network knowledge previously covered in Level 4 study. Students will learn about the main challenges faced by a variety of wired and wireless environments. Further, the module presents common defence techniques and tools used to counter different security threats, and also explores some of the latest network security challenges posed by recent technology developments.

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.

The module provides the opportunity for students to apply and develop some of the knowledge and skills acquired in their degree by engaging in a significant project in a specialist area of computing, typically software or networks. It will enable and require students to utilise practical, intellectual and decision-making skills in novel situations and develop their autonomy and self-direction. 

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 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. These skills are essential for making sense of security-related Big Data.

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.

The 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 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, a reliance on strong cryptography, and the need to instil security into software and cyber-physical systems in the face of an ever-evolving 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.

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.

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WHY SUFFOLK

2nd in the UK for Career Prospects

WUSCA 2024

3rd in the UK for spend on academic services

Complete University Guide 2025

4th in the UK for Teaching Satisfaction

Guardian University Guide 2024
A student sitting with a laptop
Student at The DigiTech Centre
computing student Conor O'Leary sit withs computing lecturer Ali Alhaj
Learn more about our BSC (Hons) Computing degree
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Students at The DigiTech Centre
Logo of the DigiTech Centre on wall
Inside The DigiTech Centre

Entry Requirements

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Career Opportunities

Upon graduation from this degree, students can progress into a range of roles, including:

  • Cyber Security Expert

  • Web Developer

  • Data Scientist

  • Artificial Intelligence Expert

  • Mobile App Developer

  • QA Engineer

  • Network Engineer

  • Software Developer

  • Data Analyst

 

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.

Our Careers Employability and Enterprise Team are here to support you, not only whilst you complete your studies, but after you graduate and beyond. To find out more about our range of services and support, please visit our Careers, Employability and Enterprise page.

Your Course Team

Ali Alhaj

Ali Alhaj joined the University in July 2020 and is a Lecturer of Cyber Security and course leader of BSc (Hons) Computing.

Ali Alhaj staff profile photo

Dr Felix Ngobigha

Dr Felix Ngobigha is a Senior Lecturer in Network Engineering and had previously been Scientific Officer with the Centre for Satellite Technology Development.

Felix Ngobigha staff profile photo

Mark Power

At Suffolk, Mark is a Lecturer in Computing and teaches on the BSc (Hons) Computing Degree. Prior to that he worked for a FTSE100 company in telecoms.

Mark Power staff profile photo

Steven Harris

Steve maintains an active interest in 'serious games' including, gaming for the visually impaired and early years educational games.

Steven Harris staff profile photo

Professor Nicholas Caldwell

Professor Nicholas Caldwell is Professor of Information Systems Engineering at the University of Suffolk.

Nicholas Caldwell staff profile photo

Dr Kakia Chatsiou

Kakia is a Lecturer in Computing with expertise in machine learning, information management systems and data science.

Kakia Chatsiou staff profile photo

Dr Chris Lewington

Dr Chris Lewington is a Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security, joining us in June 2019 after a successful career in finance, telecoms, defence and biotechnology.

Dr Adnane Ez-zizi

Dr Adnane Ez-zizi is a Senior Lecturer in Artificial Intelligence and Course Leader for the MSc Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.

Adnane Ez-Zizi staff profile photo

Fees and Funding

UK Full-time Tuition Fee

£9,250

per year
International Full-time Tuition Fee

£15,690

per year

The decision to study a degree is an investment into your future, there are various means of support available to you in order to help fund your tuition fees and living costs. You can apply for funding from the Spring before your course starts.

UK Fees and Finance UK Bursaries and Scholarships International Fees and Scholarships

Ipswich Award

The University of Suffolk is offering a £1,000 Award for students joining the University of Suffolk’s Ipswich campus. The Award is based on specific eligibility criteria based on your year of entry.

More information
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How to Apply

To study this course on a full-time basis, you can apply through UCAS. As well as providing your academic qualifications, you’ll be able to showcase your skills, qualities and passion for the subject.

Apply Now Further Information on Applying
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Karina Karushkova, BSc (Hons) Computing graduate

"The University has a high reputation within the fields of technology especially in relation to the degrees it offers for programming and system design."

read more
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