Overview

Computing sits behind almost every service, business and device people rely on, and it keeps changing faster than most fields. The BSc (Hons) Computer Science course at Bournemouth University joins practical software development with the theory that explains why computing methods work. Students gain a broad view of computing topics, so they can build applications and solutions for organisations of many kinds. Teaching takes place in specialist laboratories with enterprise-grade hardware and virtualisation-ready infrastructure, including a Cyber Competency Centre funded by the Office for Students. Practical, industry-focused tasks run alongside research projects involving staff and experts from other institutions and industry. Guest lectures from industry professionals add to teaching from academics, practitioners and technicians. Students can also complete a work placement and take part in Cisco Networking Academy study, and the course has initial accreditation from BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, pending full accreditation. It suits analytical, technical and creative students with a keen interest in computing, who will gain both the skills and the versatility to work across a range of technology roles.

What You'll Learn

• Programming and software development

• Computer fundamentals, networking and communications

• Data management and database design

• Mathematics for computing

• Software engineering and systems analysis

• Data structures and algorithms

• Emerging technologies, innovation and software business

• Computability and complexity

• Enterprise systems development

• Digital technology and its impact on society

• Optional study in deep learning, data visualisation, digital transformation and wide area networks

• Individual project on a problem of your choice

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will understand computing at several levels, from hardware, networks and communications through to software design, data structures and algorithmic theory. They will be able to analyse a problem, design a suitable solution and implement and test it in software, using mathematical and computational reasoning to support their decisions. Practical work in the laboratories builds hands-on skills in programming, database querying and networking, while team-based units develop collaboration and systems modelling. Students learn to evaluate emerging technologies critically, considering their technical, legal, social and sustainability implications. The individual project lets them identify a real problem and deliver their own solution, and option units in areas such as deep learning and data visualisation let them shape their studies around their interests. Together these outcomes prepare graduates for roles across software development and wider IT.