Software Engineering (with Integrated Foundation Year)

Program Overview

This integrated program prepares UK students for a career in Software Engineering, providing a strong foundation in computing and transferable skills. The program emphasizes real-world problem-solving through the CDIO approach and offers a wide range of career opportunities in various industries. Students will gain proficiency in Java and other programming languages, and benefit from industry collaborations and a final-year project.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

This integrated programme is designed to prepare and support UK students for a strong and rewarding experience in their selected discipline, Software Engineering, immediately aligning students to the fundamentals of computing from the moment they enrol. In addition to providing all necessary science, technology, engineering and mathematics background to allow students to confidently enter year one of the BEng (Hons) Software Engineering programme, the first year of study will also develop transferable skills such as communication, professionalism, teamwork and creativity, and provide an excellent transition period in preparation for learning and teaching methodologies used in the UK to support high engagement and achievement in the discipline. The foundation year is taken in common with four complementary engineering disciplines (Biomedical, Chemical, Civil & Structural, Mechanical) and the following year in common with Computer Science and Computer Science for Cyber Security, allowing students to transfer after this common year if they feel an alternative programme better suits their emerging interests and career aspirations. Conceive, Design, Implement, Operate (CDIO) forms a core element of programme delivery, based around developing innovative and sustainable solutions to real-world problems and closely linked to our well-developed industrial collaborations.

Outline:

First year

• Foundation Mathematics 1
• Foundation Mathematics 2
• Foundation Mechanics
• Foundation Physics
• Fundamentals of Materials

Second year

• Fundamentals of Programming
• Mathematics for Computing
• Technical and Professional Skills
• Computer Architecture and Systems Software
• Internet Technologies
• Software Design and Development

Third year

• Database Systems
• Data Structures and Algorithms
• Artificial Intelligence
• System Security Management
• Enterprise-Pro
• Computer Communications and Networks

Fourth year

• Placement and/or Study Abroad

Final year

Core

• Final Year Project
• Large Scale Data Driven Applications
• Software Systems Design and Testing

Option

• Mobile Application Development
• Numerical Methods and Computer Graphics
• Machine Learning
• Concurrent and Distributed Systems

Teaching:

At Foundation level, cognitive and personal skills are developed in more open-ended problem solving and design exercises, often tackled by working in small groups supported by members of academic, technical, and library staff. Project work is used to bring various aspects of the programme together. Typically, each module will involve students in 72 hours of scheduled contact except Mathematics, for which students will have 96 hours of scheduled contact for each module. An expected weekly attendance commitment will be around 21 hours. Students will experience a wide range of teaching and learning environments and a consistent balance between direct academic delivery, and individual and group study. Concepts, principles and theories are generally explored in formal lectures, practiced in associated tutorials and seminars, and demonstrated and experimented in laboratory classes. Practical skills are developed in laboratory sessions. The Enterprise-Pro group project module develops an appreciation of how to manage group dynamics whilst working on a substantial computing and software engineering exercise. Honours students undertake a major individual project in their final year, drawing together the knowledge and experience gained throughout the programme. The project provides the opportunity for students to demonstrate the ability to solve problems using current ideas and current, cutting-edge techniques that are at the forefront of computing and applied multidisciplinary disciplines.

Careers:

Career prospects for this course are exceptionally strong and you’ll have tremendous flexibility to undertake a wide variety of career paths. Software is at the heart of modern society, controlling computers and machines to accomplish a wide variety of tasks – from app development, to medical robots, to banking systems. Almost every industry in the world benefits from computing technology and approaches, and needs graduates with relevant skills to propel them forward into the future. Recent graduates from this programme have gone on to work in many fascinating areas and industries, working at companies such as:

• IBM
• Intel
• Microsoft
• Hewlett-Packard (HP)
• Cap Gemini
• FDM Group
• Centrica
• BBC
• British Sky Broadcasting
• Rolls Royce
• JP Morgan
• NHS trusts
• GE
• Deutsche Post AG
• Goldman Sachs
• Skipton Building Society
• Societe General
• Expressbank
• Thomson Reuters

Other:

• The main programming language used in this lab is Java, which supports object orientation, graphical user interfaces, concurrency, and networking.
You'll also study languages such as C#, C++, Python, and Ruby.
• All of our computer science students are automatically enrolled as student members of the British Computer Society (BCS).

Tuition fee UK: £9,250 per year