Our four-year, year in industry course will give you the ideal foundation for a high-flying career, with professional experience that will set you apart. During your extended work placement you will gain skills and awareness that can only be acquired in a real work environment. Our progressive curriculum will give you the knowledge and technical skills that employers need, and introduce you to pioneering technologies in computer science. You will graduate with transferrable skills such as problem-solving, coding, team working, analytical skills, time management and self-motivation.

In years 1, 2 and 4 we cover all the fundamentals of computing and application development, from programming to software engineering, databases to web development, computer graphics to robotics, and information security. You will learn about technologies such as computer games, digital sound and music, concurrent and parallel programming, machine learning, bioinformatics and computational finance. From the outset you will be experimenting with programming games, robots, Gadgeteer kits, Subversion, JUnit testing, Scrum-based Agile software and more, in our well-equipped laboratories. The course’s modular structure gives you the flexibility to tailor your degree to your interests. 

Your year in industry will start at the end of year 2. We are located in the famous M4 corridor, known as 'England's Silicon Valley', and we enjoy close links with many of its leading technology companies. If you are unable to complete your year in industry you can transfer onto our standard three-year BSc course. At the end of year 1 you will have the option of transferring onto one of our specialist pathways (Artificial Intelligence, Information Security or Distributed & Networked Computing), or onto our longer and more advanced integrated masters course. Transferring onto the Software Engineering pathway requires previous programming experience and early permission to take the Software Development course in year 1, rather than Object-oriented Programming.

We are a highly respected, research-focused department, with a friendly approach and award-winning teaching. You will have a personal adviser to guide you through your studies. You will also be welcome to join our thriving Computing Society. We are one of only seven departments in the UK to hold the Athena SWAN bronze award for our commitment to increasing female participation in computer science. 

Our year in industry degrees are highly valued by employers because they give you the chance to gain first-hand experience of the world of work and to apply your learning to real-world scenarios. Our students have enjoyed placements in software companies such as Apple, Microsoft or Symantec, as well as in a range of other sectors, including finance and consulting. Many have been offered permanent jobs in the same company at the end of their placements, to take up after their graduation.

Computer scientists work in a vast array of fields, including the arts, the media, finance, aerospace health and, of course, the IT sector. You will graduate with the ability to develop large and complex systems, solve technical problems, and analyse information. Your coursework will have honed your teamwork, communications, time management and self-motivation skills. You will have the flexibility to adapt to change, to innovate, and to critically evaluate the implications of exploiting new technologies. 

We work closely with our partners in industry who help us keep abreast of all the latest market needs and trends. This means our graduates are up-to-speed with the latest developments and ready to contribute to the next generation of computing systems. In recent years, they have launched careers in everything from network systems design and web development, to business management and finance. They work in a diversity of organisations such as Amazon, American Express, Apple, Bupa, Capita, CGI-Logica, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Symantec, among many others.