| Program start date | Application deadline |
| 2023-09-18 | - |
Program Overview
Why this course?
Software engineers design and develop large, complex systems. These include the systems used in vehicles, phones, large-scale financial systems and secure web and medical applications.
As a software engineer, you’ll need a good understanding of software, hardware, communication technologies and strong design and team skills. You’ll also need to understand the impact of the development strategies of different systems.
Our Computer Science courses combine theory and practice. Many of the core subjects are similar in the early years, which means it’s possible for you to transfer between courses.
Transfer to MEng Computer Science is possible for students who perform well in the first year of the BSc (Honours) Software Engineering.
Software Engineering: Cameron's story
Watch our video to find out what Cameron enjoys about studying Software Engineering and what he plans to do after graduation:
Accreditation
Our BSc (Hons) Software Engineering degree is accredited by the following organisations:
British Computer Society
, the Chartered Institute for IT, for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered IT Professional
What you'll study
Year 1
You’ll take classes in areas such as software construction, theory and algorithms, information and information systems, computer systems and hardware, and business analysis and technology. Small-group tutorials cover personal and professional development issues and there’s a choice of elective classes.
Year 2
Subjects covered include algorithms, logic, databases and the design of user interfaces. There is a significant emphasis on programming and on the architecture of machines.
Year 3
You’ll be introduced to more specialised areas such as communications, the design of new programming languages, the variety of internal machine architectures, artificial intelligence, graphics, and the technologies behind web-based applications.
This year also includes a large group-based software development project.
Year 4
You’ll choose optional classes to build on the experience gained from your industrial placement. You’ll specialise in particular aspects of software engineering, such as software architecture and design.
A major practical computing project may involve working with one of our departmental research groups.
Work placement
You’ll undertake a 12-month paid industrial placement between Years 3 and 4, typically within a software development team. The placement may be in the UK or abroad.
Major projects
Several companies work with us to develop student projects, either individual or group final-year projects that are suitable for both parties.
Projects are supervised by members of academic staff with individuals from the sponsoring organisation providing occasional advice and feedback.
Facilities
We have three large undergraduate teaching laboratories, plus a restricted-access laboratory (primarily for fourth and fifth-year students). There are printers in each main lab. All departmental machines are linked by a high-speed local area network and operate under a single network file system so you can access your files from any of our machines.
Student competitions
Young Software Engineer of the Year Award
The award is given to the project, which in the judges' opinion most clearly embraces sound software engineering principles.
Charles Babbage Prize – Best Computer Science Project
The prize is awarded annually to the undergraduate student who completes the best project in computer science in that academic year.
The project must include practical computing and the assessors will take into account the originality and potential applications of the work.
Andrew McGettrick Prizes
Two prizes are awarded annually – one to a graduating Honours student and one to a graduating Integrated Masters student, for outstanding performance in his or her studies.
Program Outline
Course content
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Compulsory classes
Machines, Languages & Computation
This class will help you to achieve a broad knowledge of the essence of computation and computational systems, as embodied by the notions of computable functions, formal languages and recursion, logic and computability and abstract machines.
Information & Information Systems
You'll develop a broad knowledge of information systems and how information is created, used and disseminated within an information society.
Programming Foundations
The class will provide you with a solid foundation in the principles of computer programming. On completing this class you should have the necessary skills to be able to design, build and test a small system in a high-level language (Java is currently the language used).Computer Systems & Organisation
Semester 1:
You'll develop an understanding and appreciation of a computer system's functional components – both hardware and software, their characteristics, their interactions, and their fundamental role in the manipulation of data.
Semester 2:
You'll further your knowledge of the design parameters of a typical computer system and the impact these have on the functionality, and implementation, of the hardware and software components.Combinatorics for Computer Science 1
The aim of this class is to:
Topics in Computing 1
This class will help you to develop a broader perspective of computer science and to develop problem solving, team working, presentational skills, as well as personal and professional development skills.
Business Analysis & Technology
The aim of the class is to raise awareness of the real world problems encountered by industry that can be solved through management science methodology.
Elective class
In year 1 most students take an elective class.
Classes from a range of topics are offered, normally by other departments to give a taste of other subjects and broaden your curriculum.
Compulsory classes
Advanced Programming
The aim of the class is to:
The main goal is for you to be able to develop larger programs with specialised data structures and utilising APIs from a specification, and being able to ensure and show how the system they developed matches the specification.
Topics in Computing 2
The class will help you to further your perspective of computer science and to enhance your problem solving, team working, and presentational skills.
Combinatorics for Computer Science 2
The aim of this class is to introduce the combinatorics of discrete objects that are ubiquitous in theoretical computer science, namely graphs and relations.
For both these objects, the overarching aim is to develop your skills in mathematical thinking and reasoning, and to be able to present that reasoning in rigorous written text.
Logic & Algorithms
This class will equip you with the tools to model and measure computation. You'll build on the skills gained in CS 103 (Machines, Languages & Computation) and develop further understanding of the mathematical foundations of computation. You'll foster an analytical and empirical appreciation of the behaviour of algorithms and the use of abstract data types.
User & Data Modelling
You'll gain a critical appreciation and understanding of how to model user activities and the data to support them, together with how to implement systems and databases to support user activities.
Computer Systems & Architecture
You'll develop a deeper understanding of typical computer architectures and their instruction sets and the complex trade offs between CPU clock speed, cache size, bus organisation, number of core processors, etc, that influence their design and have a fundamental impact on their performance.
Professional Issues in Computing
This class helps you to become aware of the legal, social, ethical and professional issues commensurate with the practice of information systems engineering.
Elective class
In year 2 most students take an elective class.
Classes from a range of topics are offered, normally by other departments to give a taste of other subjects and broaden your curriculum.
Compulsory classes
Computer Systems & Concurrency
The class will enable you to develop a deeper understanding of highly concurrent hardware and software systems. The class will also further your knowledge of the need for, and the design and implementation of, those other vital hardware and software components of a concurrent system, namely multiprocessors and their interconnections, operating systems and networks.
The interactions between many of these components will be investigated by means of significant practical work that consolidates the lecture content in the context of:
- multiprocessor architectures
- concurrency
- protection and security
- networked and concurrent applications
Software developed in appropriate programming languages will form the basis of much of the practical work. This allows you to enhance your software design and implementation skills in this domain.
Optional classes
Functional Programming
Pre-requisites:
Basic programming skills, as might be gained by taking CS 105 Programming Foundations or a similar introductory programming class.This class will provide you with skills in basic functional programming and experience in integrated deployment of those skills.
Mobile App Development
Pre-requisites:
CS 207 Advanced Programming
You'll gain a good understanding of the issues in developing for mobile environments and approaches to handling these issues and skills in developing for a widespread mobile platform.
Foundations of Artificial Intelligence
Pre-requisites
: CS 207 Advanced Programming, CS 208 Logic & AlgorithmsThe class will give you a broad appreciation of the scale and nature of the problems within Artificial Intelligence. It will also give you a detailed understanding of some of the fundamental techniques used to address those problems.
Web Applications Development
Pre-requisites
: CS 207 Advanced Programming, CS 209 User & Data ModellingYou'll gain an understanding of the technologies used in the development of N-tier Internet-based applications.
Programming Language Definition & Implementation
The aim of this class is to provide familiarisation with the definition of programming language syntax and semantics, and the translation of these definitions into an implementation of a programming language.
Compulsory classes
Software Architecture and Design
The class will enable you to understand the challenges of advanced software design and the issues associated with large-scale software architectures, frameworks, patterns and components.
You'll also develop your understanding of the tools and techniques that may be used for the automatic analysis and evaluation of software.
Individual Project
The aim of the class is to enable you to demonstrate practical and documentary competence. You'll also be expected to give a demonstration of your work.
Industrial Placement
Software Engineering students in year 4 do a one-year placement between third and fourth year.
This is so you can experience the application of aspects of your degree course in an industrial context and understand the complexities of commercial software development
Optional classes
Advanced Functional Programming
The class will allow you to further your skills in functional programming and gain an appreciation of the mathematical structures which underpin powerful general programming concepts and techniques.
Theory of Computation
Building on the previous material in software development, this class will extend and formalise your abilities in the area of computational complexity.
Information Access & Mining
This class will enable you to understand the fundamentals of information access and information mining.
The class will cover a range of techniques for extracting information from textual and non-textual resources, modelling the information content of resources, detecting patterns within information resources and making use of these patterns.
Building Software Systems
This class will:
The goal for you is the development, in a group setting, of significant systems. You'll also be introduced to more general software engineering topics.
Embedded Systems
This class will allow you to undertake the design and development process for embedded (dedicated) computer systems in relation to the environment in which they operate.
You'll gain knowledge in how to integrate embedded hardware, software, and operating systems to meet the functional requirements of embedded applications.
Digital Forensics
You'll gain an understanding of issues associated with the nature of cybercrime, digital evidence, detection methods and proof, in a variety of digital forensic contexts, including computers, networks and portable digital devices.
Learning & teaching
We aim to help you gain knowledge and understanding as well as the development of intellectual skills (problem-solving and critical evaluation skills), practical skills (designing and implementing a software system, team-working skills) and transferable skills (investigative skills, presentation skills, report-writing skills, time management skills, independent learning skills).
Knowledge and understanding is gained through lectures and supported in tutorials or laboratories as well as individual and group project work. You’re encouraged to read and research independently to help broaden your understanding of the subject.
You’ll develop intellectual skills through weekly laboratory or tutorial exercises. You’ll also be set challenging problems while further coursework and group and individual projects will help you enhance your skills.
The industrial placement will allow you to appreciate the significant engineering problems involved in the construction of software systems.
You’ll learn practical skills through lectures, tutorials, laboratory, coursework and project work.
Assessment
You’ll be tested on your knowledge and understanding, intellectual, practical and transferable skills. This will be done through written exams, laboratory submissions, presentations, coursework, project and industrial placement reports.
Careers
This degree produces graduates with the technical knowledge and skills, and the communication and management expertise essential to participate in and lead teams of professional engineers that deliver robust and reliable software.
Our Software Engineering degree will open doors for careers in research, software development, consultancy and business analysis with companies such as Microsoft, Oracle, Logica and Kana.
Career opportunities are not limited to technology. The problem-solving, creative and personal skills you learn on this course will be sought after in many industries.
How much will I earn?
Typical graduate software engineers’ salaries range between £22,000 and £27,500. With experience, this can vary between £36,500 and £50,000.
At senior management level, salaries can rise to around £70,000 a year.*
Where are they now?
92.9% of our graduates are in work or further study.**
Recent job titles include:
Employers include:
*Information is intended only as a guide.
**Based on the national Destination of Leavers Survey.