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Students
Tuition Fee
GBP 18,570
Per year
Start Date
2026-09-01
Medium of studying
On campus
Duration
4 years
Program Facts
Program Details
Degree
Foundation
Major
Computer Science | Information Technology | Software Development
Area of study
Information and Communication Technologies
Education type
On campus
Timing
Full time
Course Language
English
Tuition Fee
Average International Tuition Fee
GBP 18,570
Intakes
Program start dateApplication deadline
2026-09-01-
About Program

Program Overview


Computing and Information Technology with a Foundation Year - BSc (Hons)

Overview

The multidisciplinary BSc (Hons) Computing and Information Technology degree will equip you with the technical and managerial skills you will need to embark on a successful IT career. You will use industry-standard equipment and labs, and have the chance to put your academic learning into practice during an optional placement year, all of which will prepare you for a computing career with a range of companies.


About the Foundation Year

The Foundation Year course option enables you to study for our BSc (Hons) degree over an extended full-time duration of four years by including a Foundation Certificate (year one of four). The Foundation Certificate provides a broad study programme that underpins the follow-on degree. In order to progress to the next year of your degree, it is necessary to achieve a pass in all of the modules of the Foundation Certificate.


Introducing STEAMhouse

STEAMhouse is a centre for technology, innovation, creative thinking, prototyping and business development. Our £70 million pound building is the home for all of our Computing courses.


What's covered in this course?

This course is for you if you want to combine a highly rigorous academic qualification with real-life practical work experiences, enabling you to put your learning into innovative practice.


You'll be based at our flagship City Centre Campus, where you'll use dedicated, industry-standard facilities to research and work on enterprise software and virtual environments to develop business solutions and real-time systems.


You will develop the strategic mind-set to address global challenges; the kind that that businesses and communities face on a day-to-day basis to maintain their digital infrastructure. You'll have access to virtual learning environments, as well as networking, electronic, enterprise systems and business intelligence laboratories.


We are preparing you for the workplace. You'll learn computing and information technology skills that are needed to design, develop, operate and maintain effective systems. You’ll use your computing knowledge to provide and apply IT solutions that will continually evolve. We ensure you are able to innovate in order to deliver business value and sustainable solutions.


It's not just about academic and technical knowledge – we'll also help to develop your personal skills so that you can work effectively as a team member and problem solve at the highest level. This will not only enhance your employability levels, it will make you stand out from the crowd.


Throughout your course you'll be supported by expert teaching staff, many of whom have worked in the field, are active in research and are continually innovating with industry.


Accredited By

This course is accredited by:


  • BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT

Why Choose Us?

  • Brand new facilities at STEAMhouse - This state-of-the-art building is the new home for our Computing courses. Based at our expanding City Centre Campus, this unique centre will give you access to outstanding facilities and teaching spaces, as well as opportunities to collaborate with people and businesses across multiple sectors and work on real industry-based projects.
  • Industry-standard facilities -You will be based in Millennium Point, at our City Centre Campus, which has recently undergone a £6.5 million investment, including advanced software development and computer programming labs.
  • Gain professional body qualifications -Work towards Microsoft, Cisco, Linux and Oracle certificates
  • Strong partnerships with industry - Including IBM, APC by Schneider Electric, Atos, Co-Op and Philips
  • International opportunities -Participate in renowned international programmes and competitions. You will have the opportunity to create a start-up business using ideas spawned during your course
  • Optional placement year -You will have the option to take a professional placement year in between your second and final year to gain experience before you graduate

Similar Courses

  • Computing and Information Technology - BSc (Hons)
  • Business Information Technology with a Foundation Year - BSc (Hons)
  • Computer Science with a Foundation Year - BSc (Hons)
  • Cyber Security with Foundation - BSc (Hons)
  • Digital Media Computing - BSc (Hons)

Open Days

Join us for an Open Day where you'll be able to learn about this course in detail, chat to students, explore our campus and tour accommodation.


Next Open Day: 28 June 2025


Entry Requirements

Essential requirements

80 UCAS Tariff points.


GCSE and other level 2 requirements

This course does not require evidence of GCSE qualifications.


A Level, BTEC and other level 3 requirements

  • A Level: 80 UCAS Tariff points / CDD (or equivalent)
  • AS Level: Must be in a different subject to A Levels
  • A maximum of four subjects will be considered
  • Pearson BTEC (Diploma / Extended Diploma/ Extended Certificate): 80 UCAS Tariff points
  • Diploma accepted with one A Level or equivalent level 3 qualifications
  • Extended Certificate accepted with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications
  • T Level: Pass overall (C or above on the core) All subjects considered
  • Access to HE Diploma: Pass with 60 credits, 45 credits at level 3
  • OCR Cambridge Technical qualifications: 80 UCAS Tariff points
  • NCFE CACHE Level 3 qualifications: 80 UCAS Tariff points
  • WJEC Level 3 qualifications: 80 UCAS Tariff points
  • Considered with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualification(s)
  • Irish Leaving Certificate (Highers): Minimum of 80 UCAS Tariff points, achieved in five Higher level subjects
  • Scottish Higher / Advanced Higher: 80 UCAS Tariff points from three Advanced Highers (DDD) or two Advanced Highers (DD) plus two Highers (DD)
  • Welsh Baccalaureate: 80 UCAS Tariff points. Considered with two A Levels or equivalent level 3 qualifications

International qualifications

  • International Baccalaureate Diploma: Obtain a minimum of 24 points overall.
  • EU / International students: Please see your country page for further details on the equivalent qualifications we accept. In addition to the academic entry requirements listed above, international and EU students will also require IELTS 6.0 overall with no less than 5.5 in each band.

Fees & How to Apply

UK students

  • Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament.
  • Award: BSc (Hons)
  • Starting: Sep 2026
  • Mode: Full Time
  • Duration: 4 years
  • Fees: £9,535 in 2026/27
  • Apply via UCAS

International students

  • Annual and modular tuition fees shown are applicable to the first year of study. The University reserves the right to increase fees for subsequent years of study in line with increases in inflation (capped at 5%) or to reflect changes in Government funding policies or changes agreed by Parliament.
  • Award: BSc (Hons)
  • Starting: Sep 2026
  • Mode: Full Time
  • Duration: 4 years
  • Fees: £18,570 in 2026/27
  • Register interest

Course in Depth

Foundation Year

  • In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits):
    • Fundamental Mathematics 20 credits
    • Fundamentals of Digital Technology 20 credits
    • Web Application Design 20 credits
    • Emerging Technologies 20 credits
    • Independent Practice 20 credits
    • Foundations of Programming 20 credits

Year One

  • In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits):
    • Applied Operating Systems 20 credits
    • Computer Systems 20 credits
    • Networking Fundamentals 20 credits
    • Innovation Project 20 credits
    • Computational Thinking and Professional Development 20 credits
    • Computer Programming 20 credits

Year Two

  • In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits):
    • Networking Technologies 20 credits
    • Enterprise Practice Project 20 credits
    • Cyber Security 20 credits
    • Cloud Systems Management 20 credits
    • Database Systems Development 20 credits
    • Applied Programming 20 credits

Professional Placement Year (optional)

  • In order to qualify for the award of Bachelor of Science with Honours Computing and Information Technology with Professional Placement Year, you must successfully complete all of the modules listed as well as the following Level 5 module:
    • Professional Placement 120 credits

Final Year

  • In order to complete this course a student must successfully complete all the following CORE modules (totalling 120 credits):
    • Consultancy and IT Management 20 credits
    • Business Systems Solutions 20 credits
    • Application Solutions Development 20 credits
    • DevOps and Enterprise Automation 20 credits
    • Individual Honours Project 40 credits

Employability

Enhancing your employability skills

Our course is designed to equip you with in-depth, first-hand practical expertise as well as providing a rigorous academic understanding of your subject.


It is this combination that will help you to stand out when you look to enter the workplace and why our graduates are very highly sought-after.


We maintain very close links with business and industry to ensure that your studies are always relevant, up-to-date and meet the exact needs of the current marketplace.


You'll develop key academic and technical skills that will demonstrate your ability to understand concepts, principles and theories of complex network technologies, and that will show your understanding of how ICT infrastructure systems for business are designed and implemented.


Recent graduates have gone on to work with first-class organisations such as Hewlett Packard, Bell Microsystems, BT, Cisco, Deloitte, Ericsson, Philips, IBM, Intel, Siemens, Nokia and Capgemini.


Where our students go

Our students have gone on to work with companies such as:


  • Birmingham City University
  • Google
  • IBM
  • Amazon
  • Kuehne+Nagel
  • Zurich Insurance
  • Kagool
  • HPE
  • SOTI
  • CapGemini

And in jobs such as:

  • IT Infrastructure Specialist
  • Network Administrator
  • Cloud Solutions consultant
  • ERP Consultant
  • Technical Infrastructure Architect
  • Storage and Virtualisation Analyst

Placements

You will have the opportunity for work-based learning, either in the form of a professional or innovation project. This is a negotiated competitive placement pathway in the second year where you will be able complete 60 credit modules whilst employed or starting-up a business.


We aim to have you employer-ready by the time you graduate, and as part of your course you have the option of undertaking an industrial placement after the second year of study.


If you decide to do this, it will extend the duration of your BSc (Hons)/MSci course to four/five years.


Thanks to our excellent partnerships and working relationships with some of the UK's leading companies, you have the chance of undertaking a high quality industrial placement with leading organisations such as the Bank of England, Cisco Systems, IBM, 3M, Airbus or CapGemini.


Placements will also provide you with an opportunity to develop your practical expertise, earn money and try out a potential career path.


Facilities & Staff

We are constantly investing in our estate and are currently in the process of spending £260 million on new learning facilities. This course will be taught at Millennium Point at the City Centre Campus.


The course is supported with a wide range of cutting-edge facilities in the City Centre Campus. We have a state-of-the-art computer games technology lab which contains high-performance PCs, Sony PlayStation development kits and a range of industry standard software including Unity, Unreal and a suite of professional Microsoft development tools.


We also have many open access areas where students can study together and even hire out laptops for use in these spaces and others within the university.


Within the University there are many internationally recognised research teams giving you the opportunity to collaborate with them on exciting interdisciplinary projects.


Computer networking

The laboratories are well-equipped for all our computer networking courses, as well as specialist areas for practical work such as voice-over internet protocol (VoIP), forensic and ethical hacking technologies, wireless and mobile technologies and radio frequency identification technologies to name but a few.


Software development and computer programming

There are a number of open access, software development and computer programming laboratories that can be used to develop systems and programmes, including database management systems such as MySQL, to name but a few.


Systems laboratories

Our embedded systems laboratories are used to develop real-time systems, such as specialist hardware training and development resources, and industrial-standard software development and simulation tools. These include microcontroller software and robotics design and development, to name but a few.


Electronic systems

To underpin the basic principles of electronic systems, we have a well-equipped laboratory of general and specialist test and measurement kits, including powered prototyping development boards, dual power supplies, frequency generators and counters and digital multi-meters to name but a few.


Forensic computing

Our successful development of forensic computing has led to a specialist forensics laboratory that is fully equipped with essential hardware and software for this sensitive area of study. The laboratory includes high-spec PCs with built-in multi interface Tableau write blockers, EnCase and FTK computer forensic software and steganography detection and analysis software, to name but a few.


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About University
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Courses

Birmingham City University


Overview:

Birmingham City University (BCU) is a large and diverse university located in the heart of Birmingham, England. It boasts over 31,000 students from over 100 countries, emphasizing practice-based learning.


Services Offered:

BCU offers a wide range of services to its students, including:

    Accommodation:

    Seven halls of residence with various on-campus and inner-city living options.

    Financial Support:

    Scholarships and financial aid programs to help students fund their education.

    Career Services:

    Support for graduate employment, self-employment, volunteering, mentoring, and graduate events and training.

    Learning Support:

    Resources and assistance for students with learning difficulties.

    Library Services:

    Access to the university library for alumni and students.

    Student Union (BCUSU):

    A student-led organization providing representation, activities, and support.

Student Life and Campus Experience:

BCU offers a vibrant student life with numerous opportunities to explore:

    Life in Birmingham:

    The university provides information and resources for students to navigate life in the city.

    Campus Facilities:

    Access to industry-standard facilities, innovative learning spaces, and social spots.

    Virtual Tours:

    Immersive 360-degree tours of the campuses to experience student life virtually.

    BCU Boost:

    A financial support package designed to simplify student life, including travel incentives, financial management tips, and discounts.

Key Reasons to Study There:

    Practice-based Learning:

    BCU focuses on practical skills development and real-world application of knowledge.

    International Opportunities:

    The university offers international study opportunities and a diverse student body.

    Employability Focus:

    BCU emphasizes career readiness and provides resources to help students find employment.

    Gold for Student Experience:

    BCU has received the highest possible rating for student experience in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).

Academic Programs:

BCU offers a wide range of academic programs across various faculties:

    Arts, Design and Media

    Business, Law and Social Sciences

    Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment

    Health, Education and Life Sciences

    Royal Birmingham Conservatoire


Other:

    Alumni Community:

    BCU has a strong alumni network with opportunities for engagement through events, mentoring, and international ambassador roles.

    Research:

    The university has research centers and projects across various disciplines, aiming to contribute to knowledge and the world.

    STEAMhouse:

    A unique space for innovation, enterprise, and skills development in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.

    News and Events:

    BCU regularly publishes news and updates on its website and social media platforms.

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