Our degree programmes are developed in close consultation with an Industrial Advisory Board that comprises representatives of major IT organisations in the UK. These representatives also contribute directly with teaching to provide you with up-to-date and relevant experiences of IT. This is further supported by the inclusion of an industrial placement year. This ensures that our degrees reflect the contemporary concerns and requirements of modern business and industry and provide a uniquely relevant programme of study.

Factfile

Degrees

 Degree Programmes

Degrees

 Degree Programmes

 Our Degrees

Computers are essential in almost every walk of life, from aviation to medical diagnosis. In the era of the Internet and increasing globalisation, the applications of computing continue to expand. To cater for this expansion, we offer two programmes, each with a different focus, delivered around a core syllabus of key computing skills.

We offer a very popular Computer Science degree programme which balances technical expertise and professionalism. In addition, we provide a Computing and Information Technology programme, which combines technical expertise with business and management. A key focus of both programmes is to develop your applied knowledge and experience. This ensures that you gain skills applicable to leading-edge developments in the real world. 

Our programmes include an optional professional training year during which you can develop your skills and gain experience that will greatly improve your employability. Indeed, a number of our students are offered full-time employment at their placement company after graduation. 

The best computing specialists understand the capabilities of the most powerful computers and how to harness them effectively to meet an enormously varied range of real-world situations. Our graduates, with their unique combination of computing, business and technical knowledge, are equipped to enjoy significant rewards in the world’s most exciting industry.

BSc Computer Science

Computer Science aims to provide you with a balance of knowledge and skills to design and implement software and systems to a professional standard. It is designed to equip you for a career at the forefront of innovation in software technologies. 

The programme will provide you with a thorough understanding of the principles and concepts underpinning computing systems. This will both enable you to analyse and resolve issues with today’s software systems, and provide a foundation on which to design the next generation of computational systems. 

You will study modules that cover a wide range of topics including object-oriented programming, artificial intelligence, digital logic and computational mathematics. You will be introduced to techniques for developing complex software systems and computer networks, and gain the necessary mathematical skills for analysing, validating and verifying these systems.

A system design that demonstrates the application of these techniques is a final-year project for simulating an ant colony. This project was designed to discover how emergent behaviour in the colony as a whole could be extrapolated from simulating the behaviour of individual ants. This project achieved a successful outcome by combining the techniques and principles of artificial intelligence, network theory and mathematical modelling.

BSc Computing and Information Technology

Computing and Information Technology provides a strong technical basis together with a functional management focus. It will ensure that graduates from the programme have an excellent mixture of business awareness and technical skills. Topics covered include business finance and business strategy, together with a software engineering theme and new developments in computing, particularly the Internet.

This programme is designed to help you develop all of the skills you will require to contribute, as a professional, to the exploitation of computing systems within organisations. It is an integrated programme, which places equal emphasis on four fundamental themes of information technology: Internet computing, information systems, quantitative analysis and business methods. 

To succeed as an information technologist, you will need to understand the driving forces of the world for which you are building a solution, as well as the intricacies of software systems. For the information technologist it is equally important to understand the vocabulary of organisations and be comfortable with the mathematical techniques that allow the essence of a problem to be represented. This will enable you to communicate effectively with both managers and software engineers, each on their own terms. 

A system design that illustrates the use of the skills developed on this programme is a recent professional placement project completed for one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. The student developed a database system fundamental to the management of autonomous robots utilised in the testing of pharmaceutical compounds. The project achieved a successful outcome by combining the techniques and principles of database theory, managing information systems and computer architectures.

BSc Computer Science and Engineering

The Computer Science and Engineering programme offers core computer science modules covering chip design, networking and data communications combined with specialist engineering modules. You will be introduced to semiconductors and other devices, to digital logic, and to the complexities of computer architectures and operating systems. You will still explore mathematical techniques for studying digital devices, but will find that there is a greater emphasis on the engineering aspects compared to the Computer Science degree. 

Computing systems are powered by ‘chips’, ‘processors’ and many other components. These components are made of exotic materials, some of which are still emerging from research labs. The components have to be organised and related in particular ways to realise their full potential. Thus, no matter whether the computing system sits on your palm or is used to power up an Intranet, the knowledge of the material and its deployment is crucial to the development and maintenance of computing systems. 

A system design that illustrates the use of the skills developed on this programme is a final-year project to design a real-time network management system. This project achieved a successful outcome by combining the techniques and principles of network theory, chip design and digital signal processing.

Computing at the Core

Each of our degrees contains a core of computing subjects that provide the essential basis upon which a successful computing career is founded. These balance technical and professional knowledge and skills.

To provide you with solid technical skills, we teach essential techniques from first principles. For example, we use Java to teach you how to program. You will learn how to design and implement professional object-oriented solutions to real-world problems. This includes the fundamental programming paradigms and algorithms, software engineering and design, as well as advanced application domains, such as 3D graphics and web applications.

Professionalism is built into the heart of our syllabus. With our strong industrial focus, industry-led teaching and placement year, we aim to provide you with the skills you need to solve today's business problems. A highlight is the inclusion of topics such as data protection, intellectual property, ethical and legal aspects of computing and codes of conduct. Exposure to these subjects puts you on a solid footing for a successful placement year and graduate job, and this is enhanced by having guest lectures from the likes of Microsoft and IBM.

Other degrees you may be interested in:

Electronic Engineering
Mathematics and Computing Science

Programme

 Programme Overview

All of our programmes are available as four-year BSc degrees including a professional training year, or as three-year BSc degrees without a professional placement.

Our programmes provide multidisciplinary content that allows you to cover both the core elements of computing and the fundamental themes appropriate to the individual programme pathways. In addition, you will have the opportunity to develop a range of personal and professional skills that will provide you with an edge upon entering the job market.

During Level 1 and Level 2 you will study core content that focuses on skills and knowledge for research and development and large-scale systems integration. 

Level 1 offers a broad base with much of the content common across the two programmes. By the end of Level 1 our aim is that you will have developed good practical skills, and be proficient in a programming language. You will have a broad base from which to build during subsequent levels. We will also develop your understanding of the foundations of computing, and the design and analysis of computational systems. You will also be introduced to topics specific to your specialist pathway.

Level 2 develops and deepens your understanding of the core areas and focuses in more detail on developing your specialist skills and knowledge for example in intelligent Systems and Web Technologies.

Many Level 2 modules will equip you with strong team working, communication and presentation skills and improve your awareness of professionalism. Employers see these personal development skills as giving you an added value in addition to your technical competence, and they will help give you a head start in the job market. These skills will be particularly useful should you choose to undertake an industrial placement (Level P).

During Level 3, you will undertake an individual project that contributes approximately one third of the marks for the year, together with a range of optional modules. The project is your opportunity to explore a topic of your choice in greater depth. It may build on an interest that was awakened during your professional training year or during another part of your degree programme. 

Modules at Level 3 reflect recent advances in Computer Science, are influenced by the Department’s research interests, and are thus particularly intellectually stimulating for our students.

 Programme Structure

Professional Training

A professional training year with an employer is available as an integral part of all our programmes and is organised by the Department. We have placements at a wide range of companies, with roles covering a broad spectrum of computer-related activities. Companies that have participated in the scheme include IBM, Eli Lilly, Microsoft, Accenture, Nokia, Detica and GlaxoSmithKline. 

At the end of the professional training placement, many students receive offers of employment from their placement employers for when they graduate. 

The experience and skills gained on placement really do equip our students for success, and their enhanced employment prospects can be seen in our outstanding employment record. Many students continue their collaboration with their placement employers by basing their final-year project on work related to their placement. This results in a project with a strong industrial focus that can demonstrate their ability to apply their academic knowledge to real-world problems. 

The professional training year counts towards the experience required for professional membership of the British Computer Society (BCS).

Hear more from some of our former and current placement students.

Why Surrey?

 Key reasons to study Computing 2012 at Surrey

• The opportunity to specialise in areas such as business information systems, Internet computing, formal methods or intelligent agents
• A choice of options to suit your interests throughout your degree
• A flexible and innovative degree structure with a wide range of specialist options
• Professionally accredited by the British Computer Society (BCS)
• Further opportunities for specialised study at MSc and PhD level

Careers

 Top for Jobs

Our combination of technology, industrial relevance and professional training means that our graduates are among the most employable of any university. Employers include:

• Accenture - Software Engineer
• Altius Consulting - Junior Consultant
• Black Rock Studios - Graduate Programmer
• IBM - Foundation Business Consultant
• NHS - IT Analyst
• JPMorgan Chase - Analyst
• Oracle - Graduate Programmer
• Thomson Reuters - Project Manager
• OTM Consulting - IT Manager
• ProspectSoft - Technical Consultant

 Career Opportunities

Computing skills are the foundation of numerous professional careers in many dynamic sectors. Our programmes are designed to prepare you for working at the cutting edge of computing and its applications, and our graduates can take many routes into rewarding careers. 

Employers are increasingly seeking people with a broad range of skills that encompass management and leadership skills as well as technical ability. Our programmes produce graduates with this well-rounded skill set of strong academic knowledge and professional training. 

Our students are highly regarded in many areas of business and industry. Information technology, the focus of one of our degrees, combines business and computation skills that are particularly in demand across Europe. Computer Science and Computing and Information Technology graduates will be highly sought after in a wide range of roles, including those within the software, consumer electronics and telecommunications industries.

Former Surrey students are now involved in all areas, from writing programs and building simulation systems to devising IT strategies and managing organisations. Recent employers include Eli Lilly, IBM, Fujitsu Siemens, McLaren Cars and Reuters.

More

Teaching

Teaching styles vary from large group lectures to small group tutorials, computing laboratories and drop-in sessions for programming. You will benefit from an integrated range of learning methods that includes tutorials, case studies, projects, coursework, and practical and discussion classes, including the use of interactive voting handsets. 

In the early stages of the programmes, the methods of teaching and assessment aim to ensure the acquisition of techniques and relevant knowledge. This includes practice in finding information and deciding whether it is relevant or not. The methods adopted in Level 3 are influenced by the need to broaden and deepen the knowledge you have gained at the earlier levels, and develop the higher order skills you will need as a professional.

You will be allocated a personal tutor to help with any problems or questions concerning your degree programme, or personal matters, throughout your period of study at the University.

Assessment

You will be assessed through examinations and by coursework (which is about 40 per cent of the total mark). Examinations take place at the end of each semester on the modules studied during that semester. Marks from Level 2 onwards count towards the final total, forming the basis of the degree award. If you undertake a professional placement, you will also be assessed on your performance during the professional stage of your degree. Your final-year project accounts for about one third of the marks for Level 3.

Department Information

For more information about the Department of Computing, use the links below.

• Department homepage - see what we're all about
• See what we're currently teaching - timetable and modules
• Undergraduate FAQs