BSc (Hons)
Computing and the Digital Image
Develop skills for the entertainment industry and beyond
Course Overview
Why take this course?
Digital images shape and inform the way we see the world – from the creation of special digital effects for the cinema, to manipulating the perfection of supermodels in fashion magazines.
Alongside key aspects in computing, you’ll study both the production of entertainment technology and its delivery through digital editing technology.
What will I experience?
On this course you can:
- Use our purpose-made TV studios and photographic studios to test out your digital creations
- Get to grips with the cutting-edge, industry-standard software housed in our computer and multimedia laboratories
- Opt to do a salaried placement year
What opportunities might it lead to?
You’ll have the opportunity to acquire skills used throughout the entertainment industry and beyond. It will be full preparation for a range of careers from multimedia production, computer animation and graphics, to website creation and design.
Here are some routes our graduates have pursued:
- computer game development
- multimedia production
- animation
- graphics and video editing
- digital video film-making
I chose the University of Portsmouth as I found it to be a lively and vibrant university, and the only one to offer a programming and graphics combined course.
Ashley Armstrong, BSc (Hons) Computing and the Digital Image student 2013
Key Facts
- UCAS Course Code:
- GW42
- Duration
- 3 years full time, 4 years sandwich with work placement
- Entry
260-300 points to include 160 points from a minimum of 2 A Levels, or equivalent.
Other qualifications- Fees
UK/EU/Channel Islands and Isle of Man full-time students: £8,750 p/a*
International full-time students: £11,900 p/a*
*Please note that all fees are subject to annual increase.- Contact
- technology.admissions@port.ac.uk
+44 (0)23 9284 2555 - Department
- School of Computing
Subject:
Computing and Creative Technologies
Find out what our students say about studying at Portsmouth, including:
- Hands-on, practical work and real-life learning, which is transferable to future careers
- Modern facilities and access to the latest technology including numerous computer labs, TV studios and a motion capture suite
- Approachable lecturers who have experience and contacts in the industry
Visit us at our open day
Wed 10 Jul
Structure & Teaching
Year one
The first year is your introduction to the fundamental concepts of computing and digital image creation and manipulation. Alongside this theoretical learning you’ll experience practical lab sessions, including the use of specialist facilities for digital editing.
Core units in this year include:
- Comp Tutorial Level 4
- Digital Filming and Technology
- Introduction to Computer Graphics
- Introduction to Programming
- Scripting and Animation
- Web Foundations 1
Year two
Tailor your course via a range of options, expand on your skills and explore new topics including software engineering, 3D modelling and web server development.
Core units in this year include:
- Comp Tutorial Level 5
- Digital Photography
- Introduction to Software Engineering
- Streaming Media Website Design and Delivery
- Web-Script Programming
Options to choose from in this year include:
- Advanced Programming Concepts
- Data Structures and Algorithms
Year three
In your final year, there’s a significant amount of project work based in the area of digital imaging, as well as advanced specialist units in 3D rendering and information systems developments.
Core units in this year include:
- Comp Tutorial Level 6
- Final Year Engineering Project
- Interdisciplinary Group Project
- Web Research
Options to choose from in this year include:
- Advanced Software Engineering
- Animation and Virtual Reality
- Database Driven Streaming Media Website Development
- Human Computer Interaction Design
Teaching and Assessment
Here at the University, we aim to provide a lively and modern learning environment. During this course you will experience a mixture of lectures, tutorials, laboratory and project work. While lecture classes can be large, the more personal approach of seminars and tutorials offer more one-to-one support from our expert academics.
How are you assessed?
We assess you in ways that encourage a deeper understanding and allow you to develop your skills including through:
- multiple choice tests
- essays and portfolio work
- written exams
- mini projects
- presentations
- case studies
- review articles
Visit us open day
Facilities & Features
Computer labs
You’ll have excellent resources at your fingertips
Specialist Software and Equipment
A wide range of powerful and modern multimedia computers equipped with the latest software
Maths Café
Maths Café - drop in any time and get one-to-one help
University Library
Our library offers a wealth of information
Computer labs
A full range of industry software will be available for you to use in the computer labs. You’ll have excellent resources at your fingertips including:
- the Virtual Reality Lab
- motion capture facilities
- Half Life 2 (source game engine)
- Unreal game engine
- XNA (Dreamspark) Xbox 360 development environment
- Maya
- Macromedia software
Specialist software and equipment
You will have easy access to a wide range of powerful and modern multimedia computers equipped with the latest software. Such software will play a major role in this course and you’ll regularly be using packages such as Dreamweaver, Flash, Photoshop, 3D Studio Max, Avid Media Composer, Cool Edit Pro, Adobe After Effects, Protools and Logic. Though these may seem daunting at first – you’ll have day-to-day contact with knowledgeable, enthusiastic and highly-motivated staff who will be happy to lend a helping hand.
Maths Café
Drop in any time and get one-to-one help with that tricky maths or stats problem. With handouts on key topics to take away and computer-aided learning packages, we can get the problem solved and help you improve your numeracy skills.
University Library
Modern, comfortable and a great learning environment, our library offers a wealth of information including 400,000 books, DVDs, maps and thousands of online ejournals and newspapers. Many electronic resources are available anywhere, 24/7 and our friendly staff are always on hand to help.
Careers & Opportunities
Career prospects
Our course aims to provide you with the knowledge and skills to work within a technical environment. On completing this course, you’ll possess the full package of professional skills needed to pursue a career in this rapidly evolving and dynamic field. With an emphasis on graphics and animation, this course not only provides a route to technical computing roles but also qualifies you for the more creative side to the digital industries.
It’s also fairly common for our graduates to be snapped up by the employer they worked for in their placement year. Others continue their study at both MSc and PhD levels, specialising further in areas such as health informatics, forensic IT and networking.
Roles our graduates have taken on include:
- computer games animator
- 3D modeller
- web designer
- graphic artist
- video filmmaker
- games developer
Work experience
On this course you have the option to do a year UK or overseas placement with companies such as IBM or smaller organisations. This is a great opportunity to gain real-world perspective and exciting opportunities.
There are also plenty of opportunities to do significant pieces of practical work by getting involved with our TV channel, radio station or other extra-curricular activities within the local community.
Our team at the Student Placement and Employability Centre (SPEC) ensures you have access to a range of volunteering and work experience opportunities. We also offer support during your year-long industrial placements, and provide support for the different types of application processes.
Here are some examples of the roles our students have secured for their placements:
- IT Service Desk at Kelway
- Website Developer/ Designer at @UKPlc
- Player Support Representative at Jagex
Career planning
6.04 minutes
Finding a job is a competitive business, but the statistics show that 89 per cent of our 2011graduates went into employment, further study or training within six months of finishing their degrees.
To make sure you take the right steps on your career path, we’re here to give you help, support and advice throughout your study. Even after you’ve graduated, we continue to give you support for up to five years.
Employers tell us that they want graduates to be able to demonstrate certain skills when they come out of university. Our courses take account of this. We make sure we prepare you for employment through work-related learning, projects, placements and working in simulated environments that are designed to prepare you for the working world.
Open Day
Our next open day is Wed 10 July
VISIT US! Have a look around and get a feel for what it’s like to live and study here. We’ll be on hand to talk to you about your course interests and show you all of our amazing facilities. You’ll also get to meet tutors and other students…
Application, Fees and Funding — find out more