Computer Science BSc (Hons) / MEng

You'll explore the development and function of CPUs and operating systems, understand the mathematical basis of technical computing, and develop your knowledge of decision logic.

You'll dig into the history and current trends of web design, cyber security, usability, and a further topic specific to your choice of degree. When you complete the module, you'll have the intellectual springboard to excel in the next years of your degree.

You'll simplify complex information, using the concepts of normalisation theory, then apply accurate SQL queries that can deliver the information in intuitive formats. You'll complete this module able to develop and operate industry-standard databases to meet specific business briefs.

In this module you'll study the protocols, topologies and security systems that go into global data transfer. Through lectures and practical lab sessions you'll master networking terminology, professional standards, and put your understanding to work in Windows and Linux operating systems.

This module will see you design, implement and test computer programs and analyse concepts and techniques when developing algorithms.

This module progresses on the skills learning in Programming 1 by designing, implementing and testing programs with graphical user interfaces in object-oriented programming.

You'll cover object-oriented polymorphism, exception handling, event-driven programming and user interface development in one stream of your study. In the other, you'll look at language evaluation, syntax specification, compilation, and abstraction mechanisms.

In this module, you'll study the problems of scale in software systems, and the industry's solutions to those issues. You'll then work in a team to develop a medium-sized software application, review each other's work, and engage in the thoughtful and reflective discussions that inform the professional software engineering process.

You'll learn how choosing the right structure impacts the efficiency of algorithms. Through coding exercises, you'll construct data structures from scratch and see first-hand how they enable solving complex problems. You'll review different implementation options and analyse the tradeoffs in memory usage, speed, simplicity, and more. By the end, you'll have developed core skills for designing optimized data structures tailored to algorithm needs. The module builds a strong foundation for writing efficient, scalable code that handles real-world data.

You'll study concurrency and communication in current processors, analyse advanced computer architectures and explore modern routing protocols in this module. As you dig into the foundational mechanisms of digital technologies, you'll learn to identify their principles and limitations, and to work with them directly through a system level programming language.

In this module, you'll learn to design, write and test in a functional programming language, and grasp the concepts that underpin it. You'll apply proof techniques and logic to verify solutions, use graph algorithms, and understand the use of mathematical notation for modern computer science.

You'll apply modeling, texturing and lighting skills as you learn the algorithms rendering each scene, and optimise your projects for real-time interactivity and visual fidelity. On completion, you'll be ready to apply your skills to areas such as medical imaging, autonomous transport UIs and smart city simulations.

You'll approach problems using classical and modern technology, using contemporary platforms, and evaluate current and emerging issues in the field.

You'll learn to cut through complexity in your data, using software like R and Anaconda, to present useful metrics in the dashboards and reports that influence management decisions.

Master an ethical hacker's mindset and toolkits to spotlight vulnerabilities before threats do. Evaluate insider threats, footprinting networks, exploiting, pivoting - and recommend defences to make systems watertight. Multiply your career options with high-demand penetration testing skills spanning web apps, networks, embedded devices and humans themselves.

In this module, you'll first synthesise a safety-critical system, then explore cryptographic techniques and attack vectors it could be vulnerable to. You'll use your vulnerability analysis to close weaknesses, and get ready to work in hostile digital environments.

In this module, you'll study industry theory and best practice, before using your knowledge to create a dynamic web application to meet client specifications. As you build your app, you'll gain experience with client-side and server-side programming, and API integrations.

With guidance from an expert supervisor, you'll identify a challenge that excites you and develop an approach to investigating it.

As you apply your analytical and creative skills to the project, you'll build self-confidence and resourcefulness alongside your new engineering capabilities.

You'll also learn to showcase your work professionally through reports and presentations that demonstrate your readiness for an engineering career after university.

Using case studies, you'll examine new and emerging designs in distributed systems, and consider access control techniques for security. You'll also analyse the impact of attacks on systems and data, and look at current research issues in digital ecosystems.

You'll study formal models like automata and Turing machines, plus topics including decidability, computability, complexity theory, and NP-completeness. You'll learn to categorize problems based on their inherent difficulty, develop approaches for tackling intractable problems, and identify tasks that computers cannot do.

Through group projects, you'll research and critique topics including wireless/mobile networks, network security, error control, and performance optimizations. You'll evaluate technologies like the Internet of Things, configure networks, analyse performance, and simulate solutions for real-world scenarios.

You'll examine the philosophy of AI, its methods of representing knowledge, and what this implies about the nature of learning. You'll also apply and evaluate different AI approaches in different situations, covering neural networks, fuzzy logic and genetic algorithms.

You'll work in a team to analyse the issues, engage closely with the client to match your understanding to their needs, and bring your fresh insights to their problem. By the end, you'll have a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to propose to your client, and demonstrable evidence of using team-based approaches to complex industry issues.

You'll gain fluency developing 3D graphics for emerging web frameworks, alongside use of computer vision tools and techniques for facial recognition and object tracking. When you complete the module, you'll be able to bring vision and graphics together to solve real world challenges.

In this industry-focused module, you'll evaluate multiple project management methods, their application to IT projects, and associated soft skills - from communication and risk planning to team leadership. You'll cover concepts, tools and techniques employed across the project management lifecycle.

You'll model and query cloud data warehouses, identify statistical outliers and patterns, and develop visually engaging reports that provide management recommendations.

In this future-focused module, you'll look at the effects of innovative technology in enterprise, the contexts in which advances are created, and frameworks for understanding future developments. You'll also prepare for your early career development as you appraise the current IT employment landscape.

Examine embedded systems and sensors powering smart watches, homes, cities and more. Evaluate networking protocols and data analytics techniques to realize value from machine information. Develop IoT applications while considering security, interfaces and human needs. With the ability to blend hardware, software and cloud services, you’ll be at the forefront as IoT transforms business and society.

You'll examine security devices and systems, and high-profile breaches, to understand the constantly evolving threat landscape and its far-reaching impacts. Upon completion, you'll be set to evaluate and recommend security systems to future-proof organizations against emerging cyber-attacks.

You'll work with real robotic systems as you implement practical programming skills, alongside study of various approaches to robot sensing and control systems. Through guest lectures, theoretical learning and practical challenges, you'll develop specialised knowledge of this rapidly developing field.

On this module, you'll integrate technical knowledge with project skills - proposing and implementing solutions that address real industry challenges. Your key activities span literature analysis, design, prototyping, testing, and critical evaluation against project objectives. Adhering to legal, ethical and professional standards, you'll produce high-quality artefacts and written reports that showcase your readiness for workplace application or postgraduate research.

You'll study formal models like automata and Turing machines, plus topics including decidability, computability, complexity theory, and NP-completeness. You'll learn to categorize problems based on their inherent difficulty, develop approaches for tackling intractable problems, and identify tasks that computers cannot do.

Using case studies, you'll examine new and emerging designs in distributed systems, and consider access control techniques for security. You'll also analyse the impact of attacks on systems and data, and look at current research issues in digital ecosystems.

Through group projects, you'll research and critique topics including wireless/mobile networks, network security, error control, and performance optimizations. You'll evaluate technologies like the Internet of Things, configure networks, analyse performance, and simulate solutions for real-world scenarios.

You'll examine the philosophy of AI, its methods of representing knowledge, and what this implies about the nature of learning. You'll also apply and evaluate different AI approaches in different situations, covering neural networks, fuzzy logic and genetic algorithms.

You'll work in a team to analyse the issues, engage closely with the client to match your understanding to their needs, and bring your fresh insights to their problem. By the end, you'll have a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to propose to your client, and demonstrable evidence of using team-based approaches to complex industry issues.

You'll gain fluency developing 3D graphics for emerging web frameworks, alongside use of computer vision tools and techniques for facial recognition and object tracking. When you complete the module, you'll be able to bring vision and graphics together to solve real world challenges.

In this industry-focused module, you'll evaluate multiple project management methods, their application to IT projects, and associated soft skills - from communication and risk planning to team leadership. You'll cover concepts, tools and techniques employed across the project management lifecycle.

You'll model and query cloud data warehouses, identify statistical outliers and patterns, and develop visually engaging reports that provide management recommendations.

In this future-focused module, you'll look at the effects of innovative technology in enterprise, the contexts in which advances are created, and frameworks for understanding future developments. You'll also prepare for your early career development as you appraise the current IT employment landscape.

Examine embedded systems and sensors powering smart watches, homes, cities and more. Evaluate networking protocols and data analytics techniques to realize value from machine information. Develop IoT applications while considering security, interfaces and human needs. With the ability to blend hardware, software and cloud services, you’ll be at the forefront as IoT transforms business and society.

You'll examine security devices and systems, and high-profile breaches, to understand the constantly evolving threat landscape and its far-reaching impacts. Upon completion, you'll be set to evaluate and recommend security systems to future-proof organizations against emerging cyber-attacks.

You'll work with real robotic systems as you implement practical programming skills, alongside study of various approaches to robot sensing and control systems. Through guest lectures, theoretical learning and practical challenges, you'll develop specialised knowledge of this rapidly developing field.

In this module, you'll design, model and implement cloud data warehouses to empower decision-making. As you gain experience with predictive mining tools like regression, neural networks and clustering, you'll also learn to communicate clearly with data owners, learning how to present visualisations of your results or to describe the information that different mining techniques could deliver.

Work closely with an external client to build an industry-standard computing solution. Apply a wide range of technical and soft skills - from programming expertise to communication, time management and teamwork. Manage objectives, divide responsibilities, assess risks and pivot when needed, using agile project management frameworks. Deliver a polished application along with client presentations. This end-to-end experience will showcase your ability to collaborate and develop products that meet business needs.

Using mathematical and heuristic techniques such as adversarial learning, genetic algorithms and advanced reasoners, you'll explore unreliable data sources and manage uncertainty. You'll learn to select appropriate machine learning tools for business demands and deliver optimized, trustworthy AI solutions.

Applying advanced techniques like semantic analysis and clustering algorithms, you will uncover hidden patterns across text, speech and multimedia to solve real-world challenges.

You'll explore multi-core CPUs, GPUs and national lab supercomputers, as you learn how parallel programming techniques interact with processor architectures. You'll identify which computational tasks parallel programming is appropriate for, estimate the improvements parallelism will bring, and deliver effective parallel programs that operate on the architectures available to you.

In this module, you'll explore and implement methods for simulating complicated systems. After looking at existing software platforms, available algorithms, and the use of high performance computers, you'll learn to build your chosen simulation. Depending on the needs of your simulation, you might learn formal mathematics, Monte Carlo methods or Fourier analysis - but throughout, you'll focus on visual results over pure numbers.