Software Engineering (with Placement Year)
Entry requirements
GCSE/National 4/National 5
3 GCSEs at grade C, or grade 4, or above, including English and Maths.
UCAS Tariff
from a minimum of 2 A Levels (or equivalent).
About this course
BSc (Hons) Software Development [with Placement year].
Have you got what it takes to become an expert software developer? If so, you’ll be in high demand. There’s a shortage of qualified IT graduates in coding so take your coding and programming skills to the next level with our Cambridge-based course and learn techniques to identify, analyse and test the IT solutions that industry needs. Your real-life skills, gained through an optional placement year, will put you ahead of the game in this ever-evolving industry.
Do you already have skills in coding and want to take your interest further? Industry is demanding coding and software development skills to meet business requirements and this course will help you understand what they are looking for and why.
We’ll begin by focusing on these business requirements and principles of software to make sure you’re thinking about how your skills will mould your career from day one.
You’ll learn techniques for identifying, analysing and testing IT requirements of business scenarios and then develop the skills to design innovative IT solutions, using custom system analysis and design methods of scripting, programming, system analysis and design, and systems operation.
There’s plenty of opportunity for practical work, as you carry out both individual and team tasks in the software development lifecycle, from analysis and design to implementation, testing and maintenance of a computer system, including database modelling, development and deployment.
You will develop essential skills in popular and versatile programming languages such as JavaScript, Java, PhP and .net supported by MySQL and SQLServer databases.
We’re constantly looking for what’s new in the industry, to stay ahead of the game. That’s why you’ll apply new models, techniques and tools for implementing custom designs of IT solutions, while you deliver high standard software products for various platforms.
Security standards and quality assurance benchmarks will run throughout everything you design, to ensure your software testing skills meet the ethical and professional standards demanded by the industry.
Modules
Year one, core modules
Basic Maths for Technology
Computer Technology
Web Development
Learning and Skills for HE
Operating Systems
Software Principles
Year two, core modules
Data Security
Design Methods and Technology Project
Object and Data Modelling
Object Oriented Programming
Project Management and Quality Assurance
Cloud Development
Work placement
Year three, core modules
Advanced Object Oriented Programming
Data-Driven Application Programming
Ethical Computing
Undergraduate Major Project
Application Development
Assessment methods
We’ll use a range of assessment methods to help measure your progress. Besides exams, you’ll undertake case studies, in-classes tests, coursework, group work, presentations and log books.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
Cambridge Campus
Computing and Technology
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Software engineering
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Computer science
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
A specialist subject, and not surprisingly graduates tend to go into software engineering roles or related. The degree classification students achieved made a particular difference last year — computing graduates with the best grades were much less likely to be out of work after six months and employers can even rate a good grade as important as work experience. Most students do get jobs, though, and starting salaries are good — particularly in London, where average starting salaries for good graduates were getting towards £38k last year. Be aware that at the moment, recruitment agencies are much the most common way for graduates from this degree to get their first job, so it may be worth getting in touch with a few specialist agencies in advance of graduation if you take this degree to get a foot in the door.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Computing
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£21k
£25k
£29k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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