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Software Engineering with Placement

Entry requirements


From a minimum of 2 A Levels

Accepted when studied alongside other Level 3 qualifications

Access to HE Diploma

M:45

Pass in Access course with 60 credits overall including 45 Level 3 credits passed with a minimum of Merit.

This qualification is accepted when taken alongside other qualifications.

HNC (BTEC)

P-D

HND (BTEC)

P-M

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

29-31

This qualification is accepted when taken alongside other qualifications.

OCR Cambridge Technical Diploma

D*D*

This qualification is accepted when taken alongside other qualifications.

OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma

DMM

This qualification is accepted when taken alongside other qualifications.

This qualification is accepted when taken alongside other qualifications.

This qualification is accepted when taken alongside other qualifications.

This qualification is accepted when taken alongside other qualifications.

This qualification is accepted when taken alongside other qualifications.

Pearson BTEC Diploma (QCF)

D*D*

Pearson BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF)

DMM

This qualification is accepted when taken alongside other qualifications.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

D*D*

This qualification is accepted when taken alongside other qualifications.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DMM

This qualification is accepted when taken alongside other qualifications.

This qualification is accepted when taken alongside other qualifications.

T Level

M

UCAS Tariff

112-128

From a minimum of 2 A Levels or equivalent qualifications such as BTEC Extended Diploma or OCR Extended Diploma. For detailed information on accepted qualifications, please view our Course Entry Statement (https://www.solent.ac.uk/how-to-apply/documents/course-entry-requirement-statement.pdf) Solent University is a proud champion of widening participation. For further information about our contextual offer, please visit our website (https://www.solent.ac.uk/how-to-apply/what-next/contextual-offers)

This qualification is accepted when taken alongside other qualifications.

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time with year in industry | 2024

Subject

Software engineering

Do you have a passion for programming? Want to study a degree that can lead to a varied career in the IT industry? Solent’s software engineering programme offers a broad range of technical computing skills across a range of areas, preparing you for a fantastic career in the software engineering industry upon graduation.

In the first year of study you will cover a range of topics including coding, software testing, networking and security, algorithms and databases. You will also be supported to develop academic skills in writing and research, which will aid your learning throughout the course. These base-line topics will lead into more advanced areas of development in the second year, which include an introduction to artificial intelligence and mobile application development.

All of our undergraduate computing courses have an optional placement year between the second and third years of study, where you have the opportunity to work in industry, gaining valuable employment and experience.

The final year culminates in a major project where you will have the chance to showcase your skills and knowledge related to the engineering of software systems. You will also develop a deeper understanding of specialist areas through optional modules, which include popular areas such as data science and immersive technologies.

The supportive and experienced academic team will guide you in promoting yourself as a professional practitioner, through developing online profiles to showcase your skills and expertise. You will also be encouraged to engage in networking at local digital and technology events, helping you to gain invaluable real-world experience and feedback.

Our close links with industry will support you in gaining contacts, work experience opportunities, and insight into the software engineering industry. Industrial consulting is also enabled through a final year project unit which gets you industry ready to confidently go forward into the workplace.

As a graduate you will be able to pursue a wide range of career options in the digital industry, and will benefit from the continuing increasing industry demand for those with strong technical abilities in software development.

With a strong focus on programming, this course includes software development, database and networking modules. Covered technologies include Java, Android, Oracle SQL, PHP, Web APIs, JSON, HTML5, jQuery and big data analytics.

**What does this course lead to?**
Graduates can enter a wide range of jobs including software engineering, software development, project management, IT support, web development and database management. The skills you’ll develop are highly valued by employers across a broad range of sectors.

Recent course graduates have gone on to various roles in the software industry including IBM, Si Digital, LeadStream, Fujitsu UK, Guernsey Post, Retail Manager Solutions Ltd.

**Who is this course for?**
This course is ideal for those with a passion for understanding and developing software systems, and who aspire for a career where they support, research, design, deploy and maintain software systems.

Modules

YEAR 1 - CORE MODULES
Problem Solving through Programming
Introduction to Networks and Security
Data Structures, Algorithms and Mathematics
Introduction to Databases
Software Testing and Reliability Engineering
Web Technologies

YEAR 2 - CORE MODULES
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
Web Application Development
Advanced Database Systems
Research Methods Project
Object Oriented Design and Development
Mobile Application Development

YEAR 3 - CORE MODULES
Dissertation Project
DevOps
Industrial Consulting Project

YEAR 3 - OPTIONS (please note that not all options are guaranteed to run each academic year)
Immersive Technologies
Advanced Mobile Development and 3D
Data Science
Machine Learning

Assessment methods

You will be assessed through a mixture of group and individual coursework, report writing, presentations, time-constrained class tests, online tests, portfolios, practical demonstrations and project work.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£16,125
per year
International
£16,125
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

Extra funding

Solent University offers a number of bursaries, grants and scholarships. For more information, please visit https://www.solent.ac.uk/finance/grants-bursaries-scholarships/bursaries

The Uni


Course location:

Solent University (Southampton)

Department:

Department of Science and Engineering

Read full university profile

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.

75%
Software engineering

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

82%
Staff make the subject interesting
75%
Staff are good at explaining things
71%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
71%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

75%
Library resources
86%
IT resources
81%
Course specific equipment and facilities
61%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

59%
UK students
41%
International students
85%
Male students
15%
Female students
79%
2:1 or above
15%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

D
C
C

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.

Software engineering

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.

£20,000
low
Average annual salary
81%
low
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

75%
Information technology and telecommunications professionals
8%
Information technology technicians
4%
Artistic, literary and media occupations

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.

Software engineering

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£20k

£20k

£26k

£26k

£27k

£27k

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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Lower entry requirements
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Same University
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This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the 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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here