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Software Engineering with a Year in Industry

Entry requirements


A level

B,B,B-A,B,B

If not studying A-Level Maths or Physics, GCSE Grade B (6) Maths is required.

Access to HE Diploma

D:24,M:15

From a suitable subject area. 3 Distinctions must be in Maths.

We recognise the EPQ as an excellent indicator of success. If you are predicted a Grade B or above in the EPQ, you will receive an offer with a one grade reduction, to include your EPQ with a grade B.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

32-34

To include 5 in HL or 6 in two of Biology, Chemistry, Computing, Electronics, Further Mathematics, Mathematics (any variation), Physics, Psychology, Statistics (Economics may replace Psychology) and 5 in SL English.

Minimum of 360 points overall to include a minimum of 3 B1 passes in Higher/Honours paper (including two of Biology, Chemistry, Computing, Electronics, Further Mathematics, Mathematics (any variation), Physics, Psychology, Statistics (Economics may replace Psychology).

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

DDD

From BTEC in Computing or Information Technology

Requirements are for A Levels where you can substitute the same non-subject specific grade for the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Level Core Grade

UCAS Tariff

120-128

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Software engineering

Building software to a specification is a challenging and vital skill in modern Computer Science, and this degree will give you the knowledge, experience and expertise to prepare you for a career in the exciting field of software engineering.

On this degree you will study the fundamental elements of computer science before progressing on to team working skills in year two. This includes completing work started by other teams and working collaboratively with other teams – giving you valuable experience of working practices which are common in industry.
You will spend the third of your four years on a paid industrial placement, putting your skills into practice and greatly enhancing your employability.

Finally, you will move on to software testing, design patterns and generic programming, and you will complete a practical project, involving building a software system.

**Computer Science Facilities**
You will be taught in our new £32.5m Computational Foundry, a world class centre with state-of-the-art facilities for teaching and research, as well as networking and meeting spaces, which bring students, academics and industry together. Our facilities include;
• Vision and Biometric Lab
• Maker Labs
• FIT Lab [Future Interaction Technologies]
• Theory Lab
• Cyber Security Lab
• User Experience Lab
• Visualisation Suite

**Professional Body Accreditation**
This programme is accredited by the British Computer Society, and allows graduates to join immediately as professional members.

**Did you know all of our courses are available with a Year in Industry or Year Abroad?**

These placement years increase our students confidence and communication skills as well as help them to gain valuable experiences that will ultimately enhance their employability. To find out more go to www.swansea.ac.uk/science

**We guarantee that you will be made a conditional offer for a course at Swansea University. Subject requirements will apply. Please come along to our next Open Day or get in touch for further information.**

Modules

In Year 1 you will learn how to program (in Java), study how computers work, be introduced to software engineering, and learn about the fundamental mathematics and theory of Computer Science. Year 1 is common for our Single Honours degree schemes.

In Year 2, in common with students on the Computer Science degree, you will study databases, graphics, algorithms, concurrent systems and alternative approaches to programming. You will also focus on team working and real-world concepts like completing work started by other teams, and working collaboratively with other teams – which are common practice in industry. You will also study structuring, storing, manipulating and communicating data.

In Year 3 you will spend a year in industry, applying your skills in a Software Engineering work environment locally, nationally or overseas, which will greatly enhance your employability. You will continue to be supported by the University, through regular contact with staff.

In Year 4 you will undertake a practical project, involving building a software system, and will take compulsory modules on software testing, design patterns and generic programming, plus options.

The Uni


Course location:

Bay Campus

Department:

Computer Science

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.

80%
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

63%
Staff make the subject interesting
76%
Staff are good at explaining things
80%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
82%
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

73%
Library resources
60%
IT resources
78%
Course specific equipment and facilities
71%
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?

77%
UK students
23%
International students
87%
Male students
13%
Female students
88%
2:1 or above
14%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
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.

£23,000
med
Average annual salary
99%
high
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

78%
Information technology and telecommunications professionals
5%
Teaching and educational professionals
5%
Information technology technicians

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.

£27k

£27k

£32k

£32k

£39k

£39k

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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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):

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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), 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.

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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

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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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here