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Computer Networks and Security

Entry requirements


96 to 112 UCAS points at A2

96 to 112 UCAS points

GCSE/National 4/National 5

5 GCSEs at Grade C/4 or above including Maths and English or equivalent. Equivalent qualifications are Functional Skills Level 2 in Maths and English or Level 3 Key Skills in Maths and Communication.

96 to 122 UCAS points at Higher Level subjects

OCR Cambridge Technical Diploma

D*D*-DD

OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma

DMM-MMM

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

D*D*-DD

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

MMM-DMM

96 to 112 UCAS points

96 to 112 UCAS points

T Level

P-M

P (C+) - M

UCAS Tariff

96-112

About this course


This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.

Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Other options

4 years | Sandwich | 2024

Subjects

Computer networks

Computer and information security

**Course Overview**

Our Computer Networks & Security course will prepare you for a successful career in this rapidly changing industry.

**Why study with us**

- Start your course with our exciting ‘4 Week Challenge’, where first year students work as teams to design and develop a new app and then create a marketing campaign to promote it.

- This course has accreditation leading to MBCS, CITP and partial CEng exemption from the BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, which is the computing professional body.

- You’ll get to undertake a placement in industry after your second year. Most are based in the UK, but there are international opportunities as well.

**What you’ll do**

- This course has three strands. The first, Technical, will develop the core computing skills you’ll need as a networking and security specialist.

- The second, Network and Security Specific, looks at topologies, protocols, hardware devices, security and network management.

- The third, Project Management, will develop your communication skills, give you experience of overseeing projects, and explore legal, social, ethical and commercial issues.

**Accreditations**

- The BCS are the professional body for computing and provide recognition for professionals in the IT industry. This course has accreditation leading to BCS Professional Member (MBCS), Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP) and partial CEng exemption from the BCS.

**Future careers**

This innovative course enables you to work as a security consultant, network designer or a network manager. You can also achieve Cisco accreditation and develop a wide range of transferable skills including project management, group working and communications. These will open doors to other graduate careers and a high earning potential.

Modules

Please visit The University of Central Lancashire’s website for the latest information about our modules.

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Central Lancashire

Department:

School of Engineering and Computing

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.

66%
Computer networks
67%
Computer and information security

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.

Computer science

Teaching and learning

49%
Staff make the subject interesting
84%
Staff are good at explaining things
67%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
77%
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

84%
Library resources
94%
IT resources
87%
Course specific equipment and facilities
39%
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?

82%
UK students
18%
International students
92%
Male students
8%
Female students
65%
2:1 or above
33%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

D
C
E

Software engineering

Teaching and learning

61%
Staff make the subject interesting
78%
Staff are good at explaining things
67%
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

72%
Library resources
82%
IT resources
76%
Course specific equipment and facilities
33%
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?

78%
UK students
22%
International students
85%
Male students
15%
Female students
78%
2:1 or above
29%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

D
D
D

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.

£21,000
med
Average annual salary
100%
high
Employed or in further education
68%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

28%
Information technology technicians
25%
Information technology and telecommunications professionals
13%
Business, research and administrative professionals

There are a lot of computing courses out there, and they vary a lot in content, modules and the way they work with employers, so individual courses can have very different outcomes. This is a course where you really need to get a good grade — employers really pay attention to the class of your degree and a low grade will serious hit your prospects. But you can get a job on pretty much any industry in the country with a computing degree - and organisation with an IT system and a web site needs graduates in this discipline - and many employers report difficulty in finding graduates. So most students do get jobs, and starting salaries are good, particularly in London. If you want to find out more about the prospects for a computer science course at a particular institution, it's a good idea to go on open days and talk to tutors about what previous graduates went on to do.

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.

£21,000
med
Average annual salary
89%
med
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

75%
Information technology and telecommunications professionals
15%
Information technology technicians
5%
Customer service 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.

Computer science

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

£25k

£25k

£31k

£31k

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.

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

£25k

£25k

£31k

£31k

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 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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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