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University of South Wales

UCAS Code: G40C | Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)

Entry requirements

A level

B,B,C

The A Level entry criteria detailed is the qualification range within which the University will normally make offers. Most offers we make are normally at the top of the range, but we take all aspects of an application into consideration and applicants receive a personalised offer. Combinations with other listed qualifications are acceptable and others not listed may also be acceptable – please contact [email protected].

Access to HE Diploma

D:15,M:24,P:6

Pass an Access to HE Diploma in Maths/Science and obtain a minimum of 112 UCAS tariff points

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

DMM

The BTEC entry criteria detailed is the qualification range within which the University will normally make offers. Most offers we make are normally at the top of the range, but we take all aspects of an application into consideration and applicants receive a personalised offer. Combinations with other listed qualifications are acceptable and others not listed may also be acceptable – please contact [email protected].

T Level

P

Passing the T Level with Pass (C or above in the Core)

UCAS Tariff

112

The tariff entry criteria detailed is the qualification range within which the University will normally make offers. Most offers we make are normally at the top of the range, but we take all aspects of an application into consideration and applicants receive a personalised offer. Combinations of qualifications are acceptable and other qualifications not listed may also be acceptable.

Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (last awarded Summer 2024)

B

We accept the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Diploma in lieu of a third subject. The grade range for the Skills Challenge Certificate is the range within which the University will normally make offers. The grade will reflect what you would have been asked for from a third A Level. Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions.

About this course

Course option

3years

Full-time | 2025

Subjects

Computer science

Programming

Computer science is a wide field, from its theoretical and algorithmic foundations to cutting-edge development in robotics and intelligent systems. This BCS-accredited Computer Science degree has been designed in line with professional standards and is your first step towards a career in secure software development. You’ll work on real problems in readiness for employment, developing key skills that will help you keep pace with this rapidly changing field.

This BCS-accredited and National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) certified Computer Science degree has been designed in line with professional standards and is your first step towards a career in secure software development. Launched in October 2016, the NCSC has brought together expertise from CESG (the information assurance arm of GCHQ), the Centre for Cyber Assessment, CERT-UK, and the Centre for Protection of National Infrastructure. This degree is one of only a very few to be successfully certified by this prestigious organisation. You’ll work on real problems in readiness for employment, developing key skills that will help you keep pace with this rapidly changing field.

If your desire is to become a programmer, then a computer science course is perfect for you. You’ll learn about abstraction,complexity, evolutionary change, sharing of common resources, security and concurrency. From system functionality to usability and performance, you’ll also be better placed to solve real-life problems with an understanding of how they affect people’s lives.

As a computer scientist, you’ll learn by doing, making use of high-performance computers, and working individually and in teams to produce solutions to tight deadlines, giving you first-hand experience of agile software development.

USW's Computer Science degree is based at our Treforest campus. USW Treforest is surrounded by green open spaces. Our students say they love the warm and friendly welcome and community atmosphere, as well as the convenience of living and studying in the same place.

From listed buildings to new, modern structures, Treforest reflects the University’s history and its ambitions. Here you will find everything you need in one place - halls of residence, the library and sport centre, cafes and bars to eat and drink, and friends to spend time with.

Tuition fees

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

England
£9,000
per year
EU
£9,000
per year
International
£12,600
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,000
per year
Scotland
£9,000
per year
Wales
£9,000
per year

The Uni

Course location:

Pontypridd

Department:

Computing and Mathematics

Read full university profile

What students say

We've crunched the numbers to see if the overall teaching satisfaction score here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

83%
Computer science
90%
Programming

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

94%
Staff make the subject interesting
96%
Staff are good at explaining things
82%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
94%
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

94%
Library resources
87%
IT resources
90%
Course specific equipment and facilities
88%
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?

69%
UK students
31%
International students
87%
Male students
13%
Female students
63%
2:1 or above
13%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
D
D

Software engineering

Teaching and learning

73%
Staff make the subject interesting
83%
Staff are good at explaining things
72%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
78%
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

87%
Library resources
87%
IT resources
88%
Course specific equipment and facilities
62%
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?

68%
UK students
32%
International students
86%
Male students
14%
Female students
78%
2:1 or above
18%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
D
B

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.

£24,000
low
Average annual salary
90%
high
Employed or in further education
65%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

This is a newly-classified subject area for this kind of data, so we don’t currently have very much information to display or analyse yet. The subject is linked to important and growing computing industries, and over time we can expect more students to study them — there could be opportunities that open up for graduates in these subjects as the economy develops over the next few years.

Programming

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.

£26,500
med
Average annual salary
90%
med
Employed or in further education
80%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

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.

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.

£21k

£21k

£30k

£30k

£30k

£30k

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.

£21k

£21k

£30k

£30k

£30k

£30k

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.

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

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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