Computer Science with a Foundation Year

At Swansea, you’ll learn how to code and much more. We’ll empower you to create and innovate to solve real-world problems. From day one, you’ll be building software, exploring new technologies, and developing the skills that employers are looking for. You’ll dive into high-demand areas like artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, data science, software engineering, and mobile app development. We don’t list specific tools and languages here, because we constantly update our curriculum to match what industry needs when you graduate, not what it needed when you started.

Our curriculum is shaped by industry input and delivered by experts who work at the cutting edge. From BAFTA-nominated game developers to world-leading cyber security experts and researchers collaborating with Airbus, Microsoft, HSBC, and Siemens – your lecturers excel in theory and make a difference in practice. You’ll learn in state-of-the-art labs, collaborate with your peers, and showcase your work to employers at our annual Project Fair. Whether you're interested in building cloud-based systems, designing accessible apps, exploring Internet of Things (IoT) technologies or developing technologies that haven’t even been invented yet, you’ll graduate with a portfolio that demonstrates your skills - and gives you the confidence to use them.

At Swansea University, our facilities set us apart. Our £32.5 million Computational Foundry is home to state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities which include a Vision and Biometric Lab, Maker Lab, Theory Lab, Cyber Security/Networking Lab, Robotics Lab, User Lab, and Visualisation Suite. Our students will benefit from world-leading experimental set-ups, equipment, devices and prototypes to accelerate innovation. You will have the opportunity to learn about and work with these facilities.

The Foundation Year for this programme can give you an exciting introduction to higher education, setting you up with the skills, confidence, and knowledge that you’ll need to be successful in your undergraduate degree. It’s ideal if you need a little more support after further education or you are returning to education after a gap. Following successful completion of the Foundation Year, you will progress onto Year 1 of your BSc.

In Year 0, you will typically study areas including: Introduction to Programming; Technologies for Information Presentation; Mathematical Foundations: Algebra and Functions; Problem Solving with Robotics; Coordinate Geometry and Applications; Fundamentals of Calculus and Probability.

In Year 1, you will typically study areas including: Data Representation & Computer Architecture; Programming & Software Engineering 1; Introduction to Data Science; Professional Issues, Security & Digital Technology; Programming & Software Engineering 2; Modelling Computing Systems

In Year 2, you will typically study areas including: Declarative Programming; Software Engineering; Database Systems; Algorithms; Automata and Formal Language Theory; Professional Development and Career Planning; Concurrency; Software Security Engineering; Web Service Development; Visual Computing; Artificial Intelligence; Intelligent Robotics.

In Year 3, you will typically study areas including: Computer Science Project Specification and Development; Computer Science Project Implementation and Dissertation; Critical Systems; Web Application Development; Embedded Systems Design; Cryptography and IT-Security; Software Testing; Brain-Inspired Artificial Intelligence.

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

• British Computer Society