Computer Science with Foundation Year

Why this course
• Top 3 modern university in London (Complete University Guide 2025)
• Ranked in the top 15% in the world (Times Higher Education Young University Rankings 2024)
• #8 in England for undergraduate student satisfaction (National Student Survey 2024)

• Innovative course at the forefront of the field, equipping you for whatever career in IT you choose.
• This programme incorporates professional body requirements and standards with collaboration, community and social ethics.
• An accessible approach; a collaborative programme with flexible delivery, reflecting working norms of the IT industry.
• Teaching designed for you: the contact time you need to succeed, with timetables designed to recognise your wider commitments.

About this course

Our BSc Computer Science is a dynamic and varied programme covering all the key areas, from cybersecurity and GDPR to machine learning, algorithm design and programming, that you will need to graduate with the knowledge, skills and practical experience ready to start your career as an IT professional.

This option has a foundation year, which will provide you with a sound introduction to key elements needed for studying Computer Science at degree level. Our extended degree programme will provide you with a thorough and supportive academic preparation for study. The foundation year is carefully designed to build confidence in your abilities, develop essential academic and study skills, and provide you with the subject specific knowledge essential for success.

You will learn key programming skills across languages and platforms so you will have the fluency to work on any software development problem. You will be exposed to computational and algorithmic thinking and will learn how to provide data solutions and secure systems. Through problem-based lab learning, you will develop software applicable to the home, Internet, corporate, and many other fields. You will deliver solutions to people’s problems, be they personal, social, or industrial. The programme has been constructed to give you experience of IT work culture while you study, focusing on collaborative working practices. By studying in this way, you will learn what makes a responsible IT practitioner in legal, social, ethical and professional contexts.

Career opportunities

Graduates can go into any IT career, from government and public sector to large IT organisations and media. Roles include software engineer, software developer, data scientist, cyber security analyst, DevOps engineer, and artificial intelligence and automated operations engineer.

Teaching designed around you

At Roehampton, we want to provide you with the flexibility you need while you study, and the contact time to help you succeed. We schedule our teaching across no more than three days each week. Plus, we'll confirm which days these are well in advance of the start of term, so you can plan ahead. So, if you want to have more focused personal study time, a part-time job, need to balance family commitments, or want to reduce the time you spend commuting, we’re the ideal choice for you.

Student support available 24/7

At Roehampton, student support is available 7 days a week. Our committed academic staff will support, help and guide you throughout your studies and help you prepare for your future career. We also offer study, wellbeing and careers support on-campus and online, so you can get the help you need when you want it. We offer a wide range of scholarships and bursaries. We also provide other ways to support the cost of living, including free buses and on-campus car parking, hardship support and some of the most affordable student accommodation and catering in London. Find out more about how we can support you.

Foundation Year
Take modules in English and Maths which will develop your core academic and study skills.
The syllabus includes a year-long module relevant to your chosen degree subject, such as Communication and Representation Essentials. This will provide you with a subject specific knowledge in Journalism which is essential for success in your degree.
Year One
Examine the five views of computer technology: software, hardware, mathematical, data and societal.
Learn programming concepts, recipes and algorithm development and examine data representation, code operation and secure coding.
Explore the human-computer interaction and usability, incorporating psychology and statistical understanding of user studies, and social and ethical concerns of computer interface design, such as accessibility and how people experience IT.
Year Two
Take modules such as Artificial Intelligence and Algorithms, where you will learn how algorithm design works and be introduced to innovative concepts around algorithmic impact on energy consumption, and discover the social and ethical implications of AI, including considerations of automation.
Option to take a one-year work placement at the end of your second year
Year Three
Work on a final-year project and explore a topic of your choice
Take modules such as Cyber Security where you will examine the lifecycles, legal frameworks, and tools of the computer security professional, including legal, social and ethical concerns of computer security such as hacking and its ethical standpoint.
Other modules include Data Visualisation, which teaches the art and science of descriptive statistics, including static charts and interactive visuals and Data Engineering, where you will develop data delivery pipelines, consider the requirements of domain experts and the legal, social and ethical aspects of data pipeline techniques.