Artificial Intelligence with a Foundation Year

Developing skills in artificial intelligence is one of the biggest challenges facing industries both globally and nationally today. This BSc Artificial Intelligence degree is designed to tackle industry demands and equip you with cutting-edge skills in deep learning, natural language processing, computer vision, cloud computing, and Generative AI. These capabilities will enable you to deliver intelligent software solutions that power innovation across the modern economy and contribute towards the future of society.

You will graduate prepared for careers like Artificial Intelligence Engineer, Machine Learning Specialist, Data Scientist, and Natural Language Processing Developer.

The Foundation Year

The Foundation Year course option enables you to study for our BSc (Hons) degree over an extended full-time duration of four years by including a Foundation Certificate (year one of four). The Foundation Certificate provides a broad study programme that underpins the follow-on degree. In order to progress to the next year of your degree, it is necessary to achieve a pass in all of the modules of the Foundation Certificate.

What's covered in this course?

Throughout the course, you will have opportunities to interact with a curriculum that is supported by commercial and industrial content and partners.

In your second year, modules at the start of the course are mostly common with other Computing and AI courses to ensure a strong technical foundation in the field. You will develop an understanding of programming, algorithms and data structure, computer systems, and web development, while also being introduced to artificial intelligence, and innovation through dedicated projects.

In your third year, you’ll study specialised modules in artificial intelligence and machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and software deployment using machine learning operations. You'll also gain solid experience in backend development, object-oriented programming, and database engineering, enabling you to build and train intelligent systems.

In your final year, you will explore advanced AI technologies such as deep neural networks, generative AI, cloud computing, deep neural networks and ethics, and modern data storage systems - as well as ethical and societal implications of AI solutions. A major highlight of your final year is the individual project, where you'll tackle a real-world AI problem, applying your knowledge to research, design, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive solution. This capstone project helps prepare you for professional roles and demonstrates your capabilities to future employers.

Additionally, you will have the opportunity to take a professional placement year between your second and third year, which we highly recommend, as it will give you an invaluable opportunity to hone your expertise, try out a potential career path and get relevant workplace experience that is valued by many employers, boosting your CV.

Professional Placement year

This course offers an optional professional placement year. This allows you to spend a whole year with an employer, following successful completion of your second year, and is a great way to find out more about your chosen career. Some students even return to the same employers after completing their studies.

If you choose to pursue a placement year, you will need to find a suitable placement to complement your chosen area of study. You will be able to draw on the University’s extensive network of local, regional, and national employers, and the support of our Careers teams. If you are able to secure a placement, you can request to be transferred to the placement version of the course.

Please note that fees are payable during your placement year, equivalent to 20% of the total full-time course fee for that year.