Information and Communication Technology BSc (Hons)

About the course

Information and Communication Technology draws on a wide range of academic disciplines, with a focus on understanding organisational, technical and business problems and searching for appropriate solutions in a global information and communication technology (ICT) environment.

Reasons to study Information and Communication Technology at DMU:

• You will be part of a new generation of graduates with specialist ICT skills which are widely applicable across most organisations and provide a basis for developing further specialist skills as required by particular companies
• You will be taught by experts who are researching at the forefront of ICT professionalism, services and software practice
• You will graduate with the knowledge and expertise to pursue a variety of ICT roles within public sector, private sector and voluntary organisations

The course concentrates on developing your ability to understand a client’s needs for information, systems and services, analysing their business, services and technology requirements and assembling the hardware, software and people resources to respond appropriately.

Technically, the emphasis is on the overall design of information systems, the creation of tailored web front-ends for systems and the linking of systems and resources together to create coherent ICT solutions and services. There is also a focus on the continuous delivery of quality ICT services within the organisation from a management point of view.

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Key facts

UCAS course code: HG64

Duration: Three years full-time, four years with placement

Institution code: D26

Entry and admission criteria

Entry requirements for 2014

• Normally 260 UCAS Points from at least two A Levels or equivalent
• Five GCSEs at grade C or above, including Maths and English
• BTEC requirements: Distinction Merit Merit (DMM) at National Diploma Level.
• Additional qualifications can contribute towards the points score such as a third A Level or AS Levels
• International Baccalaureate: 28+ points.

If you are unsure about the amount of UCAS points your qualifications may attract you can use our UCAS Tariff Chart|.

We welcome applications from mature students with non-standard qualifications and recognise all other equivalent and international qualifications.

If English is not your first language, an IELTS score of 6.0 or equivalent when you start the course is essential. English language tuition| is available at DMU both before and during the course if required.

Teaching and assessment

Teaching takes place through sessions in state of- the-art computing laboratories, tutorials, lectures and self-directed study using worksheets.

In the first year, you will develop your skills and understanding of information system design, business IT and the creative employment of visual web and internet technologies. You will also develop business information presentations and gain an understanding of the social and technical components of ICT.

The second year focuses in more detail on business ICT and methods of rapidly developing information systems. You will also explore the management of ICT in organisations.

The final year develops your analytical, reporting and presentation skills with a practical project that tackles a business problem of ICT delivery, implementation or support.

You will normally attend around 12–16 hours of timetabled taught sessions each week, and are expected to undertake at least 14–16 further hours of directed independent study and assignments as required.

Course modules

First year

• Information Systems Development
• Introduction to ICT
• Visual Web Development (C#)
• Business Decision Making

Second year

• Management of ICT
• Systems Thinking and Strategy
• Database Design and Implementation
• Agile Methods and Development

Final year

• Information Systems Strategy and Services
• Computing Ethics
• Computing Project

Work experience and placements

You can improve your CV, become highly employable and put the skills you learn on your course into practice by taking a work placement as part of your studies.

Technology's dedicated Placement Unit| provides support to all of our students looking to integrate a placement within their university career on both undergraduate degrees and postgraduate masters programmes. The placement unit will help you search for placement opportunities, create and refine your CV and interview approach, and offer any advice you need to find a great placement. Our placement students have worked for a range of organisations from small business through to multinational companies across the world including Microsoft Ltd, IBM, GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) and PepsiCo International.

Placements can enhance your career prospects and give you the chance to use theory from the classroom in a real-world scenario before you have graduated.

Students from this course have taken part in work experience placements at a number of local and national companies over the past three years, including GlaxoSmithKline, Customer Service Direct and Northamptonshire NHS Provider Services.

Graduate careers

You will graduate with the knowledge and expertise to pursue a variety of ICT roles within public sector, private sector and voluntary organisations.

Fees and funding

UK/EU Full-time £9,000 Placement year £650 Part-time (Where available) 4 year course £5,925 per year 6 year course £3,950 per year Per module £988 per 15 credits International
Full-time £11,250 Placement year £750

For more information please take a look at our Fees and Funding| section.

Scholarships

Scholarships and bursaries are available to home undergraduate students studying on a full time basis. To see if you are eligible, take a look at the Fees and Funding| section of the website.

Facilities

The newly refurbished computer science laboratories in Gateway House provide 80 computer workstations for students to use. The space is divided into four interconnected laboratories each with 20 machines (20 HP PCs running Windows/Linux and 60 Apple iMac computers running OS X and Windows).

All labs have printing facilities, Internet, internal network access and digital projectors to aid in teaching. All the machines are connected via the faculty network to a dedicated, high-performance file server for storage and backup of students' work.

The computer science laboratories include a study space area, equivalent in size to one of the individual laboratories, in which you can work individually or in groups – this study space is not timetabled so is available for you to use on a casual basis throughout the year.

Facility tour

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