Expand+How To Apply

Applications for admission to full-time undergraduate courses at Queen’s should normally be made through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Full information can be obtained from the UCAS website at: www.ucas.com/...

Hide-How To Apply

Applications for admission to full-time undergraduate courses at Queen’s should normally be made through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Full information can be obtained from the UCAS website at: www.ucas.com/apply.

When to Apply

UCAS will start processing applications for entry in Autumn 2017 from 1 September 2016.

The normal closing date for the receipt of applications is 15 January 2017.

Applicants are advised to apply as early as is consistent with having made a careful and considered choice of institutions and courses.

Earlier applicants normally receive decisions more quickly, however, UCAS accepts that some applicants, especially those from outside the UK, may find this difficult. Late applications are, in practice, accepted by UCAS throughout the remainder of the application cycle, but you should understand that they are considered by institutions at their discretion, and there can be no guarantee that they will be given the same full level of consideration as applications received by the advisory closing date.

Take care to enter the details of the institutions and courses clearly and correctly on the application. For Queen's, the institution code name is QBELF and the institution code is Q75. These should be entered in the Choices section of your UCAS application. A Campus Code is not required.

Queen’s University Belfast Terms and Conditions 2017 Entry
The terms and conditions that apply when you accept an offer of a place at the University on a taught programme of study.

http://www.qub.ac.uk/Study/TermsandConditions/

Expand+Learning and Teaching
The School has a world class reputation for research and provides excellent facilities, including access to major new research centres in Secure Information Technologies, Electronics, Communications and Information Technology a...

Hide-Learning and Teaching
The School has a world class reputation for research and provides excellent facilities, including access to major new research centres in Secure Information Technologies, Electronics, Communications and Information Technology and Sonic Arts. A number of modules on the course are closely linked to the research expertise of these centres and evolve and change rapidly to reflect some of the current, emerging and exciting developments in the field.

At Queen’s, we aim to deliver a high quality learning environment that embeds intellectual curiosity, innovation and best practice in learning, teaching and student support to enable student to achieve their full academic potential.

The BSc in Computing and Information Technology provides a range of learning experiences which enable students to engage with subject experts, develop attributes and perspectives that will equip them for life and work in a global society and make use of innovative technologies and a world class library that enhances their development as independent, lifelong learners. Examples of the opportunities provided for learning on this course are:
•Lectures: introduce basic information about new topics as a starting point for further self-directed private study/reading. Lectures also provide opportunities to ask questions, gain some feedback and advice on assessments (normally delivered in large groups to all year group peers).

•Practicals: where you will have significant opportunities to develop technical skills and apply theoretical principles to real-life or practical contexts. Comprehensive demonstrator support is provided – typically one demonstrator per 8-10 students. In the first and second years you will be expected to attend up to 6 hours of practicals per week. In the final year of study more emphasis is placed on self-directed individual and group based project work under the supervision of module leaders.

•E-Learning technologies: Information associated with lectures and assignments is often communicated via a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) called Queen’s Online. A range of e-learning experiences are also embedded in the degree through, for example: interactive group workshops in a flexible learning space; IT and statistics modules; podcasts and interactive web-based learning activities; opportunities to use IT programmes associated with design in practicals and project- based work etc.

•Seminars/tutorials: A number of modules will make use of seminars/tutorials. (typically 10-20 students). These provide an opportunity for students to engage with academic staff who have specialist knowledge of the topic, to ask questions of them and to assess their own progress and understanding with the support of peers. You should also expect to make presentations and other contributions to these groups.

•Self-directed study: This is an essential part of life as a Queen’s student when important private reading, engagement with e-learning resources, reflection on feedback to date and assignment research and preparation work is carried out.

•Work placements: A student taking this programme is required to spend a year gaining professional experience in industry in a paid full-time post. Students are helped to obtain suitable places and the School has excellent links with over 500 local, national and international employers such as Microsoft, Liberty IT, Kainos, IBM,Deloitte, BT, Citi Group, SAP and Dell. It is expected that students will gain a Licentiateship of the City and Guilds from this period of work experience.

•Projects and teamwork: A number of modules throughout the degree will use supervised projects as a means of enabling you to put your technical understanding into practice. The extensive use of team based projects from first year will provide you with the opportunity to develop skills widely used by employers. In final year, you will be expected to carry out a significant piece of research on a topic or practical methodology. You will receive support from a supervisor who will guide you in terms of how to carry out your research and will provide feedback to you.

•Personal Tutor: Undergraduates are allocated a Personal Tutor who meets with them on several occasions during the year to support their academic development.

•Peer Mentoring: Queen’s runs a peer mentoring scheme for Computing students – a group of students from all year groups (except first year) are trained to provide support for the 1st year students, in terms of offering advice and guidance, organising social events etc. The School also has a Computing Society (QCS – Queen’s Computing Society) who organise a range of activities, including social events and more formal activities such as industry lectures, for all Computing students. A computer games club also meets once a week and this is open to all computing students in the School (not just those studying for the games degree).

Students have access to a wide range of computers (laboratories are equipped with several hundred PCs) and specialised software packages. Networks link the School and university computers to powerful machines in Great Britain.

Paid Placement Year
Students taking this programme are required to spend a year gaining professional experience in industry in a paid full-time post. Students are helped to obtain suitable places and the School has excellent links with over 500 local, national and international employers such as Citi, BT, Liberty IT, and Kainos in Belfast, IBM in England, Microsoft and Sun Microsystems in Dublin, Fujitsu in Japan and Siemens in Germany.

Expand+Overview
Computing and Information Technology will be key to the development and growth of companies in the future. As technology advances, business will need individuals who are comfortable in client situations, making collaborative efforts to solv...

Hide-Overview
Computing and Information Technology will be key to the development and growth of companies in the future. As technology advances, business will need individuals who are comfortable in client situations, making collaborative efforts to solve information technology problems across a wide range of business sectors. Our Computing and Information Technology degree aims to give students a sound knowledge across a broad range of information technology subjects.

This degree is ideal for students who are interested in all aspects of IT and embraces subject areas such as programming, web development, database design and human-computer interaction.

Teamworking skills have an important role to play and software development on this degree has a web-based focus. Industry is embedded in our courses and this benefits our students on many levels - from industrial input to the content of our courses, through to year-long and summer placements, as well as activities such as competitions organised by companies.

This four-year degree (three years plus a placement year) will involve development of the applied computing, interpersonal, communication and IT skills necessary to develop, select, deliver, manage and maintain cutting-edge IT infrastructures and advanced IT systems.

Why Queen's?
Placement: all students undertake a paid placement year in industry. The School has links with over 500 local, national and international organisations. Examples of companies where our students have spent their placements include Microsoft, Kainos, Bank of Ireland, Bank of Scotland and Belfast City Council.

Expand+Selection Criteria

In addition to the entrance requirements below, it is essential that you read the How We Choose Our Students pdf prior to submitting your UCAS application.

Entrance Requirements

A-level:
ABB + GCSE Mathematics grade C
O...

Hide-Selection Criteria

In addition to the entrance requirements below, it is essential that you read the How We Choose Our Students pdf prior to submitting your UCAS application.

Entrance Requirements

A-level:
ABB + GCSE Mathematics grade C
OR
BBB including any computing, mathematical or scientific subject + GCSE Mathematics grade C.

BTEC Extended Diploma:
A non-relevant BTEC Extended Diploma with 120 credits at Distinction and 60 credits at Merit + GCSE Mathematics grade C
OR
a relevant computing, engineering or scientific BTEC Extended Diploma with 10 Distinctions and 8 Merits + GCSE Mathematics grade C.

BTEC Higher National Diploma/Foundation Degree: those with good grades in a relevant Higher National Diploma/Foundation Degree will be considered individually on their merits for entry to Stage 2 + GCSE Mathematics grade C.

Irish Leaving Certificate:
H3H3H3H3H3H3/H2H3H3H3H3 + Ordinary Level grade O4 in Mathematics
OR
H3H3H3H3H4H4/H3H3H3H3H3 including Higher Level grade H3 in any computing, mathematical or scientific subject + Ordinary Level grade O4 in Mathematics.

All applicants: Computer Science, Computing Information Technology and Software Engineering share a common core of modules in the first year, so students may therefore transfer between these degrees at the end of first year, subject to meeting the normal progression requirements.

International Students

For information on international qualification equivalents, please click on Your Country in the International Students website.

If you are an international student and you do not meet the entrance requirements, you should consider a preparation course at INTO Queen's University Belfast, which will prepare you for successful study on these degree courses. INTO at Queen's is based on the University campus and offers a range of courses including the International Foundation in Engineering and Science.

For students whose first language is not English

An IELTS score of 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each test component or an equivalent acceptable qualification, details of which are available at: http://go.qub.ac.uk/EnglishLanguageReqs

If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this course, our partner INTO Queen's University Belfast offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability to entry to this degree. Please click the links below for more information:
•English for University Study - an intensive English language and study skills course for successful university study at degree level
•Pre-sessional English - a short intensive academic English course for students starting a degree programme at Queen's University Belfast and who need to improve their English

Expand+Assessment & Feedback

Assessment (general): The way in which you are assessed will vary according to the Learning objectives of each module. Some modules are assessed solely through project work or written assignments. Others are assessed throu...

Hide-Assessment & Feedback

Assessment (general): The way in which you are assessed will vary according to the Learning objectives of each module. Some modules are assessed solely through project work or written assignments. Others are assessed through a combination of coursework and end of semester examinations. Details of how each module is assessed are shown in the Student Handbook which is provided to all students during their first year induction.

Feedback (general): As students progress through their course at Queen’s they will receive general and specific feedback about their work from a variety of sources including lecturers, module co-ordinators, placement supervisors, personal tutors, advisers of study and peers. University students are expected to engage with reflective practice and to use this approach to improve the quality of their work. Feedback may be provided in a variety of forms including:
•Feedback provided via formal written comments and marks relating to work that you, as an individual or as part of a group, have submitted.
•Face to face comment. This may include occasions when you make use of the lecturers’ advertised “office hours” to help you to address a specific query.
•Placement employer comments or references.
•Online or emailed comment.
•General comments or question and answer opportunities at the end of a lecture, seminar or tutorial.
•Pre-submission advice regarding the standards you should aim for and common pitfalls to avoid. In some instances, this may be provided in the form of model answers or exemplars which you can review in your own time.
•Feedback and outcomes from practical classes.
•Comment and guidance provided by staff from specialist support services such as, Careers, Employability and Skills or the Learning Development Service.

Once you have reviewed your feedback, you will be encouragedto identify and implement further improvements to the quality of your work.

Expand+Career Prospects
Studying for a Computing and Information Technology degree at Queen’s will assist you in developing the core skills and employment-related experiences that are valued by employers, professional organisations and academic institution...

Hide-Career Prospects
Studying for a Computing and Information Technology degree at Queen’s will assist you in developing the core skills and employment-related experiences that are valued by employers, professional organisations and academic institutions. Graduates from this degree at Queen’s are well regarded by employers (local, national and international).

Consultations
We regularly consult and develop links with a large number of employers including, for example, Asidua and Liberty IT, who provide sponsorship for our students as well as Citi and Kainos who are members of the employer liaison panel for the course.

Placement Employers
Our past students have also gained work placement with organisations such as:
•Liberty IT
•Citi
•Kainos
•Microsoft
•Asidua
•Cybersource

Employer Links
The School has links with over 500 IT companies both here and abroad. We benefit from the fact that there are more software companies located in Northern Ireland than any other part of the UK, outside of London. This offers benefits on many levels for our students, from industrial input to the content of our courses, through to year long and summer placements, as well as activities such as competitions organised by the companies etc.

You should also take a look at www.prospects.ac.uk for further information concerning the types of jobs that attract Computing and Information Technology graduates.

Further study is also an option open to Computing and Information Technology graduates. See the School website www.qub.ac.uk/eeecs for more information.

Northern Ireland has an excellent international reputation for the quality and supply of its software engineers. Indeed many companies, both national and international, have opted for Northern Ireland as a base for their computing divisions in recognition of the high quality of graduates produced by the local universities.

Given this situation, it is not surprising that our graduates have had unparalleled job opportunities over the years, both locally and internationally. Because of the achievements of Queen's graduates already in the software engineering profession, a Computing and Information Technology degree from Queen's is a highly respected qualification.

Employers, from large multinational firms to small local organisations, actively target our students, recognising that Queen's Computer Science graduates are equipped with the skills they need. On graduating the majority of graduates take up posts associated with software design and implementation. Opportunities exist in fields as diverse as finance, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, research, consumer products, and public services virtually all areas of business. Some of the employers include Liberty IT, Asidua, Autonomy, Kainos, Accenture, Citi, and NYSE to name just a few

The types of career open to Computing and Information Technology graduates include: Systems Engineering, Systems Analyst; Web Designer; Systems Developer; IT Consultant; Project Manager.

Other Career-related information: Queen’s is a member of the Russell Group and, therefore, one of the 20 universities most-targeted by leading graduate employers. Queen’s students will be advised and guided about career choice and, through the Degree Plus initiative, will have an opportunity to seek accreditation for skills development and experience gained through the wide range of extra-curricular activities on offer. See Queen’s University Belfast full Employability Statement for further information.

Degree Plus and other related initiatives: Recognising student diversity, as well as promoting employability enhancements and other interests, is part of the developmental experience at Queen’s. Students are encouraged to plan and build their own, personal skill and experiential profile through a range of activities including; recognised Queen’s Certificates, placements and other work experiences (at home or overseas), Erasmus study options elsewhere in Europe, learning development opportunities and involvement in wider university life through activities, such as clubs, societies, and sports.

Queen’s actively encourages this type of activity by offering students an additional qualification, the Degree Plus Award (and the related Researcher Plus Award for PhD and MPhil students). Degree Plus accredits wider experiential and skill development gained through extra-curricular activities that promote the enhancement of academic, career management, personal and employability skills in a variety of contexts. As part of the Award, students are also trained on how to reflect on the experience(s) and make the link between academic achievement, extracurricular activities, transferable skills and graduate employment. Participating students will also be trained in how to reflect on their skills and experiences and can gain an understanding of how to articulate the significance of these to others, e.g. employers.

Overall, these initiatives, and Degree Plus in particular, reward the energy, drive, determination and enthusiasm shown by students engaging in activities over-and-above the requirements of their academic studies. These qualities are amongst those valued highly by graduate employers.