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Computer Systems Development

City College Plymouth

UCAS Code: F281 | Foundation Degree in Science - FdSc

City College Plymouth

UCAS Code: F281 | Foundation Degree in Science - FdSc

Entry requirements

GCSE/National 4/National 5

four GCSEs at grade 4 (C) or above, including maths, English and combined science

T Level

P

UCAS Tariff

48

About this course

Course option

2years

Full-time | 2025

Subjects

Computer systems engineering

Computer networks

There are a small number of large IT organisations in the South West of England, and a few other large businesses making significant use of IT in order to advance their business. In addition to these there is a vibrant and thriving community of IT and Digital SMEs who are working on a national and global scale. Our aim is to equip our graduates with the knowledge to be able to participate in this industry at a local level, either by starting up their own businesses, or contributing to the work of others as desirable and skilled employees. Additionally, if they desire to take their knowledge and skills to other parts of the UK, and around the globe, they will be more than adequately equipped to do so. Students will learn about programming, database development, computer networks, system security and more.

Modules

The course includes the following subjects:

• computer platforms
• project management
• analysis and design of software
• program concepts
• organisational systems security
• advanced computer networks
• embedded systems and robotics
• digital forensics
• group research project.

Assessment methods

Assessment will be through a mixture of coursework and examinations.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£7,680
per year
England
£7,680
per year
International
£9,450
per year
Northern Ireland
£7,680
per year
Republic of Ireland
£7,680
per year
Scotland
£7,680
per year
Wales
£7,680
per year

The Uni

Course location:

City College Plymouth

Department:

Creative, Cultural and Digital Industries

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What students say

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This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

After graduation

The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Computer systems engineering

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£40,000
high
Average annual salary
100%
high
Employed or in further education
80%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

This is one of the more popular areas to study engineering and there is not quite such a serious shortage of electrical engineers as there is of other engineering subjects - but there's still plenty of demand. The most common jobs are in telecommunications, electrical and electronic engineering, but there is some crossover with the computing industry, so many graduates start work in IT and computing jobs. At the moment, there's a particular demand for electrical engineers in the electronics, and the car and aerospace industries, and also in defence, and salaries can vary across the country depending on the industry you start in. Bear in mind that a lot of courses are four years long, and lead to an MEng qualification — this is necessary if you want to become a Chartered Engineer.

Computer networks

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

85%
med
Employed or in further education
80%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

There are a lot of computing courses out there, and they vary a lot in content, modules and the way they work with employers, so individual courses can have very different outcomes. This is a course where you really need to get a good grade — employers really pay attention to the class of your degree and a low grade will serious hit your prospects. But you can get a job on pretty much any industry in the country with a computing degree - and organisation with an IT system and a web site needs graduates in this discipline - and many employers report difficulty in finding graduates. So most students do get jobs, and starting salaries are good, particularly in London. If you want to find out more about the prospects for a computer science course at a particular institution, it's a good idea to go on open days and talk to tutors about what previous graduates went on to do.

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Course location and department:

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

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This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

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