Computer Science at UCA

While other computer science degrees sit within a traditional technological setting, our BSc (Hons) Computer Science degree course at UCA Farnham sits within a highly creative community – giving you a fresh perspective on your learning.

You’ll work with creators across different artforms – from acting to film – and gather data to feed systems and build creative outputs.

You’ll have access to a wealth of creative facilities, resources, and collaborative opportunities to create unique work that’s conceptual, aesthetically pleasing, and responsive to the latest industry developments. You’ll learn about coding, programming for interactivity, AI for creativity, and much more.  

Studying in a community-driven environment, you’ll have plenty of one-to-one tutorials, plus opportunities to work alongside postgraduate and PhD students. Along the way, our programme of learning will help you develop sought-after creative problem-solving skills and prepare you to evolve with the industry throughout your career.

 

Course entry options

Select from the options below to find out more about the different study options available for this course:

What you'll study

What you'll
study

The content of the course may be subject to change. Curriculum content is provided as a guide.

UCA’s Integrated Foundation Year is designed to give you the skills you’ll need to start your degree in the best possible way – with confidence, solid knowledge of creative practice, study skills and more.

You’ll explore a range of creative techniques and develop your portfolio, with your chosen subject in mind. We’ll work with you throughout the year to ensure you’re on the right track and give you the tools to achieve your highest potential on your degree.

Find out more about the Integrated Foundation Year

For our students coming from a non-UK educational background, UCA has launched an Integrated International Foundation Year.

This year of preparatory study is designed to give you the skills you’ll need to start your degree in the best possible way – with confidence, solid knowledge of creative practice, study skills and the English speaking and writing skills you’ll need to succeed.

You’ll explore a range of creative techniques and develop your portfolio, with your chosen subject in mind. We’ll work with you throughout the year to ensure you’re on the right track and give you the tools to achieve your highest potential on your degree.

Find out more about the Integrated International Foundation Year

Launch
This week is all about preparing you for university learning for the year, through workshops designed to audit and refresh your existing skills to prepare you.

Programming & Interactivity
You’ll be introduced to the fundamental concepts of programming and learn core aspects of software literacy, framed around building an interactive application. You’ll do this through weekly labs, pre-recorded materials, and self-directed study. After core learning has taken place, from week 8 you will have focused development labs, which will support you with troubleshooting your applications.

Equality Diversity & Inclusion
Through this unit, you’ll develop an awareness and understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), and learn progressive values and attitudes for creative practice.

Data and Databases
This unit introduces the basic concepts underpinning relational databases and to provide the tools for designing, implementing, and querying databases.

Opportunity
A range of activities will be available to broaden your engagement and subject knowledge, such as Code Jams and Design Sprints. Other activities could include study trips and/or studio visits within the local area, nationally or internationally. Examples of this would be the Berlin digital arts/music/culture festivals Transmediale and CTM, or to other European destinations such as Amsterdam or Barcelona.

Programming & GUI Applications
You’ll continue to build your fundamental concepts of programming and help establish core aspects of software literacy, framed around building graphical user interface applications using Java.

The Computing Professional
This unit introduces you to the professional roles and working practices in the computing and related industries.

Web Design & Development
You’ll establish your understanding of browser-based design and development using HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, and use these to create a piece of online work that uses one or more of these elements (structure, style, front-end programming). 

ATOM Activities
ATOM activities are tiny pieces of diverse individual learning that facilitate interdisciplinary exposure and give you the chance to learn topics that would not otherwise be scheduled on your timetable.

PLE Digital Outcome 1
Your PLE Digital Outcome is a purposefully edited, self-directed record of your constructive engagement with and presence on, digital media platforms across the year. Examples of this could be an online portfolio or blog/vlog, or social media activity.

Launch
This week is all about preparing you for university learning for the year, through workshops designed to audit and refresh your existing skills to prepare you.

Object-Orientated Programming & Cybersecurity
Building on programming with Processing and Java in Level 4, the unit introduces object-oriented programming, one of the principal programming paradigms. This will include developing an understanding of object-oriented problem modelling. This unit will also explore basic concepts of cybersecurity. It will seek to draw out the connections between these two important areas of computer science. Coding skills are key to developing secure systems and an understanding of security concerns and processes is important in developing reliable and safe software. Having a secure approach to software development is becoming increasingly important.

The Conscious Practitioner (or Equality, Diversity & Inclusion 2)
Explore creative practice in relation to a range of global perspectives, as you continue to learn about subject specific concepts of inclusion, exclusion, and diversity.

Electives (choose one)

Hardware Projects using Arduino (Elective)
You’ll join students on BSc (Hons) Creative Computing and BA (Hons) Digital Art to take part in a range of creative and technical workshops developing core skills in Arduino. 

Motion Capture Technologies (Elective)
This intensive unit is designed to give you a grounding in the core skills, knowledge and understanding required for Motion Capture production. Focusing on beginner to advanced motion capture techniques, character/creature creation, as well as performance capture cinematics work.

Digital Storytelling (Elective)
Open to you and to students on BSc (Hons) Creative Computing you’ll develop core skills in film language, cinematography, sound recording and post-production techniques. 

Opportunity
A range of activities will be available to broaden your engagement and subject knowledge, such as Code Jams and Design Sprints. Other activities could include study trips and/or studio visits within the local area, nationally or internationally. Examples of this would be the Berlin digital arts/music/culture festivals Transmediale and CTM, or to other European destinations such as Amsterdam or Barcelona.

Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
You’ll be introduced to the fundamental concepts of Artificial Intelligence and implementation using the Python programming language and its associated libraries. Artificial intelligence is growing in importance in computer science and will continue to do so, so it’s essential you have a good understanding of the concepts of AI as well as an appreciation of its power and limitation. 

Application Development: Industry Brief 
In this unit you’ll develop an application in line with the requirements of the industry partner involved with the project. This unit will provide an opportunity to focus your Javascript and p5.js skills developed in the first term and apply these in an industry-focused setting. 

Electives (choose one)

Virtual Production Studio (Elective) 
You’ll learn how to use the Virtual Production Stage to produce live or online virtual productions of all sorts and disciplines. You’ll learn the fundamentals of virtual production and explore the key underlying technologies; including the core functionality and more advanced elements of game engines such as Unreal and their role within the VP process, a walk-through of the LED wall set up and merging digital and physical props and design workflows.

Environmental Storytelling (Elective)
When one walks through a building, watches a film, goes to the theatre, enjoys a theme park, engages in a virtual or augmented reality experience, or plays a video game, they are embedded in a world that conveys meaning through its perceptible architecture: from the geometry, elevation, materials, lighting and textures, to character and prop models; level design to particle and sound effects, all generate affect and are crucial channels of communication for the thoughtful designer. This unit is all about learning how narrative is embedded in environmental design.

Pervasive Game Studio (Elective) 
This unit explores and practices the design of pervasive games. As the name indicates, pervasive game experiences refuse traditional boundaries of games and play, whether this is the field, the board, or the screen.

ATOM Activities and PLE Digital Outcome
These units are an extension of the Year 1 ATOM Activities and PLE Digital Outcome.

If you opt to complete a professional practice year, this will take place in year three. You will undertake a placement within the creative industries to further develop your skills and CV.

While on your Professional Practice Year, you will be required to pay a reduced tuition fee for that year. This fee will be determined using government funding regulations. Based on current regulations, we expect this to be a maximum of 20% of the tuition fee rate that you are charged for your second year of study. You will also incur additional travel and accommodation costs during this year. The University will provide you with further advice and guidance about this as you approach your Professional Practice Year.

Please note: If you are an international applicant, you will need to enrol onto the course ‘with Professional Practice Year’. It will not be possible to transfer onto the Professional Practice Year after enrolment

Launch
This week is all about preparing you for university learning for the year, through workshops designed to audit and refresh your existing skills to prepare you.

Artificial Intelligence for Creativity
Building on your existing Python knowledge and using open-source machine learning frameworks, you will learn to create and work with AI models – towards the creation of unique and innovative cutting-edge creative applications.   

Mobile Application Development
This unit provides an overview of the different approaches to build mobile applications and introduces students to key concepts, standards, data formats and development tools in integrated application development, covering both frontend (client-side) and backend (server-side) technologies.

Opportunity
A range of activities will be available to broaden your engagement and subject knowledge, such as Code Jams and Design Sprints. Other activities could include study trips and/or studio visits within the local area, nationally or internationally. Examples of this would be the Berlin digital arts/music/culture festivals Transmediale and CTM, or to other European destinations such as Amsterdam or Barcelona.

Final Major Project
The culmination of your skills, passion, and creativity, the final major project and your role in it (if as a team member) should be ambitious but achievable and framed within how you want to promote yourself as a creative computing practitioner/computer scientist. You’ll produce a creative, challenging, detailed and logical proposal for a body of work that you’ll complete in the final semester. You will plan the production of this work using a common industry methodology, the approach of which will be covered during this unit. Alongside the project, you will be compiling a showreel of work to showcase your mini-projects and prototypes thus far. The unit and year will finish with an exhibition which celebrates the prototypes and projects completed for this unit and throughout the course.

This course is designed to offer you (if eligible) the opportunity to study part of your degree aboard at a UCA partner university, while still earning credits towards your UCA degree.

For more information please visit the Study Abroad section

Industry placement
offer

Preparing graduates for successful careers underpins everything we do, and all students on this course may be offered support to identify and prepare for an industry placement according to their individual needs. We’ll draw on our wide range of contacts within the creative industries to help provide you with opportunities that align with your interests and future career aspirations.

Course specifications

Please note, syllabus content indicated is provided as a guide. The content of the course may be subject to change in line with our Student Terms and Conditions for example, as required by external professional bodies or to improve the quality of the course.

Fees & funding

Fees & financial support

Tuition fees - 2024/25 entry

  • Integrated Foundation Year: £9,250
  • BSc course: £9,250

If you opt to study the Professional Practice Year, for 2024 you will be required to pay a reduced tuition fee of £1,850. You will also incur additional travel and accommodation costs during your Professional Practice year. The University will provide you with further advice and guidance about this.

Tuition fees - 2024/25 entry

  • Integrated International Foundation Year: £9,250 (see fee discount information)
  • BSc course: £9,250 (see fee discount information)

If you opt to study the Professional Practice Year, for 2024 you will be required to pay a reduced tuition fee of £1,850. You will also incur additional travel and accommodation costs during your Professional Practice year. The University will provide you with further advice and guidance about this.

Tuition fees - 2024/25 entry

  • Integrated International Foundation Year: £16,950
  • BSc course: £17,500

If you opt to study the Professional Practice Year, for 2024 you will be required to pay a reduced tuition fee of £3,390. You will also incur additional travel and accommodation costs during your Professional Practice year. The University will provide you with further advice and guidance about this.

Please note: The fees listed on this webpage are correct for the stated academic year only, for details of previous years please see the full fee schedules.

UCA scholarships and fee discounts

At UCA we have a number of scholarships and fee discounts available to assist you with the cost of your studies.

Financial support

There are lots of ways you can access additional financial support to help you fund your studies - both from UCA and from external sources. Discover what support you might qualify for please see our financial support information.

Additional course costs

In addition to the tuition fees there may be other costs for your course. The things that you are likely to need to budget for to get the most out of a creative arts education will include books, printing costs, occasional or optional study trips and/or project materials.

These costs will vary according to the nature of your project work and the individual choices that you make. Please see the Additional Course Costs section of your Course Information for details of the costs you may incur.

Facilities

Our games and computing courses have studios with high-end PCs with Alienware towers, 4k dual screen monitors and Wacom Cintiq graphics tablets, all dedicated to games design, with software including Unity and Unreal games engines. There is also a VR development studio. In addition, our Farnham campus has sound production and Foley studios, pro tools and a specialist library.

View 360 virtual tour

Computing and games studio, UCA Farnham

Computing & games studios, UCA Farnham

Computing and games studio, UCA Farnham

Library, UCA Farnham

Career opportunities

Career
opportunities

Graduates will have had the opportunity to study from a range of elective units to broaden their knowledge in specialist subjects, while also being able to explore their specific interests. This tailored approach to studying computer science means a variety of job roles are of high interest to our graduates.

These include:

  • Software developer
  • Web developer
  • IT project manager
  • Information security analyst
  • Systems architect
  • AI engineer
  • Video game developer.

Graduates of this course may wish to consider opportunities for further study on one of our postgraduate courses.

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Entry & portfolio requirements

Entry & portfolio
requirements

BSc (Hons) course
BSc (Hons) course with Professional Practice Year

The standard entry requirements* for these courses are one of the following:

  • 112 UCAS tariff points, see accepted qualifications
  • Pass at Foundation Diploma in Art & Design (Level 3 or 4)
  • Distinction, Merit, Merit at BTEC Extended Diploma / BTEC National Extended Diploma
  • Merit at UAL Extended Diploma
  • 112 UCAS tariff points from an accredited Access to Higher Education Diploma in appropriate subject
  • 27-30 total points in the International Baccalaureate Diploma with at least 15 IB points at Higher level, see more information about IB entry requirements.

And four GCSE passes at grade 9-4/A*-C including English (or Functional Skills English/Key Skills Communication Level 2).

Other relevant and equivalent Level 3 UK and international qualifications are considered on an individual basis, and we encourage students from diverse educational backgrounds to apply.  

Portfolio requirements

These courses don’t require a portfolio.If you receive an offer, you’ll be invited to attend an Applicant Day where you can meet the course team and learn more about the course. 

We’re interested to know if you have any background in computing and why you wish to study at a creative university, so we recommend you include this information in your personal statement.

 


BSc (Hons) course with Integrated Foundation Year
BSc (Hons) course with Integrated Foundation Year and Professional Practice Year

The standard entry requirements* for these courses are one of the following:

  • 32 UCAS tariff points, see accepted qualifications
  • Pass at Foundation Diploma in Art & Design (Level 3 or 4)
  • Pass, Pass, Pass at BTEC Extended Diploma / BTEC National Extended Diploma
  • Pass at UAL Extended Diploma
  • 32 UCAS tariff points from an accredited Access to Higher Education Diploma in appropriate subject
  • 24 points from the International Baccalaureate, see more information about IB entry requirements.

And four GCSE passes at grade 9-4/A*-C including English (or Functional Skills English/Key Skills Communication Level 2).

Other relevant and equivalent Level 3 UK and international qualifications are considered on an individual basis, and we encourage students from diverse educational backgrounds to apply. 

Portfolio requirements

These courses don’t require a portfolio.If you receive an offer, you’ll be invited to attend an Applicant Day where you can meet the course team and learn more about the course. 

We’re interested to know if you have any background in computing and why you wish to study at a creative university, so we recommend you include this information in your personal statement.

 


*We occasionally make offers which are lower than the standard entry criteria, to students who have faced difficulties that have affected their performance and who were expected to achieve higher results. We consider the strength of our applicants’ portfolios, as well as their grades -  in these cases, a strong portfolio is especially important.

BSc (Hons) course
BSc (Hons) course with Professional Practice Year

The entry requirements for these courses will depend on the country your qualifications are from, please check the equivalent qualifications for your country:

Any additional entry requirements listed in the UK requirements section, e.g., subject requirements, work experience or professional qualifications, also apply to international applicants applying with equivalent qualifications.

Portfolio requirements

These courses don’t require a portfolio. 

We’re interested to know if you have any background in computing and why you wish to study at a creative university, so we recommend you include this information in your personal statement.

 


BSc (Hons) course with Integrated International Foundation Year
BSc (Hons) course with Integrated International Foundation Year and Professional Practice Year

For these courses you need to have completed 12 years of schooling (with good grades) and show strong evidence of your ability to successfully complete the programme and progress onto your chosen degree.

Any additional entry requirements listed in the UK requirements section, e.g., subject requirements, work experience or professional qualifications, also apply to international applicants applying with equivalent qualifications.

Portfolio requirements

These courses don't require a portfolio.


English language requirements

To study at UCA, you'll need to have a certain level of English language skill. And so, to make sure you meet the requirements of your course, we ask for evidence of your English language ability, please check the level of English language required:

Don't meet the international entry requirements or English language requirements?

You may be able to enter the course through the following entry pathways:

Apply now

Please use the following fields to help select the right application link for you:

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