Course summary

Data is everywhere and continuing to grow massively, which has created a huge demand for qualified experts who can uncover valuable insights from data. Data science is an emerging and trending field that is rapidly developing. It combines data analytics, statistics, computer science and software engineering and is highly sought-after by employers in business, education, finance, industry, the public sector and many other fields. Birkbeck's BSc Data Science and Computing with Foundation Year will give you the strong technical grounding you need to work in a job as a data scientist or industry analyst. You will gain a broad knowledge of computing and mathematics and acquire strong programming and data analysis skills using Python, R and Java - the most popular programming languages used by data scientists. During this course you will also investigate current research areas in data science more deeply and engage practically with the industry. Upon successful completion of the 2021-22 Foundation Year, you will automatically progress on to our three-year, full-time evening study BSc Data Science and Computing. HIGHLIGHTS

• Our Foundation Year programmes will fully prepare you for undergraduate study and are ideal if you returning to study after a gap, if you have not previously studied the relevant subjects, or if you didn't achieve the grades you needed for a place on your chosen undergraduate degree.

• The Department of Computer Science and Information Systems at Birkbeck was one of the first computing departments established in the UK; we celebrate our 65th anniversary in 2022. We provide a stimulating teaching and research environment, for both part-time and full-time students.

• Our world-class research in data science, data analytics and software engineering at the Birkbeck Institute for Data Analytics (BIDA) informs our teaching and our interactions with business, public and third-sector organisations.

• We have four modern computing laboratories in the Department, with a total of 133 workstations. The labs have projection facilities and are air-conditioned. Our wide range of software runs on a number of platforms including Unix, Windows and Linux. The local area network is a switched gigabit/10gigabit ethernet. The Department and College computers are connected to the JANET academic network. Departmental computer services and networks are managed and supported by the Department's Systems Group.

• In the most recent Research Excellence Framework, more than 75% of our research outputs in Computer Science were ranked world-leading or internationally excellent.

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