Course summary

This course is professionally accredited by IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology) and BCS (the Chartered Institute for IT). As well as your main Imperial degree, you will also receive the award of the Associateship of the City and Guilds of London Institute (ACGI) on completion of this course. Computing is a creative and wide-ranging subject that focuses on using sound underlying principles and logical thinking to design and build systems that really work. You will learn how modern computer and communications systems function, and how they can be used and adapted to build the next generation of computing applications. This course gives you the opportunity to spend your fourth year studying abroad at a leading European university, or the first two terms of your third year at the University of California. All of our Computing courses follow broadly the same structure for the first two years. Core modules give you an understanding of the basic concepts and principles of computing. We also provide a solid background in discrete mathematics (logic, sets, relations and grammars), which is the basic mathematics of computing, and classical mathematics and statistics relevant to applications engineering and management. The central core of our courses has been designed to give you an overview of computing, an understanding of the basic concepts and principles, the ability to appreciate and to adapt to changes in technology, and practical experience in applied computing. We place special emphasis on the fundamental principles underlying computing and on the engineering considerations involved in computing system design, implementation and usage. We will also introduce you to computing architecture and hardware, alongside the software that can exploit them. You will attend laboratory and problem-solving classes, as well as completing project and design work throughout the course. As the course progresses, you will study advanced techniques and modules, many of which draw on current research taking place in the Department. At the end of your third year you will gain valuable skills and experience by completing an industrial placement. Your study reaches Master’s level in the final year, with a wide choice of optional modules and a substantial individual project on a subject of your choice. Normally only students who are on track for at least a 2:1 will be eligible for the year abroad. The high level of shared content between our courses for the first two years means that transfer to a different Computing course within the Department is usually possible during this time. If you are an international student, transferring to a different course could have an impact on your Tier 4 visa, but our International Student Support Team are here to help advise and support you.