Software Engineering with Foundation Year
UndergraduateComputing
Gain a degree in software engineering, with an initial foundation year to prepare for the course.
International/EU: £16,655 per year (£1,200 for placement year)
4/5 Years
80 UCAS Points
2024.September
Placement Available
Work placements
You’ll have the opportunity to arrange a year-long work placement in between your third and fourth years. This gives you real-world experience to prepare you for your future career. Previous students have worked at organisations including Intel, IBM, 3Squared, SN Systems, CSC Servelec.
Live projects
In your third year, you’ll work in a small group on a client based project. You’ill analyse their requirements, then design, implement and test a prototype which you’ll present to your client. This will allow you to experience the types of demands faced by commercial software engineers – as well as increasing your confidence while you’re applying for your work placements.
Networking opportunities
Throughout the final year there are numerous opportunities for you to engage with career management, career fairs and workshops, employer presentations, visits and professional advisers.
All our courses are designed around a set of key principles based on engaging you with the world, collaborating with others, challenging you to think in new ways, and providing you with a supportive environment in which you can thrive.
This course starts by helping you develop strong practical skills in developing software applications through lectures and hands-on tutorial sessions. These sessions will build your understanding of how and when to use appropriate processes, tools, technologies and project management practices.
The combination of teaching methods applied across the course will allow you to develop a range of skills through practical implementation, problem-solving activities, and teamwork, allowing you to take an active approach to learning and encouraging self-development.
You learn through
lectures
hands-on lab sessions and tutorials
regular feedback
teamwork and group-based learning
practice-based applied learning
discussions
self-study
You’ll further develop your skills through real-world projects – where you’ll collaborate in small teams to produce industry-inspired software prototypes and projects. Tackling projects found in industry will help prepare you for a career in software engineering – all within a supportive learning environment.
During your final year, you’ll create a significant software deliverable, guided by a dedicated project supervisor. As part of this individual project, you’ll undertake research and apply new skills to create a software product you can be proud of.
You will be supported in your learning journey towards highly skilled, graduate level employment through a number of key areas. These include
access to our unique student support triangle to help with your personal, academic and career development
access to our Skills Centre with one to ones, webinars and online resources, where you can get help with planning and structuring your assignments
industry-specific employability activities such as live projects, learning in simulated environments and networking opportunities
This course is designed so you can develop skills in contemporary programming techniques, tools and processes and understand the project management practices used to support and control such projects. Through a combination of theoretical and practical activities, you’ll learn everything you need for a career in software engineering.
You learn through
lectures and seminars
practical tutorial sessions
reading and self-learning activities
problem solving activities
practical implementations and teamwork
assessments, reports and presentations
demonstrations, discussions and structured walkthroughs
online activities
coursework
practical projects and case studies
tutorials and workshops
In the foundation year, you’ll develop useful academic, computing and IT skills in preparation for undergraduate study. You’ll also build valuable communication and interpersonal skills.
This course prepares you for a career in
software development
web-based applications
mobile app development
systems and IT support
project management
IT consultancy
On this course you’ll work with and have access to:
We’ve invested over £100m in new facilities to help you study how and when you want. This means 24-hour libraries and study spaces designed by our students.
This must include at least 32 points from one A level or equivalent BTEC qualifications. For example:
You can find information on making sense of UCAS tariff points here and use the UCAS tariff calculator to work out your points.
• Access - an Access to HE Diploma with at least 45 credits at level 3 and 15 credits at level 2. At least 15 level 3 credits must be at merit grade or above from a QAA-recognised Access to HE course, or an equivalent Access to HE certificate.
We may also accept you, if you have limited qualifications but can show evidence of ability and a genuine commitment to studying the subject.
Some applicants may be invited to attend an informal interview with the course leader to ensure that the programme is suitable for themselves and their aspirations.
UK students may be able to claim financial support for the course.
If English is not your first language, you will need an IELTS score of 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in all skills, or equivalent. If your English language skill is currently below IELTS 6.0 we recommend you consider a Sheffield Hallam University Pre-sessional English course which will enable you to achieve an equivalent English score.
Please note the University will only admit students who are aged 18 or over at the point of enrolment.
Important notice:
The structure of this course is periodically reviewed and enhanced to provide the best possible learning experience for our students and ensure ongoing compliance with any professional, statutory and regulatory body standards. Module structure, content, delivery and assessment may change, but we expect the focus of the course and the learning outcomes to remain as described above. Following any changes, updated module information will be published on this page.
You will be able to complete a placement year as part of this course. See the modules table below for further information.
Year 1 |
||
Module |
Credits |
Assessment |
Foundations In Computing 1 |
40 |
Coursework |
Foundations In Computing 2 |
40 |
Coursework |
Maths For Foundation Computing |
20 |
Practical |
Study Skills For Computing Students |
20 |
Coursework |
Module |
Credits |
Assessment |
Databases And System Modelling |
20 |
Coursework |
Programming |
20 |
Coursework |
Software Projects |
60 |
Coursework |
Web Development |
20 |
Coursework |
Year 3 |
||
Module |
Credits |
Assessment |
Introduction To Software Engineering |
40 |
Coursework |
Systems Programming |
20 |
Coursework |
Elective modules |
||
Module |
Credits |
Assessment |
Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning 1 |
20 |
Coursework |
Game Development |
20 |
Coursework |
Handling Data In The Cloud |
20 |
Coursework |
Mobile Applications Development |
20 |
Coursework |
Professional Software Projects |
40 |
Coursework |
Study Abroad - Computing And Digital Technologies |
60 |
Coursework |
Year 4 |
||
Module |
Credits |
Assessment |
Placement Year |
|
|
Final Year |
||
Module |
Credits |
Assessment |
Development Project |
40 |
Coursework Practical |
Management Of It Projects |
20 |
Coursework |
Software Architecture And Design |
40 |
Coursework |
Elective modules |
||
Module |
Credits |
Assessment |
Contemporary Software Engineering |
20 |
Coursework |
Machine Learning Algorithms And Heuristics |
20 |
Coursework |
Robotics |
20 |
Coursework |
Secure Software Engineering |
20 |
Coursework |