COMPUTING at Canterbury Christ Church University

The goal of this Computing degree is to equip you to work in the IT industry in infrastructure and user support. You will learn about understanding the needs of users of IT systems and how to design complete systems that support those needs. You will also learn about the support and training of users of these systems. You will learn to use aspects of a software development cycle to introduce new or replacement computer systems into a setting from a technological and human perspective. Areas of focus include Networking, System Administration, Database Systems and Cybersecurity on the technical side, as well as professional skills of Business Improvement, E-Business and Usability. This degree will also enable you to critically evaluate the success or likely success of a system that has been proposed or developed.

Why Computing

This course has been designed to meet the real needs of the computing industry, particularly in relation to infrastructure development and support. For the technical skills we use a mix of common hardware, open source and commercial software that is heavily used in industry, so skills developed on the course can immediately be used in in the workplace.

You may go onto a wide range of career pathways in designing and supporting: networks, hardware and software installation of standard or bespoke software, testing and user support as well as the opportunity to extend your knowledge to Masters degree and/or MPhil/PhD level

What will i study?

The goal of the Computing degree is to equip you to work in the IT industry in infrastructure and support. You will learn about understanding the needs of users of IT systems and how to design complete systems that support those needs. You will also learn about the support and training of users of these systems. You may go onto a wide range of career pathways in designing and supporting: networks, hardware and software installation of standard or bespoke software, testing and user support.

Work experience

You may opt to take a third year placement module, providing you meet the requirements of the module. This allows you to put your classroom knowledge into practice.

We have also offered a number of paid summer student internships open to students to apply for. A previous opportunity involved two students who undertook a development internship with us to look at the production of a prototype healthcare system. This was used to demonstrate the capability of such a system to surgical teams in Kent.

On this degree you can expect to go on a small number of optional trips such as the National Computing Museum at Bletchley Park. We also have a number of guest lecturers each year. 

What can i do next?

On successful completion of this degree you will be strongly prepared for a role in system support and development. Having learned about development and maintenance of computer equipment and infrastructure, as well as supporting users of systems, you will be able to fit into a commercial IT environment. Our graduates are able to use their analytical and process development skills in other business domains.

You will also have a strong grounding for further study on specialist Masters or Research (MPhil/PhD) programmes. This degree will stand you in good stead to work towards professional qualifications with a number of commercial providers and also those of the British Computer Society.