Computing (Professional Placement Year)

Realise your ideas – from design, to development, to deployment – with our Computing degree.

• Create high-end, skill-showcasing projects – both on your own and in collaboration with fellow students – for your portfolio.

• Hone your professional skills – collaborate with tech and digital agencies across Bath, Bristol and beyond.

• Enter an up-to-date, employability-driven course that teaches the tools and methods used in industry.

BSc (Hons) Computing at Bath Spa is hands-on and creative. You’ll build computing products such as databases, software and websites, learning by making – right from the start of the course. You’ll focus on context, design and technical implementation. You’ll also learn to collaborate with others and to communicate your ideas, to round off your skillset.

A key driver of the course is industry insight and employability. We work closely with tech companies in the South West to keep the course current, while creating valuable opportunities for you to work on live briefs and showcase your talents in order to grab the attention of the tech sector.

Our in-house Innovation Lab emphasises the commercialisation of your ideas. Here, we support you to shape products for the marketplace and refine those all-important collaboration skills.

Computing at Bath Spa responds to a continuing need in industry for adaptable, capable individuals with a range of technical knowledge and well-developed problem solving- skills. Our aim is that when you graduate, you'll be up-to-date, innovative, and ready to contribute to the digital economy – whether in the UK or worldwide.

More about the Professional Placement Year
A Professional Placement Year (PPY), traditionally known as a sandwich year, is where you undertake a period of work with an external organisation for between 9-13 months. The placement occurs between your second and final years of undergraduate study. You can engage in multiple placements to make up the total time and are required to source the placement(s) yourself, with support from the Careers team.

Year one -
Grasp the fundamentals. You'll start by learning core programming skills in languages such as C++, C# and JavaScript, while developing knowledge around computing fundamentals and how computer systems work. Modules on experience design and the computing industry provide an all-important primer in digital design and help you position your learning within wider professional contexts.

Year two -
Dive deeper. You'll extend your understanding of programming and learn methods of organising and manipulating data. You'll explore human-computer interaction: how people use digital systems, while optional modules in responsive web design and data visualisation expose methods of presenting information effectively on a range of media platforms.

Year three - Professional Placement Year.

Final Year -
Showcase your talent. You'll leverage your computing and design skills to develop two extended computing projects – one made individually, and one co-created within our in-house Innovation Lab. These major projects are complemented with specialist modules in machine learning or physical computing – each of which adds flavour and flair to your portfolio and graduate skill set.

Your final project could be almost anything: a home security system, a game, a robotic device, a sensing device that monitors pollutants in streams – this course is designed to allow you to explore your own interests and create something tangible from your ideas.

BSc (Hons) Computing is almost entirely coursework-assessed. You’ll deliver a varied and balanced collection of artefacts including prototype software, experiment collections, interfaces, interactive experiences, and design portfolios. Project work is supported by contextual essays, reflective commentaries, reports, tests, pitches and presentations.