Undergraduate

BSc (Honours) Information Technology and Computing

On this page

• Description
• Planning your studies
• Career relevance
• Courses
• Learning outcomes
• Credit for previous study elsewhere
• Classification of your degree
• Regulations
• How to register

Description

If you’re awarded this degree you’ll have up-to-date knowledge of important concepts and trends in information technology and computing and their context. You’ll be able to apply your knowledge and understanding in practical situations, and will have a range of relevant professional and key skills.

Planning your studies

If you’re new to study or to the OU, we recommend that you start with a course at Level 1. For this degree that would mean starting with at least one of Data, computing and information (M150) and Networked living: exploring information and communication technologies (T175). We strongly recommend that you study both of these Level 1 courses. If you complete this Level 1 work successfully you’ll have a firm foundation for future studies as well as credit points to count towards your degree.

The course groupings below are not meant to imply an order of study. It is important that you look at the descriptions of the individual courses when planning your route through the degree, as some of the courses prepare you to study others.

If you have included the discontinued course M254 in your BSc (Hons) Information Technology and Computing degree then you should note that it was designed for students who studied the discontinued course M206. If you plan to study Object-oriented programming with Java (M255), one of the successor courses of M206, you will need to take Putting Java to work (M257). This is because M254 and M255 are an excluded combination and cannot be counted towards the same Open University qualification.

You can register your intention to study for this degree when you reserve your place on individual courses, or you can ask us at any time to link courses that you have already studied towards the degree. This gives you the flexibility to delay your decision or to change your mind as your studies progress. There is no time limit for obtaining the required credit points for this qualification; however, you should note limitations on individual courses as mentioned below. You must include at least 120 points from OU courses that have not been counted in an OU diploma or other first degree you have been awarded. If you have graduated with an OU BSc degree without honours this requirement is reduced to 60 points.

Career relevance and employability

This degree will put you in a position to pursue a career in information and communications technologies (ICTs), computing and related fields, though you may need to undertake further training or study in order to enter a new career area. It may help you to obtain professional recognition from the British Computer Society (BCS) or the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). You can view or download our  Recognition leaflet 3.3 Professional Engineering Institutions or Recognition Leaflet 3.7 Computing or ask our Student Registration & Enquiry Service for a copy. You can also ask our Student Registration & Enquiry Service for the careers publication OU study and your career if you want to find out more about the process of career development and about sources of careers information and guidance.

For planning your next career steps, visit the OU Careers Advisory Service.

There’s more information about the career relevance of degrees on the national HE Prospects website.

Courses

For this 360-point honours degree you require:

At least 30 points from the following optional courses:

Or, subject to the eight-year rule below, the discontinued course T171 may be counted instead of T175

And 30 points from the following compulsory course:

Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations and the eight-year rule below, the discontinued course M206

And 120 points, including at least 30 at Level 3, from the following optional courses:

Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations and the eight-year rule below, at Level 2 the discontinued courses MT262, T209, T223, T293, THD204, at Level 3 the discontinued courses T305, T396, 

And at least 60 points (of which at least 30 points should be at Level 3) from the following optional courses if you studied M206 as the compulsory Level 2 course.

Or at least 90 points (of which at least 30 points should be at Level 3) from the following optional courses if you studied M255 as the compulsory Level 2 course.

Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations and the eight-year rule below, at Level 2 the discontinued courses M254, M261, MT262, T223, at Level 3 the discontinued courses M301, M358, M360

*You should note that these two courses are likely to be required if you wish to be eligible for consideration for BCS exemption.

And if necessary, at least 30 points at Level 3 from the lists above to ensure that you have at least 90 points at Level 3 from those lists.

And 30 points from the following optional courses:

Or, subject to the rules about excluded combinations and the eight-year rule below, the discontinued courses TM420, TM421, TM422, TM423, TM424, TM425, TM426, TM427

All the Computing and IT courses listed can count towards the degree for a maximum of eight years after we have stopped presenting them – please see individual course descriptions for future availability.

To complete the 360 points needed for an honours degree, the remaining points up to a maximum of 60 points can be from any OU undergraduate courses. You must ensure that you have the required number of points at each level.

Credit for previous study elsewhere

If you have already completed some successful study at higher education level at another institution we may be able to give you credit for this study that you can count towards this Open University qualification. You can find out more on our Credit Transfer site. If you make a successful claim for transferred credit it may affect your choice of courses so you are advised to investigate this option as soon as possible.

Credit transfer details for this qualification:

• Essential Information Sheets - BSc (Honours) Information Technology and Computing

Classification of your degree

On successful completion of the required number and type of courses you will be awarded a Bachelor of Science (Honours) Information Technology and Computing degree. Your honours degree will be classified either as first-class honours, upper second-class honours, lower second-class honours or third-class honours. The class of degree is determined by the best grades you achieve in 240 points from those courses above Level 1 listed above. At least 120 of those points must come from courses at Level 3 and will include the grade you achieve in the 30-point project course whether or not it is among your best grades at that level. You will have the opportunity to attend a degree ceremony.

Regulations

As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the Award Regulations and the Student Regulations.

Award Regulations

• Introduction to the Award Regulations
• General Award Regulations
• BSc (Honours) Information Technology and Computing
• Schedule A to the Award Regulations

Student Regulations

The Student Regulations (including the Code of Practice for Student Assessment and the Code of Practice for Student Discipline) are available on our Policy Documents for Students website.

How to register

To register for this qualification, read the description and check you meet any specific requirements (for example, some of our qualifications, require you to be working in a particular environment, or be sponsored by your employer). Then select the course you wish to study first and ensure it is suitable for you before following the registration procedure for that course.

About this page

An undergraduate qualification in Computing and ICT.

Study explained

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