Computing and Information Systems
This course will help you widen your abilities in a number of modern computing fields, focusing on the invaluable skills that employers are demanding in today’s IT industry.
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Key Course Details
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Start Date
September
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Location
Pontypridd
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Campus Code
A
Fees
Home students
£10,800*
International students
£16,900*
- Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
-
Start Date
September
-
Location
Pontypridd
-
Campus Code
A
Fees
Home students
£1,200*
- Full-time fees are per year. Part-time fees are per 20 credits.
You will learn how to apply essential skills to help solve real-world problems and turn yourself into a well-rounded and employable IT professional.
Design for
Our course is ideal for anyone passionate about computing, with or without formal qualifications. Whether you’re boosting your computing-based undergraduate skills to a master’s level or formalising your skills from informal expertise, this a fantastic way to advance your career. Successful graduates from various backgrounds have thrived on this course.
Accredited by
- BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT
Career Paths
- Applications Developer
- Database Administrator
- IT Project Manager
- Web Developer
- Network Engineer
Skills taught
- Software Development
- Data Analytics
- Project Management
- Database Development
- Programming
Course Highlights
Module Overview
The course starts with foundational concepts, ensuring you build essential skills before advancing through a schedule carefully designed to help reinforce and expand your knowledge step by step. You’ll study several compulsory modules along with one optional module of your choice, before completing a project in your chosen topic.
Principles of Computing
This module will set you up for the rest of the course, giving you key skills in programming and databases that comprise the foundation of computing and information systems.
Software Development
You will use a number of practical programming approaches that allow you to plan, design and develop an appropriate solution to a problem situation.
Big Data & Analytics
Organisations today collect vast and ever-expanding datasets. Here you will find out how such datasets can be managed and, more importantly, how we can do something useful with it.
ICT Systems Development
Advance your database skills even further, as you learn more about the technologies that are used and apply them to complex problems, particularly in geographic contexts.
Networking Technologies
You might choose to develop skills that help you to design and maintain computer networks in this alternative optional module.
GIS Principles & Practice
Or focus on the way that spatial data can be analysed and visualised to solve real-world problems in this third optional module.
Project Management & Research Methodology
Prepare yourself for the project module, as you learn how to use the work of others to support your own research and choose appropriate strategies to tackle complex projects.
MSc Project
Investigate a favourite topic in real depth and implement your solution, capping your course as you use your newly developed expertise to make something really special.
Course Highlights
Delivery and assessment
The course is delivered through a variety of means, either full-time over one year or part-time over two years, and you will be provided with in-person and video lectures along with remote learning materials. Most of your learning will be done by ‘doing’: you’ll be in our cutting-edge teaching labs where you’ll be using our equipment to get creative and practical. All the assessments for this course are coursework-based: there are no exams. The tasks will reflect the practical nature of the course as you’ll be creating software and applying your skills to develop innovative solutions to real-world problems.
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Teaching staff
Our enthusiastic and dedicated staff come from diverse areas of expertise with experience in industry and academia. Our dynamic team is research-active with a range of invaluable knowledge to help you succeed. We pride ourselves on providing a friendly team who will support you however you need it.
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Facilities
You will use our cutting-edge computer laboratories containing all the latest equipment throughout your time on the course. These labs are used for practical classes, alongside our lecture theatres and classrooms. You will also have access to incredible specialist software such as GIS and big data to assist with your studies. You can also access them outside of your taught classes, using our equipment to work in your own time.
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ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Typical qualification requirements:
The MSc Computing and Information Systems is designed for graduates with a minimum 2:2 Honours degree or equivalent in a connected subject.
Typically entrants will have graduated in a technical degree – such as Computer Science, Information Technology, Business Information Systems, or Electronic Engineering – and need to further develop their skills in systems development, advanced database systems, and project management.
International applications welcomed:
We welcome international applications with equivalent qualifications of our entry requirements. For more details related to your country of residence, please view our dedicated country pages.
English language requirements
International applicants will need to have achieved an overall of IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component/TOEFL 72 overall and a minimum of 18 in reading, 17 in listening, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing or equivalent.
Equivalents can be located on our English Language pages.
If you have previously studied through the medium of English, IELTS might not be required, please visit our country specific page for further details. If your country is not featured, please contact us.
If you do not meet the English entry criteria, please visit our Pre-Sessional course pages.
Contextual offers
We may make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (where you live and the school or college that you attended, for example), your experiences and individual circumstances (as a care leaver, for example). This is referred to as a contextual offer, and we receive data from UCAS to support us in making these decisions.
USW prides itself on its student experience and we support our students to achieve their goals and become a successful graduate. This approach helps us to support students who have the potential to succeed and who may have faced barriers that make it more difficult to access university.
We're here to help
Whether you a have a question about your course, fees and funding, the application process or anything else, there are plenty of ways you can get in touch, and we'd love to talk to you. You can contact our friendly admissions team by phone, email or chat to us online.
Fees and Funding
£10,800
per year*£16,900
per year*£1,200
per 20 credits*Additional Costs
As a student of USW, you’ll have access to lots of free resources to support your study and learning, such as textbooks, publications, online journals, laptops, and plenty of remote-access resources. Whilst in most cases these resources are more than sufficient in supporting you with completing your course, additional costs, both obligatory and optional, may be required or requested for the likes of travel, memberships, experience days, stationery, printing, or equipment.
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Introducing Calon
We are investing in the future of STEM at USW with an exciting new Computing, Engineering and Technology building at our Pontypridd Campus.
University Quality Assurance
At USW, we regularly review our courses in response to changing patterns of employment and skills demand to ensure we offer learning designed to reflect today’s student needs and tomorrow’s employer demands.
If during a review process course content is significantly changed, we’ll write to inform you and talk you through the changes for the coming year. But whatever the outcome, we aim to equip our students with the skillset and the mindset to succeed whatever tomorrow may bring. Your future, future-proofed.
How to apply
There is an online application process for this course. Please choose the application form for your preferred start date and mode of study (i.e. full-time or part-time).
- September 2025 Part-time
- September 2025 Full-time
- September 2026 Part-time
- February 2026 Full-time
- September 2026 Full-time
International admissions
Please see our international admissions advice for further information about how to apply as a prospective international student.
