Courses and structure

Courses are taught by a combination of lectures, tutorials, workshops and laboratory sessions.

Core courses introduce you to basic computer skills, the fundamentals of computing (hardware, software, architecture and operating systems), and how different kinds of data can be represented and stored on computer media. You also concentrate on the internet, and you'll be given the necessary mathematical background you will need in your computing studies. Additional courses give you an overview of how businesses use computing to become and remain competitive, and will allow you to learn what managers expect of information systems. They also introduce you to Java and object-oriented programming languages.

Courses in the second year introduce team working and help you develop report writing skills. You study the development of database systems, object-oriented software engineering principles and techniques, and specific features of the programming language Java. You will also consider commercial implications of networks, and you'll analyse case studies of object-oriented systems deployed in industry.

Our degrees include an optional industrial placement year between the second and final year of study. Although we encourage you to take the opportunity of a placement year, you can also complete your degree in a straight three years.

Your final year consists of option courses and a major project, in which you apply your new technological skills to solve real-world problems in innovative and practical ways.

Assessment

Modular: assignments, tests, laboratory exercises, exams, final year project. If you opt for an industrial placement year, your placement tutor will assess your work. If you complete the placement year successfully, you earn the endorsement ‘with work experience' on your degree certificate.

Skills and careers

There is a shortage of graduates who have the confidence to apply new technologies in creative ways; a computing degree from Goldsmiths will enable you to do this.

Our degrees aim to equip you with a wide range of skills to meet the current demands of the industry and increase your career prospects.

Industrial placement year

Our degree programmes include an optional Industrial Placement Year between the second and third year of study. This offers you the invaluable opportunity to develop the practical skills and real world experience that is sought after by employers. You're supported throughout your placement year by a placement tutor, who provides you with guidance and liaises between you and your employer.

Skills

This degree will equip you with the fundamental skills to become a professional working in all areas relating to computing and information systems, providing a clear view of the wide-ranging issues involved in the design and application of software. The programme will help you develop the skills needed by the industry as it evolves through the 21st century.

Our degrees have a large proportion of practical work in which you must deliver software projects, both individually and in groups. This mirrors as closely as possible a real world work environment. These projects develop your technical skills but also require you to tackle the broader aspects of the software development process, such as understanding users' needs and requirements and the design of interfaces on a number of platforms – from web pages to touch screen phones.

Careers

The explosive and ever-growing use of technology in business and commerce means that there's a whole range of different career possibilities for computing graduates. In terms of job opportunities and salaries, the IT sector is well ahead of most other industrial and commercial sectors.

Potential careers

• Application programmer
• Mobile App developer
• Web developer
• Video game developer
• Film special effects and post-production
• Computer music/sound engineer
• Interface designer
• Systems analyst
• Database manager

Organisations employing IT consultants

• IT consultancies
• New media and advertising companies
• Computer games developers
• Software development firms
• Financial institutions
• Engineering companies
• Retail and service industries
• Tourism and leisure industries
• Entertainment industries
• IT support for the design industry

Further information

• Find out more about employability at Goldsmiths
• Our alumni

About the department

The Department of Computing

A key feature of our department is interdisciplinarity, which is the interaction of computing with a wide range of other subject areas. We don't just see computing as a purely technical discipline. We have a particular focus on computing applied to the arts and creative industries including music, film, TV, visual arts, games and animation.

Our degrees give you a wide appreciation of the subject – rather than just an understanding of existing commercial approaches – so that your knowledge can adapt and evolve. They also include an optional Industrial Placement Year, which enables your to gain invaluable practical skills and real world experience.

• We have a hands-on approach that focuses on practical work in real world situations
• We take a very practice-based approach to computing; programming is a practical skill and it's important that you learn it by doing, not just learn it in theory
• We'll help you explore the creative potential as well as the technical aspects of computing
• The Department has a warm and friendly atmosphere with staff and students of different ages and backgrounds
• We'll help you become a creative computing practitioner, for whom there is a growing demand in business and industry

Staff

The staff who teach you are all actively engaged in quality research, and this means that you'll be taught by experts who apply their skills to developing cutting edge technology. Our teaching is strongly focused on applying academically rigorous concepts to real world situations.

Find out more about staff in the Department of Computing.

Facilities

We have excellent computing facilities for teaching and laboratory work. There are four department laboratories containing 90 Macs and PCs equipped with a substantial amount of the latest software used in the IT and creative industries.

Student profiles

"My course has been really challenging over the last three years and I have been able to develop a lot of skills (programming and communication) along the way. These skills are definitely going to aid me when I do my Master’s. It has pushed me to start thinking outside the box which is something I have now taught myself to do. The lecturers have been fantastic and very helpful. I have really enjoyed my time here at Goldsmiths and I am even considering coming back for my Master’s. To me Goldsmiths is like my second home."

Tinashe, BSc Computing & Information Systems