BSc Information Technology with Economics

UCAS code: G5L1

Programme length: 4 years

This course aims to prepare you for responsible professional leadership roles in the Information Technology industry, with a particular emphasis on the business elements of computer systems. Graduates will be well qualified to play a disciplined and creative part in a research, development or support environment.

In the first year, you will spend 50% of your time on IT related subjects, and the remainder on your minor subject. More time is spent on the major subject in latter years. The third year is spent on an approved placement

This new degree is designed to be industry oriented. It is expected that graduates will work both within the IT industry as a developer/manager and in a wide range of industries in a support role. Graduates in Information Technology with Management could be expected to have the following generic job titles:

• Systems manager

• IT Operations Manager

• programmer

• systems analyst

• analyst/programmer

• software engineer

• applications developer

• web developer

• help desk/support technician

• system support engineer

• network engineer

• communications specialist

• database administrator

• project manager

• data analyst

• software/hardware trainer.

The course is very much focused on the role IT plays in creating competitive advantage within industry, and aims to equip you with the skills needed to become an IT consultant.Unlike the IT degree, however, IT with Economics is even more focused on business, with distinct modules taught by the Business School on such things as Micro- and MacroEconomics, Econometrics and Business Economics.At the end of the course, you should have both the technical skills necessary to analyze and design the IT systems needed by a company, as well as the business skills required to ensure a technology's successful and cost-effective implementation.

Like the IT degree, much of the coursework and lectures focus as much on the IT process as they do on the technology itself.You will therefore be taught such skills as project management and requirements engineering, and will create and manage projects for customers using methods and techniques that are standard across industry.

Much of the course is taught by people who are IT consultants themselves, thereby giving you the benefit of their real world experience in addition to the more formal academic lectures that generally focus on theory.In addition, the course is highly entrepreneurial in nature, providing you with the skills you need to exploit various market opportunities that exist in the IT sector.

You will obtain knowledge and understanding of:

•information technology and systems, and software engineering

•relevant technology, research and management practice

•appropriate techniques for analysing and designing systems

•business context and methods

•software engineering practice.

Course content

The course is divided into 4 Parts (years) with three parts comprising a number of modules as listed below (follow the links to find out more about each module).

Part 1

Compulsory Modules

• Software Engineering
• Commercial off-the-shelf Software 1
• E-Business 1
• Introductory Quantitative Techniques
• Introductory Microeconomics
• Introductory Macroeconomics

Part 2

Compulsory Modules

• Databases
• Information Systems
• E-Business 2
• Software Engineering 2 and Career Management
• PC Infrastructure
• Microeconomics I.1
• Macroeconomics I.1
• Introductory Econometrics I.1

Industrial Year

• Placement Project
• Placement Work Experience

Part 3

Compulsory Modules

• Individual Project
• Social, Legal and Ethical Aspects of Science and Engineering
• Business Economics 1

Optional Modules

• Enterprise IT Architectures
• Project Management
• Informatics for E-Enterprise
• Microeconomics II.1
• Macroeconomics II.1
• International Economics 1
• Economics of Development 1
• Public Economics 1
• Economic Issues in Historical Perspective 1
• European Economic Integration 1
• Money & Banking 1

The third year of the course is spent in industry, where you will work on placement in an IT company.You will become an important part of the team in which you work, playing a full role in the company.We have a dedicated placements officer to help the student find a suitable placement, and have previously helped secure roles in companies such as Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Ernst & Young, IBM and Fujitsu Siemens.

Note that the placement year is mandatory for the IT with Economics degree.

At the end of the first year, you can either continue on the IT with Economics degree, transfer to a single subject Economics degree, or transfer to a single subject IT degree.

Career prospects

Career prospects are good, as the programme is very relevant to today's high technology society. Most graduates are employed in a technology company, often associated with project management, systems analysis or sales, either in a large company or a smaller company or consultancy; whereas others choose to further their research interests either in the School or at other Universities.

For a full description of this course please download the BSc Information Technology with Economics (PDF-160 KB) programme specification.