Computer Science (Digital & Technology Solutions) BSc

Computer science is a dynamic and fast-moving area. It is vital to how we live in the digital age, and how we seek to evolve in every part of our lives. From games to cyber-security, from finance to analysis of business and networks, from engineering to medicine – the next generation of computer science will help to meet some of the major challenges facing the modern world.

Successful computer scientists are not only skilled programmers, they are also highly creative thinkers and problem-solvers who are adept at handling complex information. Computing touches every industry, everywhere, so computer scientists are in demand across all sorts of sectors and are usually at the forefront of new technological developments.

This four-year degree apprenticeship programme combines a computer science degree with an apprenticeship, fully funded in Partnership with PwC, giving you all the advantages of a university education as well as the unique insight that comes from paid work experience. As an added benefit, your university tuition fees are fully funded by PwC, and as a PwC employee you’ll also receive a salary.

Studying computer science at Leeds will equip you with the core technical and problem-solving skills to tackle current and emerging challenges in this fast-changing field. Alongside technical skills such as algorithm design, problem solving and practical programming, you'll develop a raft of vital workplace skills such as collaborative working and project management. You'll also be taught in our purpose-built hub for students and academics – the Sir William Henry Bragg Building – which is home to leading research and specialist teaching facilities right here on campus.

At the end of this apprenticeship, you’ll have the chance to continue your career at PwC as a graduate and beyond, using the skills, network and experience you’ve gained.

Why study at Leeds:

• Our globally-renowned research feeds directly into your course, shaping your learning with the latest thinking in areas such as algorithms and complexity, artificial intelligence, computational science and engineering, biomedicine & health and distributed systems and services.
• Experience expert teaching delivered by a programme team made up of academics and researchers who specialise in a variety of computing areas.
• Access excellent facilities including two custom-built teaching laboratories containing high-specification Linux machines and a range of collaborative and quiet study spaces.
• During your three work placements, you'll contribute towards delivering technology solutions to help solve business problems for a wide range of PwC clients.
• You'll not only develop your technical skills, but you'll also continue to develop your soft skills in communication, teamwork, problem solving and many more.
• Your university tuition fees are fully funded by PwC and, as a PwC employee, you'll receive a monthly salary.
• At the end of the degree programme, providing you meet their performance criteria, PwC will offer you a graduate job.
• Make the most of your time at Leeds by joining CompSoc, where you can meet like-minded peers and enjoy a variety of social, professional and academic events including Hackathons, community outreach and professional networking. CompSoc also host sports teams and academic support groups.

Accreditation

Accreditation is the assurance that a university course meets the quality standards established by the profession for which it prepares its students.

The School of Computing at Leeds has a successful history of delivering courses accredited by the British Computing Society (BCS). This means our computer science courses have consistently met the quality standards set by the British Computer Society (BCS).

As we are reviewing our curriculum, we are currently seeking reaccreditation from the BCS for accreditation of full Chartered IT Professional (CITP) and partial Chartered Engineer (partial CEng).

Please note: the Digital and Technology Solution Professional apprenticeship standard, on which this programme is based, is currently under review by the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education. Therefore, this programme may be subject to change depending on the review outcome.

We are currently reviewing our curriculum as part of a university-wide process. As a result, we are unable to publish module information for this course at this time. The information below provides an overview of what you’ll study and our approach to teaching and assessment. We will update this page as soon as the changes are confirmed. Read more in our terms and conditions.

This content was last updated on 3 April 2023.

This degree apprenticeship combines a degree in computer science with a strong focus on its applications in business and industry. You’ll graduate with significant work experience from a leading professional services brand.

In this course, you'll develop industrially relevant skills which will aid you in a successful career of your choosing. You'll gain a fundamental understanding of computer hardware, software engineering and the underpinnings of mathematical principles. Alongside, you'll also have opportunities to develop critical thinking and creative skills that'll transfer into your career once you graduate.

You’ll be taught by experts and work on a range of projects, solving important business and technology problems for PwC's internal and external clients. With a wide range of teams, you could gain exposure into cyber security, data and analytics, technology consulting, forensic technology as well as our internal central technology teams.

You’ll also undertake two summer placements at the end of your first and second year, followed by a full-year placement in your third year: all of these are hosted by PwC.

Both project work and placements will develop your commercial and industrial awareness, exposing you to real-world problem-solving tasks and helping you build up a portfolio of work and experience that’ll demonstrate your knowledge and skills to prospective employers.

Throughout this course, we work closely with you to develop personalised learning plans to ensure you are progressing towards the goal of becoming an outstanding computer science graduate ready to apply your skills.

You’ll also study computing ethics as part of your course. Using real-life case studies, you’ll cover topics such as ethical hacking, open-source software, and use of personal data, preparing you to identify and respond effectively to the ethical dilemmas you’ll encounter in your professional life in the IT industry.

This course will develop you into a well-rounded computer scientist with an awareness of the global challenges and opportunities available to you, ready for a challenging and rewarding career and equipped to continue learning to stay at the cutting edge of developments.

Each academic year, you'll take a total of 120 credits.

Years 1 and 2

You'll learn about the core topics in computer science and how they can be applied in a variety of real-world scenarios. You'll learn about programming and software engineering ensuring that you have a good grasp on contemporary programming languages and software engineering design principles. You'll also develop a good understanding of computer hardware, which is essential to being able to design software and algorithms.

You'll learn how to exploit hardware to your advantage to produce systems which meet customer requirements. In order to be able to justify that your software behaves as expected, with particular performance guarantees you'll learn about the theoretical foundations of computer science.

Through these topics you'll develop into a holistic computer scientist capable of problem identification, solution design, consideration of impact, implementation and evaluation. You'll develop an understanding of sustainability in computing and appreciate how your professional behaviour can help to develop a more equitable future for all. You'll work collaboratively with your fellow students in group projects and will have an opportunity to share your knowledge and experiences with students in different years.

Throughout years 1 and 2, you'll study topics relevant to artificial intelligence, data science, computer graphics, robotics, algorithms and complexity and distributed systems.

Year 3

During your third year, you’ll be on a full-year placement hosted by PwC.

During your placement, you’ll be productively employed and play both an active and valued part on project teams and will make meaningful contributions to fee-earning client projects. You'll feel confident and equipped to apply learning from off-the-job training in a challenging but fully supported environment. PwC has a client base ranging from local to multinational and global companies being serviced from Leeds, across all sectors and industries.

You’ll be fully supported when on placement with PwC, you’ll have a dedicated people manager, buddies, mentors and a dedicated development team.

Alongside developing your technical skills through your placements with PwC you’ll develop a combination of interpersonal skills (e.g. rapport building, behavioural styles, working in a team and networking) and consulting skills, (e.g. models of consulting, distinctive business advisor, change management and analytical skills) embedding the PwC Experience.

Year 4

In your fourth year, you'll complete an individual project showcasing your accumulated skills and knowledge. You'll work with a member of academic staff to define, refine and complete a project related to your interests. You'll present the outcomes of your project to academic staff in the School of Computing and PwC. You'll also study professionalism, innovation and enterprise ensuring you are well equipped to enter the workplace or continue your journey in education.

In year 4, you also have an opportunity to branch out and shape your learning journey by selecting from our advanced topics modules in subjects such as computer graphics, artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, algorithms and complexity and distributed systems.

Learning and teaching

In the School of Computing, you'll be part of a large and welcoming learning community where academic staff and your fellow students work collaboratively together. Our expert academic staff bring a wealth of industrial and research experience meaning you'll have awareness of the forefront of developments when you graduate. You'll be joining a diverse community of computer scientists from a range of backgrounds, where you'll be encouraged to share your experiences with and to learn from others in order to develop a university culture where our differences are our strengths.

Our research feeds directly into our teaching, meaning you'll learn about the very latest developments in your subject while gaining the knowledge and skills to meet the needs of your graduate job.

To help you benefit from our expertise, you'll be engaged in a mix of lectures, tutorials, seminars and practical labs, complemented by online learning resources and project-based learning. This mix of activities will develop you into a flexible and agile learner suitable for keeping up with the fast pace of development in graduate careers. The approach is inclusive by design, and you'll be supported to develop the skills to best benefit from each type of activity.

Our personal tutorial system will provide you with academic and pastoral support. You'll be assigned to an academic personal tutor who will mentor you throughout your studies at Leeds. Everyone will have a different set of experience, interests and motivations for studying the subject, and your personal tutor will help you to understand what these are and how you can best leverage your experiences to make the most of your time at Leeds.

Our Virtual Learning Environment will help to support your studies: it’s a central place where you can find all the information and resources for the School, your programme and modules.

You can also benefit from support to develop your academic skills, within the curriculum and through online resources, workshops, one-to-one appointments and drop-in sessions.

Specialist facilities

You’ll study in the Sir William Henry Bragg Building which offers a wealth of facilities to support your learning. It has two custom-built teaching laboratories containing high-specification Linux machines – sufficient to complete all work asked of you on our programmes. In addition, the Sir William Henry Bragg Building houses our state-of-the-art research laboratories which are used by our internationally leading researchers and postgraduate students – and are available to students as part of their final year individual project.

There's also a number of social and collaborative study spaces which are available for you to use whenever the building is open. Whether you require a quiet place to work, or you thrive being in a busy stimulating environment there is a space suitable for you.

On this course you’ll be taught by our expert academics, from lecturers through to professors. You may also be taught by industry professionals with years of experience, as well as trained postgraduate researchers, connecting you to some of the brightest minds on campus.

Assessment

You'll be assessed using a variety of methods which are chosen to emulate real-life tasks or activities you are likely to encounter in a graduate career. This may include time-constrained assessments, laboratory practicals, reports, problem-solving worksheets, projects and presentations.

Where possible, assessment is designed to be contemporary with recent events and developments in computer science – making them interesting and relevant.

We use summative assessment, which contributes to your degree outcome, as well as formative assessment, which does not contribute to your degree outcome but provides an indication of performance. This combination allows you to become comfortable with the style of assessment and allows us to provide targeted additional support where it is required. Your work will be assessed by a member of academic staff who’ll provide feedback on what you did well, areas of improvement and stretch goals. This feedback may be in written or verbal form.

Our assessment approach is designed to be inclusive by default, however, we also make reasonable adjustments where required.

Entry requirements

A-level: AAA including Mathematics or Computing. Grade B (6) or above in GCSE Mathematics is required if no Mathematics A-level is taken.

Where an A-level Science subject is taken, we require a pass in the practical science element, alongside the achievement of the A-Level at the stated grade.

Excludes A-level General Studies or Critical Thinking.

GCSE: English Language at grade C (4) or above. Grade B (6) or above in Mathematics is required if no Mathematics A-level is taken. We will accept Level 2 Functional Skills English in lieu of GCSE English.

Extended Project Qualification and International Project Qualification: Whilst we recognise the value of these qualifications and the effort and enthusiasm that applicants put into them, we do not currently include them as part of our offer-making. We do, however, encourage you to provide further information on your project in your personal statement.

• Access to HE Diploma

  Pass 60 credits overall with 45 credits at Level 3, 30 credits with Distinction (including an appropriate number of Mathematics modules) and the remaining 15 credits with Merit or above.

• BTEC

  D*D*D with Distinctions in all Mathematics units. Mathematics units must include Further Mathematics. This unit may be optional on your BTEC but is it required by the Faculty.

• Cambridge Pre-U

  D3, D3, D3 including Mathematics.

• International Baccalaureate

  18 points at Higher level to include 5 in HL Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches or 6 in HL Mathematics: Applications and Interpretation or 5 in HL Computing. If only Computing is offered from the IB, Grade B or above in GCSE Mathematics (or equivalent) is required.

• Irish Leaving Certificate (higher Level)

  H1 H2 H2 H2 H2 H2, including Mathematics.

• Scottish Highers / Advanced Highers

  AA at Advanced Higher level, including Mathematics or Computing, and AABBB at Higher level.

• Other Qualifications

  IT or Engineering Diploma: A (plus A or above in Mathematics or Computing in A-level).

Read more about UK and Republic of Ireland accepted qualifications or contact the School’s Undergraduate Admissions Team.

Alternative entry

We’re committed to identifying the best possible applicants, regardless of personal circumstances or background.

Access to Leeds is an alternative admissions scheme which accepts applications from individuals who might be from low income households, in the first generation of their immediate family to apply to higher education, or have had their studies disrupted.

Find out more about Access to Leeds and alternative admissions.

Typical Access to Leeds offer: ABB, including an A in Mathematics or Computing. Grade B (6) or above in GCSE Mathematics is required if no Mathematics A-level is taken.

If you do not have the formal qualifications for immediate entry to one of our degrees, you may be able to progress through a foundation year. We offer a Studies in Science with a Foundation Year BSc for students without a science background at A-level and an Interdisciplinary Science with Foundation Year BSc for applicants who meet specific widening participation criteria.

English language requirements

IELTS 6.0 overall, with no less than 5.5 in each section.

How to apply

Apply to this course through UCAS. Check the deadline for applications on the UCAS website.

We typically receive a high number of applications for this course. To ensure we treat all applications fairly, we may put your application on hold until after the UCAS deadline before making a final decision. All applications received before the UCAS deadline are guaranteed equal consideration.

This course is not accepting applications for deferred entry and advanced entry is not generally permitted.

Read our admissions guidance and see ‘application decisions’ for details.

Admissions policy

University of Leeds Taught Admissions Policy 2023

Fees

UK: To be confirmed

You do not pay fees for the course; the fees are covered by PwC and the UK Government.

There may be additional costs related to your course or programme of study, or related to being a student at the University of Leeds. Read more about additional costs.

Financial support

Please note you will not be eligible for tuition fee or maintenance loans from the Student Loan Company.

Information: eligibility rules for EU, other EEA and Swiss nationals for access to FE 19+ and apprenticeships

Individuals are eligible for apprenticeship funding through an employer’s apprenticeship service account or government-employer co-investment if they have a valid and eligible residency status. Non-UK nationals are eligible for funding if they have permission from the UK government to live in the UK (not for educational purposes), and have been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least the previous three years before the start of the apprenticeship. Full eligibility criteria are outlined in Annex A of the Education Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) Apprenticeship Funding Rules.

Additional cost information

In accordance with the Apprenticeship Funding Rules, there will be no additional costs related to your programme of study. There may be additional costs related to being a student at the University of Leeds.

At the end of the degree programme, providing you meet their performance criteria, you’ll have the chance to continue your career at PwC in a graduate role.

There’s a wealth of excellent job opportunities for graduate computer scientists – making it easy for you to choose your ideal career.

Our graduates are sought-after for their technical knowledge, industrial and commercial awareness, independence and proactiveness. Plus, University of Leeds students are among the top 10 most targeted by top employers according to The Graduate Market 2023, High Fliers Research.

From start-ups to international organisations and non-governmental organisations, the computing industry is always looking for computer science graduates to realise the next opportunity.

Our graduates find employment across a range of sectors including:

• Non-governmental organisations
• Government agencies
• Education
• Media
• Technology
• Consultancies
• Finance (& Finance Technologies)
• Public Authority
• Retail
• Research & Development

Careers support

At Leeds, we help you to prepare for your future from day one. Through the School of Computing’s extensive set of industrial contacts, you'll have the opportunity to network with local, national and international companies. The School has close links with regional employers who focus their recruitment efforts on the School.

Our Leeds for Life initiative is designed to help you develop and demonstrate the skills and experience you need for when you graduate. We will help you to access opportunities across the University and record your key achievements so you are able to articulate them clearly and confidently.

You'll be supported throughout your studies by our dedicated Employability team, who will provide you with specialist support and advice to help you find relevant work experience, internships and industrial placements, as well as graduate positions. You’ll benefit from timetabled employability sessions, support during internships and placements, and presentations and workshops delivered by employers.

You'll also have full access to the University’s Careers Centre, which is one of the largest in the country.

Study abroad

The study abroad option isn't available on this programme.

Work placements

During this degree apprenticeship programme, you'll undertake two summer placements and a full-year placement. All of these placements are hosted by PwC and, whilst working as a PwC employee, you'll receive a salary each month.

Whilst on placement, you'll work with several PwC technology teams working on client projects and gaining insight into the full digital ecosystem behind leading brands across a broad range of sectors and industries. This gives you the opportunity to apply what you have learned in a challenging but fully supported real world environment, and gain experience you won’t find elsewhere.

Benefits of your PwC work placements:

• Gain valuable experience from a world leading employer
• Your placements are salaried by PwC
• Build your contacts
• Advance your experience and skills by putting into practice what you have learned
• Gain invaluable insight into working as a professional in this industry
• Improve your employability

Whilst on placement with PwC, you'll be fully supported by a dedicated people manager, buddies, mentors and a dedicated development team.