BSc (Hons) Computing course preparation

To help you feel prepared for your university studies, we’ve gathered together a range of course related activities including suggested reading, useful websites and some great things to do right now. Open the links below to find out more:

Suggested materials

Throughout your studies you will have access to absolutely all of the facilities and equipment you will need, however some students like to purchase equipment before they start their studies. If you would like to purchase any of this equipment before you start your studies, we recommend looking into pre-owned options.

Portable Hard Disk Drive – Whilst you can store files online, we strongly recommend that you purchase a 500GB shock proof USB 3 portable self-powered hard disk drive (approx. £50) which will be invaluable, especially for multimedia work.
Computer – We have excellent computer labs, but for those who prefer the independence of using their own machines we recommend a machine which has the following specification:
- 8GB RAM
- 750GB HDD
- Intel i5 (or equivalent AMD processor)
- (15” Screen Desirable)

Useful websites

You can start to learn how to programme in Python through this free course .

You can also use the WIRED website to catch up on the latest developments in computing.

Explore the current tech job market on IT Jobs Watch and join a developer community on DZone.

Other useful websites include:

Things to do over summer

Here are a couple of ideas for you to try some computing related fun:

Start to tackle a programming language, we recommend learning Python which you can do through the mobile app Solo Learn.
Explore the area of computing you’re interested in via books, blogs and websites
Develop your own app ideas and explore the tech used to create them

As in all specialised fields of sciences, computing studies students benefit from basic skills in reading and writing documents along with skills in maths that will be useful in solving problems and programming. Although not essential, making sure you have basic reading and writing skills will help when you need to read moderately technical articles during your studies.