Curious about studying Software Engineering with Foundation Year - BSc (Hons)at Bucks New University? We've gathered all the key details—entry requirements, modules, fees, and more. Hear from real students by checking out reviews, or take the next step by booking an open day to explore it for yourself.
Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
High Wycombe Campus
Full Time
Oct 2026
4 Year
If you are looking to make an impression in the fast-paced IT world, studying a degree that provides you with a strong foundation in computing and an in-depth specialised knowledge in software engineering, this is a great place to start.Software is an essential part in controlling computers, it can be a creative way to develop solutions to communication, financial, business, entertainment and healthcare problems. Working in the computing industry developing software is an exciting career that challenges you to use both analytical and creative skills and be at the forefront of the latest technological advances. In the Foundation Year of this four-year course, you’ll build essential academic study skills. This year will help you gain confidence in your abilities. You’ll also identify your strengths and areas for development. Together, these will prepare you for progression to the undergraduate degree.
Why study Software Engineering at BNU?Hands on learningAt BNU, you'll dive into practical sessions that mirror real-world software development practices. This isn't just about writing code; you'll tackle projects that simulate challenges you’d face in the industry, providing a real taste of the tech world. By the time you graduate, you'll have a a broad range of experiences that can showcase your abilities to future employers.
Industry relevant educationWe focus on equipping you with skills that are in high demand, such as software design, development, and delivery. You'll learn to work with modern programming languages, frameworks, and tools, preparing you to hit the ground running in any tech environment. Whether it's designing apps, building web platforms, or managing data systems, you'll gain expertise that employers value. You'll also take part in career workshops, mock interviews, and CV-building sessions to prepare for your job hunt. With this well-rounded preparation, you’ll graduate ready to make an immediate impact in the workplace.
Expert facultyLearn from lecturers who bring a wealth of industry experience and academic expertise. They’re passionate about their field and dedicated to helping you succeed, often drawing on their professional backgrounds to provide real-world context. Their mentorship will guide you through your studies and inspire confidence in your abilities.
Modern facilitiesYou’ll have access to large labs equipped with dual-screen, dual boot (Windows and Linux) systems, the latest industry-standard software, virtual server technology and VR headsets. From high-performance computers to collaborative workspaces, our facilities are designed to support your learning and creativity. You’ll have everything you need to turn your ideas into reality.
Industry ConnectionsBNU maintains close ties with industry professionals, providing opportunities for networking, internships, and real-world projects. Guest lectures and career events offer insights into the latest industry trends and connect you directly with potential employers. These connections open doors to internships and placements, giving you a head start in the competitive tech job market.
What will I study?During this course you will acquire skills in programming, building secure web and mobile applications and work on team-based software projects; whilst exploiting an agile development approach. You’ll learn how to develop highly dependable and reliable systems, within an object-oriented design approach, using a number of industry standard approaches, such as UML. In addition, you will gain an understanding of the process involved in managing the development of large-scale software projects. Furthermore, specialist modules allow you to explore the areas of artificial intelligence, media programming, real-time systems, cloud computing and security.
Foundation Year
This module will teach you foundational programming skills. You’ll learn about data types, variables, control structures, and algorithms. You’ll solve problems, create documented software, and by the end, design and test your own programs, effectively communicating your work.
Foundation Year
This module covers computing fundamentals, you’ll explore data structures, algorithms, computational thinking, databases, and the societal impacts of computing. You’ll learn to store, access, and search data efficiently, solve problems mathematically, design relational databases with SQL, and consider computing’s ethical implications.
Foundation Year
Dive into computer science and discrete mathematics with this module. You’ll tackle mathematical and network algorithms, critical path analysis, linear programming, and game theory. It’s a journey through finite and infinite concepts, preparing you for advanced mathematics and practical computing applications.
Foundation Year
In this module, you’ll delve into human-computer interaction and user-centric design, focusing on human factors and user needs to create immersive products. You’ll also explore computer technologies for creating and distributing digital resources, ensuring they meet diverse media platform requirements.
Foundation Year
In this module, you’ll reflect on and develop professional skills through project production. You’ll enhance your reflective writing, communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and critical thinking, gaining insight into your strengths and areas for growth.
Foundation Year
In this module, you’ll collaborate with other students on a project within your subject’s themes, honing vital professional skills like leadership, interpersonal relations, communication, negotiation, and problem-solving, essential for teamwork in real-world scenarios.
Discover the foundational principles for programming languages. You'll study variables, data types, assignment, conditionals, functions, data structures and the object-oriented paradigm. You'll work with other students on a project to simulate the working environment and will develop your problem-solving and computational thinking skills.
You'll look at principles of computer organisation, the layered nature of systems structures & the interfaces between them. You'll also study: components of a computer, the architecture, how they're organised, hardware, data representation, computer logic circuits, manipulation of data at the bit level & the theory of computation and its paradigms.
You'll study the architecture, structure, functions and models of the Internet and computer networks. You'll use models to examine protocols and services at the application, network, data link & physical layers and will analyse the principles & structure of IP addressing and the fundamentals of Ethernet concepts, network media & network operations.
This module introduces the mathematical language, knowledge and problem-solving skills that you'll need to study computing. You'll look at concepts such as set, relation, function and recursion/induction and principles of counting and finite probability. The fundamental notions of logic and their use for representation and proof are also explored.
You’ll explore key cyber security threats and learn how to identify and manage vulnerabilities in information systems. You’ll develop essential risk management skills, like assessing assets, threats, and vulnerabilities, and create security plans to reduce risk. You’ll also learn to adapt strategies as threats evolve and choose the right tools to audit your defences.
You'll study Object Oriented Analysis and Design (OOAD), a software engineering approach that models a system as a group of interacting objects. Each object is characterised by its class, data elements and behaviour. You'll use various techniques using the Unified Modelling Language (UML) approach to describe the views under investigation.
This module extends the Level 4 Programming module to introduce alternative data structures to arrays and lists in addition to a variety of algorithms that perform typical operations such as sort, search, insert, delete, and find on these data structures. You'll also look at how to evaluate storage structures and algorithms based on requirements.
This module aims to support you in gaining an understanding of the research process, including principles of research methods theory (ontology/epistemology) and practical elements. You'll be guided in how to plan and prepare for a research-based dissertation or work-based project or artefact-based project.
This module within a practical Integrated development environment (Visual Studio) and using a modern OOP language (C#, C++, Java), will demonstrate how the key techniques of inheritance, polymorphism and encapsulation can be directly applied to produce high quality software systems.
Software Engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to design, development, operation, and maintenance of software. You'll investigate the reasons for this approach and directly apply the techniques investigated against the various lifecycle stages in commercial software development.
You'll look at the implementation & deployment of data-driven web applications, data analysis & the creation & maintenance of database repositories using web APIs & services. You'll implement & deploy web-based systems based on the creation of multi-tier architectures, using industry-standard platforms, frameworks & development environments.
This practical class aims to provide you with a deeper understanding of high-level programming language. It covers several advanced topics, including object oriented, concurrent and network programming and provides insight into how data is managed in such systems. Practical sessions expose you to industrial software development practices.
You'll study the ‘Critical Systems Specification’, a crucial point-of-reference for all subsequent activities in the software development process. This document must be expressed in a language whose vocabulary, syntax and semantics are formally defined, so is based on maths. This generates proofs that the resulting code will meet its requirements.
This module investigates and applies the successful combination of static verification techniques (inspection, walkthrough), alongside dynamic testing approaches (component, system, integration and acceptance), in the pursuit of creating software that is both fit for purpose and right first time, all within the framework of quality assurance.
You'll carry out an individual in-depth investigation of a topic of interest, working on your skills in research, problem solving and critical analysis. The project will be selected in consultation with your supervisor and may involve a local company. You'll work on the project throughout the year, culminating in a final report and oral defence.
4.4Bucks New University (BNU) is a student-focused university based in High Wycombe, with over 130 years of educational his...
