Software Engineering with Foundation Year
BEng
Undergraduate with Foundation Year
September 2025, September 2026
Overview
Software Engineering is a fast-moving exciting field of study with the challenges involved to engineer high quality, secure and reliable software systems in a wide range of areas from medicine to education, to space flight, to manufacturing and everything in between.
This dynamic course will develop your skills in analysis, design, programming, testing and evaluation. You’ll learn to produce secure, high quality, usable and adaptable software systems.
Our degree will also develop your skills in analysis, design, programming, testing and evaluation to produce software solutions, ensuring you have all the necessary skills to flourish in your career.
You’ll have the opportunity to develop your technical and personal skills by working on a range of interesting and challenging assessments. The course is highly practical, with lots of opportunities to engage with people and organisations that work in software development, including the opportunity to undertake work experience to supplement your studies.
We are one of only a handful of universities in the UK to offer the CDIO (Conceive, Design, Implement and Operate) international engineering education model developed by MIT that allows you to learn in a practical, hands-on way to tackle real life problems.
We know employers are looking for dynamic, open-minded graduates who can adapt, innovate, and collaborate. This is why we have designed a new way of teaching and learning to ensure that you are work-ready for when you graduate. Our 2026 course will reflect this new approach. The 2026 course page will be made live shortly.
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Watch on YouTubeThe best part of the course so far was transferring my Python skills into C# and developing solutions to complex problems.Phillip, Software Engineering student
Entry requirements
112
UCAS Tariff Points
Accepted qualifications
We accept a wide range of general qualifications that attract UCAS Tariff points either on their own or in combination with others. Below are some common examples.
| Qualification | Grades |
|---|---|
| A Levels | BBC |
| BTEC | DMM |
| Access | 15 Distinctions and 30 Merits |
| International Baccalaureate | 29 Points |
The grades in this table provide an indication of what is required to study this course. If you have qualifications that are not present in the table or want to tell us more about you specific situation then please contact our friendly Course Enquiry Team.
Please note: Five GCSEs level 4/C or above including English, Maths, and Science are required to study this course.
Don’t meet these entry requirements?
If you do not meet these entry requirements, a foundation year is a great way of beginning your university journey. We recommend you speak to our Course Enquiries team who will advise on a route to study that fits you.
More information
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Module information
As well as the core modules, you may also have the opportunity to study a number of option modules. Option modules will not be pre-selected for you. We provide examples of option modules. The availability of specific option modules may vary from year to year. The offer of an option will be subject to a minimum number of students choosing the module to ensure the appropriate student experience. The offer of option modules may also be affected by staff availability. It means we cannot guarantee the availability of a particular optional module. However, we will ensure you have a choice of option modules.
Core/optional modules
How you’ll learn
This degree uses a Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate-like structure – where some of your teaching will be done via real-world inspired projects. You will be taught through a combination of lectures, seminars and practical labs. You will typically have around 12 contact hours per week and are expected to also spend about 4 hours each week co-ordinating with team members on group activities. Labs will often emphasise working in small groups to enable you to discuss and develop your understanding of topics covered in lectures and place theory into practice.
You will also have regular scheduled meetings, in addition to the above contact hours, with an assigned academic personal tutor, which is your first point of contact for assistance to your undergraduates needs.
Your actual contact hours depend on the option modules you select.
Your overall workload typically consists of 12 contact hours and an additional 25 hours of independent learning. In addition, there may be field trips.
For each 20-credit module, your study time will about 10 hours a week plus work on assessments. Assessments would normally be expected to take approximately 50 hours for an assignment worth 50% of a 20 credit module. There are no formal examinations although there are some time-constrained assessments in which you will be expected to carry out a particular task or set of tasks within a given time.
We will work with you to develop the technical and people skills you will need to work successfully in the software industry.Tina EagerProgramme Director
How you’ll be assessed
Methods of assessment used include production of software artefacts, project plans and diaries, essays, reports, ‘investigation-based’ presentations, oral presentations, individual studies/projects, poster presentations, online assessment, logs, and time constrained assignments. You should not expect to sit the large scale formal examinations you may have experienced at school.
Coursework is mainly practically-oriented with appropriate theoretical elements to ensure a well-rounded education. Assessments are a combination of individual and group work and are designed to demonstrate that not only do you understand the theoretical aspects of the module but that you can apply the theory in a meaningful way.
We use coursework assessment methods based on their suitability for specific modules. Formative and summative feedback is provided informally in classes and in workshops and formally through assessment feedback throughout the course.
Your future career
Software Engineering currently offers some of the highest paid engineering roles in the UK and employment opportunities include working for major IT organisations such as IBM, BULL, Compuserve and Siemens.
Working as a software engineer could lead you to work in:
- Creating, implementing and maintaining information systems for the public sector.
- Designing, implementing and maintaining intelligent smart building systems.
- Designing, implementing and maintaining electronic banking solutions enabling smooth national and international financial transactions.
- Designing, implementing and maintaining technology education software to enhance student learning.
As a graduate of software engineering, you could also be in demand in many non-IT sectors and involved in work with:
- The aerospace industry, researching, developing, testing and maintaining info-entertainment systems that keep passengers entertained throughout long haul flights.
- The manufacturing industry: researching, developing, testing and maintaining automated systems in manufacturing cells and interacting with manufacturing upstream and downstream work cells
- City transport: collating real-time bus and train locations and communicating information over distributed networks to different users’ interfaces, bus stop boards, train information displays, mobile apps, etc
- The Ministry of Defence: researching, designing, developing and testing systems that listen for and identify terror threat communications.
This list represents possible career opportunities and in some cases you may be required to undertake further studies or gain relevant work experience and/or professional accreditation in order to pursue particular roles. Further academic study can enhance your career prospects and lead you to senior and specialist positions both within engineering and also teaching or research-related roles.
Related courses
Fees
The 2025/26 annual tuition fees for this course are:
| UK | Overseas | |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time | £9,535 | £15,500 |
Tuition fees for all courses are payable on an annual basis, except where stated. The fees represented here are for study with Canterbury Christ Church University. If you are looking to study at a partner institution, please visit their website for fees information.
Please read the 2025/26 Tuition Fee Statement for further information regarding tuition fees and year on year fee increases.
Home (UK) Fees
The Government has announced that it will increase the tuition fee cap by 3.1%, in line with inflation, for the 2025/26 academic cycle. Subject to parliamentary approval, the University intends to increase our tuition fees in line with this and as per our terms and conditions. This means that from September 2025 our undergraduate home tuition fees are expected to be £9,535.
Overseas/International Fees
Undergraduate / PGCE tuition fees for international students are not set by the UK Government.
- Read advice about funding your degree
- See information about the financial support available for undergraduate studies
- If you would like information about paying your fees, please contact accounts.receivable@canterbury.ac.uk
- For specific fee queries, please contact fees@canterbury.ac.uk
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The Office for Students (OfS) regulates Canterbury Christ Church University. The OfS is the independent regulator of higher education in England. It aims to ensure that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling experience of higher education that enriches their lives and careers. Further details about its work are available on the OfS website.
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*We are advertising this course as ‘subject to approval.’ When we add new courses or update existing courses, we advertise the course as ‘subject to approval’. We do this to let you know the University still needs to agree to run the course. It is rare for a course not to gain approval, but it is not guaranteed. There may be changes to course and module titles, content and assessment, but we will tell you about these if there is a change. You can still apply to study a course subject to approval. We have prepared some questions and answers to tell you more.