University home > Unit and programme catalogues in 2021/22 > Programme catalogue > Faculty of Engineering > School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering > Computer Science and Electronics (BEng) > Specification
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Programme code | 4COSC015U |
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Programme type | Joint Honours (UG) |
Programme director(s) |
Naim Dahnoun
|
Faculty | Faculty of Engineering |
School/department | School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering |
Second School/department | School of Computer Science |
Teaching institution | University of Bristol |
Awarding institution | University of Bristol |
Accrediting types: |
Accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on behalf of the Engineering Council as meeting the requirements for Further Learning for registration as a Chartered Engineer. Candidates must hold a CEng accredited BEng/BSc (Hons) undergraduate first degree to comply with full CEng registration requirements. (http://www.theiet.org/) |
Mode of study | Full Time |
Programme length | 3 years (full time) |
All degree programmes share the University's aim of "offering students the best possible learning experience in a research environment" - enabling them to realise their full potential in their chosen careers. An important goal is to maximise student choice while maintaining academic consistency. This programme aims to offer students a broad and deep understanding of both Computer Science and Electronics, with a particular emphasis in early years on the areas which are on the interface of the two subjects, whilst broadening in later years to more specialist areas.
The programme provides a broad education in fundamental aspects of computer science and electronics and a more advanced knowledge of some topics, particularly but not exclusively those relevant to the other subject in the Joint programme. They develop skill in reasoning, problem-solving, software and hardware development and an ability to think logically and critically and to express ideas clearly. Special emphasis is made on transferable skills relevant to the two subjects, such as professional development, presentation, group work and planning.
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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Lectures - these are normally two hours per week per subject, mainly introducing key concepts but may be interactive (using audience response systems). Many are recorded and made available for later private study. Note, however, that some subjects (e.g. programming) may be taught without lectures, being entirely based on practical work in the laboratory.Tutorials - some subjects provide one-to-one help from academic staff or teaching assistants, e.g. via drop-in classes.Project supervision - academic staff supervise individual research projects, normally taken in the final year, where students can choose a topic from a list or, if desired, propose their own topic. Earlier years include group projects, developing team-working skills. Demonstrations/Practical classes - much of the practical work in the first two years involves laboratory work in which students work through assignments with advice and feedback from demonstrators (academic staff and teaching assistants). Guided independent study - with help from staff, students are encouraged to develop their independent study skills - for example, to find solutions to open-ended design problems. |
Methods of Assessment | |
Assessment is used either to award credit ("summative" assessment) or to allow students to check on their progress ("formative" assessment). In the case of formative assessment, the emphasis is on providing feedback to students to help improve future work, rather than simply assigning a mark. The types of assessment used are as follows: Written exam - normally two or three hours, held at the end of the semester (half-year). This is the main form of summative assessment, and accounts typically for 80% of the credit in most subjects. The remaining forms of assessment are known as "coursework". Written assignment - an essay written in the student's own time. Report - usually covering a laboratory activity and its results; typically two or three per semester. Dissertation - the outcome of a research project; a student usually does only one during the degree programme. Oral assessment and presentation - typically this takes the form of a "poster session" where students present a poster showing the results of their final-year research project and answer questions from staff. There may also be presentations given by project groups to the rest of the class. Practical skills assessment - tests are sometimes set in the laboratory to ensure that students are able to use instruments and software systems properly. Set exercises - typically these are problems that students can work through voluntarily in their own time to check their understanding, and so this is essentially formative assessment; help may be available through tutorials. Other exercises may take the form of an online quiz that students take before a laboratory practical to check they are adequately prepared, or afterwards to check their results. |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
---|---|
|
Lectures - these are normally two hours per week per subject, mainly introducing key concepts but may be interactive (using audience response systems). Many are recorded and made available for later private study. Note, however, that some subjects (e.g. programming) may be taught without lectures, being entirely based on practical work in the laboratory.Tutorials - some subjects provide one-to-one help from academic staff or teaching assistants, e.g. via drop-in classes.Project supervision - academic staff supervise individual research projects, normally taken in the final year, where students can choose a topic from a list or, if desired, propose their own topic. Earlier years include group projects, developing team-working skills. Demonstrations/Practical classes - much of the practical work in the first two years involves laboratory work in which students work through assignments with advice and feedback from demonstrators (academic staff and teaching assistants). Guided independent study - with help from staff, students are encouraged to develop their independent study skills - for example, to find solutions to open-ended design problems. |
Methods of Assessment | |
Assessment is used either to award credit ("summative" assessment) or to allow students to check on their progress ("formative" assessment). In the case of formative assessment, the emphasis is on providing feedback to students to help improve future work, rather than simply assigning a mark. The types of assessment used are as follows: Written exam - normally two or three hours, held at the end of the semester (half-year). This is the main form of summative assessment, and accounts typically for 80% of the credit in most subjects. The remaining forms of assessment are known as "coursework". Written assignment - an essay written in the student's own time. Report - usually covering a laboratory activity and its results; typically two or three per semester. Dissertation - the outcome of a research project; a student usually does only one during the degree programme. Oral assessment and presentation - typically this takes the form of a "poster session" where students present a poster showing the results of their final-year research project and answer questions from staff. There may also be presentations given by project groups to the rest of the class. Practical skills assessment - tests are sometimes set in the laboratory to ensure that students are able to use instruments and software systems properly. Set exercises - typically these are problems that students can work through voluntarily in their own time to check their understanding, and so this is essentially formative assessment; help may be available through tutorials. Other exercises may take the form of an online quiz that students take before a laboratory practical to check they are adequately prepared, or afterwards to check their results. |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
---|---|
|
Lectures - these are normally two hours per week per subject, mainly introducing key concepts but may be interactive (using audience response systems). Many are recorded and made available for later private study. Note, however, that some subjects (e.g. programming) may be taught without lectures, being entirely based on practical work in the laboratory.Tutorials - some subjects provide one-to-one help from academic staff or teaching assistants, e.g. via drop-in classes.Project supervision - academic staff supervise individual research projects, normally taken in the final year, where students can choose a topic from a list or, if desired, propose their own topic. Earlier years include group projects, developing team-working skills. Demonstrations/Practical classes - much of the practical work in the first two years involves laboratory work in which students work through assignments with advice and feedback from demonstrators (academic staff and teaching assistants). Guided independent study - with help from staff, students are encouraged to develop their independent study skills - for example, to find solutions to open-ended design problems. |
Methods of Assessment | |
Assessment is used either to award credit ("summative" assessment) or to allow students to check on their progress ("formative" assessment). In the case of formative assessment, the emphasis is on providing feedback to students to help improve future work, rather than simply assigning a mark. The types of assessment used are as follows: Written exam - normally two or three hours, held at the end of the semester (half-year). This is the main form of summative assessment, and accounts typically for 80% of the credit in most subjects. The remaining forms of assessment are known as "coursework". Written assignment - an essay written in the student's own time. Report - usually covering a laboratory activity and its results; typically two or three per semester. Dissertation - the outcome of a research project; a student usually does only one during the degree programme. Oral assessment and presentation - typically this takes the form of a "poster session" where students present a poster showing the results of their final-year research project and answer questions from staff. There may also be presentations given by project groups to the rest of the class. Practical skills assessment - tests are sometimes set in the laboratory to ensure that students are able to use instruments and software systems properly. Set exercises - typically these are problems that students can work through voluntarily in their own time to check their understanding, and so this is essentially formative assessment; help may be available through tutorials. Other exercises may take the form of an online quiz that students take before a laboratory practical to check they are adequately prepared, or afterwards to check their results. |
Statement of expectations from the students at each level of the programme as it/they develop year on year.
Level C/4 - Certificate |
Students will have gathered the basics of Programming and Electronic Design. They will also have mastered all the mathematics required for future units. |
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Level I/5 - Intermediate |
Students will know how to design a system consisting of hardware and software components that operate concurrently, and have a basic understanding of how it communicates with the outside world. |
Level H/6 - Honours |
Students will know how to control actuators in the outside world, and how to interpret data from the outside world. |
Level M/7 - Masters |
Students will know how to develop large scale systems that are efficient, correct, power efficient. In addition, student will have gained depth in options of their choice in the areas of networking, image and video, etc. |
The intended learning outcome mapping document shows which mandatory units contribute towards each programme intended learning outcome.
For information on the admissions requirements for this programme please see details in the undergraduate prospectus at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/prospectus/undergraduate/ or contact the relevant academic department.
Workload Statement
Student workloads in the Engineering Faculty are calculated on the assumption that you will work an average of 40 hours per week over the 30 weeks of the academic year. 10 credits therefore represents about 100 hours of student work. This workload includes all activities related to the delivery and assessment of taught units.
A major component of this load is the time that you spend in class, in contact with the teaching staff, which includes lectures, laboratories, computing classes, tutorials, examples classes and design classes. In the early years of the Engineering programmes this scheduled time typically amounts to 17 -25 hours per week; in the later years this reduces to 7-12 hours as more time is allocated to un-scheduled work on individual or group projects.
Outside timetabled activities you are expected to pursue your own independent learning in order to build your knowledge and understanding of the subjects you are studying. Such independent activities include reviewing lecture material, reading textbooks, working on examples sheets, completing coursework, writing up laboratory notes, preparing for in-class progress tests and revising for examinations.
The 100 hours per 10 credits includes all the time that you will need to spend on completing coursework assignments to the required standard or preparing for and taking examinations. For units that are assessed by coursework alone, the full 100 hours per 10 credits is expected to be used in completing the coursework and so these units may put a higher demand on your time during the normal teaching year. Exams are held in January and May/June while coursework deadlines are spread out through the teaching year. You will therefore need to plan carefully to make sure that you can meet your coursework deadlines while still keeping up with your scheduled classes. Your Department will provide you with a coursework schedule each year to allow you to manage your workload efficiently.
Assessment Statement
Please select the following link for a statement about assessment. This is University of Bristol access only.
https://www.bris.ac.uk/engineering/currentstudents/handbooks/ughandbook/dean.html#assess
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Imperative and Functional Programming | COMS10016 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Computer Architecture | COMS10015 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Object-Oriented Programming and Algorithms I | COMS10017 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 |
Linear Circuits and Electronics | EENG10005 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-4 |
Engineering Mathematics 1 | EMAT10100 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-4 |
Discrete Mathematics | EMAT10704 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-4 |
Certificate of Higher Education | 120 |
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Computer Systems A | COMS20008 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Algorithms II | COMS20010 | 10 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Digital Systems | EENG20400 | 10 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Electronics 2 | EENG26000 | 10 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Signals and Systems | EENG21000 | 10 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Computer Systems B | COMS20012 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 |
Data-Driven Computer Science | COMS20011 | 10 | Mandatory | TB-2 |
Communications | EENG22000 | 10 | Mandatory | TB-2 |
Digital Design, Group Project | EENG28010 | 10 | Mandatory | TB-2 |
Principles of Professional Practice | MENG20008 | 10 | Mandatory | TB-2 |
Diploma of Higher Education | 120 |
Mandatory Unit EENG30009 is must pass. For the definition of must pass units please see the Glossary of Terms from Annex 1 to the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | |
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Individual Research Project 3 | EENG30009 | 40 | Mandatory | TB-4 |
Digital Filters and Spectral Analysis 3 | EENG31400 | 10 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Embedded and Real-Time Systems | EENG34030 | 10 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
VLSI Design 3 | EENG34050 | 10 | Mandatory | TB-2 |
Design Verification | COMS30024 | 10 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Design Verification (Teaching Unit) | COMS30026 | 0 | Mandatory | TB-1 |
Options - choose 40cps from the list below | ||||
Please note: if you pick Computer Science options you MUST pick both the 0 credit Teaching Unit and the associated credit-bearing Assessment Unit. Computer Science units are 10 credits in Teaching Block 1 and 20 credits in Teaching Block 2. | ||||
Networking Protocol Principles 3 | EENG30002 | 10 | Optional | TB-1 |
Optoelectronic Devices and Systems 3 | EENG30004 | 10 | Optional | TB-1 |
Mobile Communication Systems | EENG30010 | 10 | Optional | TB-1 |
Advanced Algorithms | COMS30041 | 10 | Optional | TB-1 |
Advanced Algorithms (Teaching Unit) | COMS30042 | 0 | Optional | TB-1 |
Artificial Intelligence (Teaching Unit) | COMS30014 | 0 | Optional | TB-1 |
Artificial Intelligence | COMS30013 | 10 | Optional | TB-1 |
Computational Neuroscience (Teaching Unit) | COMS30017 | 0 | Optional | TB-1 |
Computational Neuroscience | COMS30016 | 10 | Optional | TB-1 |
Computer Graphics (Teaching Unit) | COMS30020 | 0 | Optional | TB-1 |
Computer Graphics | COMS30018 | 10 | Optional | TB-1 |
Cryptology (Teaching Unit) | COMS30023 | 0 | Optional | TB-1 |
Cryptology | COMS30021 | 10 | Optional | TB-1 |
Image Processing and Computer Vision (Teaching Unit) | COMS30030 | 0 | Optional | TB-1 |
Image Processing and Computer Vision | COMS30032 | 10 | Optional | TB-1 |
Machine Learning (Teaching Unit) | COMS30035 | 0 | Optional | TB-1 |
Machine Learning | COMS30033 | 10 | Optional | TB-1 |
Security Behaviours (Teaching Unit) | COMS30038 | 0 | Optional | TB-1 |
Security Behaviours | COMS30036 | 10 | Optional | TB-1 |
Advanced Computer Architecture (Teaching Unit) | COMS30046 | 0 | Optional | TB-2 |
Advanced Computer Architecture | COMS30047 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Applied Cryptology (Teaching Unit) | COMS30048 | 0 | Optional | TB-2 |
Applied Cryptology | COMS30049 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Applied Data Science (Teaching Unit) | COMS30050 | 0 | Optional | TB-2 |
Applied Data Science | COMS30051 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
CGI (Teaching Unit) | COMS30058 | 0 | Optional | TB-2 |
CGI | COMS30059 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
High Performance Computing (Teaching Unit) | COMS30053 | 0 | Optional | TB-2 |
High Performance Computing | COMS30052 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 |
Options subject to availability | ||||
Computer Science and Electronics (BEng) | 120 |
Unit Pass Mark for Undergraduate Programmes:
For details on the weightings for classifying undergraduate degrees, please see the Agreed Weightings, by Faculty, to be applied for the Purposes of Calculating the Final Programme Mark and Degree Classification in Undergraduate Programmes.
For detailed rules on progression please see the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes and the relevant faculty handbook.
Please refer to the specific progression/award requirements for programmes with a preliminary year of study, the Gateway programmes and International Foundation programmes.
All undergraduate degree programmes allow the opportunity for a student to exit from a programme with a Diploma or Certificate of Higher Education.
Integrated Master's degrees may also allow the opportunity for a student to exit from the programme with an equivalent Bachelor's degree where a student has achieved 360 credit points, of which 90 must be at level 6, and has successfully met any additional criteria as described in the programme specification.
The opportunities for a student to exit from one of the professional programmes in Veterinary Science, Medicine, and Dentistry with an Award is outlined in the relevant Programme Regulations (which are available as an annex in the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes).
An Ordinary degree can be awarded if a student has successfully completed at least 300 credits with a minimum of 60 credits at Level 6.
The pass mark for the professional programmes in Veterinary Science, Medicine and Dentistry is 50 out of 100. The classification of a degree in the professional programmes in Veterinary Science, Medicine, and Dentistry is provided in the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
Please note: This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and the learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if he/she takes full advantage of the learning opportunities that are provided.
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