BSc in Computing for Business
Course Information
| CAO Code: |
DC120 |
| Minimum Points: |
418 |
| NFQ Level: |
8 |
| Duration: |
4 Years |
| Contact: |
Programme Chair - jennifer.foster@dcu.ie |
Overview
Every business and industry needs smart, versatile graduates who understand computing and technology, and who can make good use of innovations like artificial intelligence, cloud computing and machine learning.
This degree will provide you with an understanding of how software addresses real-world computing problems. It will teach you how you can best use computing technology to help people work together and give companies a competitive edge in the marketplace.
Throughout this course, you will learn coding and programming, and get to grips with databases, operating systems and networks. But you will also study innovation and entrepreneurship, project management and presentation skills. In Year 4, you can even develop your own app, and build both a prototype and a rock-solid business plan.
The BSc in Computing for Business gives you the foundation for a career in managing business information systems and information technology for innovative enterprises. It aims to educate you as a high-end IT professional with knowledge of how business works and the roles of technology in the enterprise. It will teach practical skills in designing and managing information systems and deploying them effectively and creatively.
The skills you gain will be central to the development of the Irish and, indeed, the global economy over the coming decades. Moreover, those skills are portable. As a graduate of the BSc in Computing for Business, you will be ideally placed to pursue a career as an IT professional here in Ireland, elsewhere in Europe or across the world.
Course Structure
Throughout the 4 years of the degree, there are formal lectures, with a strong emphasis on practical applications in the computer labs, tutorials, ongoing assessments, and projects drawn from real-world situations. There is also a focus on transferable skills, such as communications, entrepreneurship, teamwork, critical thinking and problem-solving, resource management, ethical awareness, and research.
In Year 1, you will be focused on obtaining a solid understanding of computer technologies including operating systems and web-based platforms as well as essential mathematical concepts.
As you progress through your studies, you will continue to develop programming skills and will undertake courses in information technology, databases, web application development and networking. This will give you the necessary skills to work with computing technology across a broad spectrum of business enterprises and contexts. You will study business communication skills, which includes elements of report writing, making presentations, business communications and business practice.
In year 3 you will undertake a period of work placement. This placement integrates academic study with a closely related job, giving you an understanding of the professional and practical business world and will help you to stand out in the graduate employment market. Many companies recruit their INTRA students upon graduation.
In Year 4, you will study advanced modules in information systems, business strategy and management. In addition, you will complete a major team-based project. You will put into practice the skills and knowledge you have gained during the course and create an innovative final year project which you will showcase to industry at a student event.
INTRA
In Year 3, you will undertake a 7 month paid work placement as part of DCU's INTRA programme. This is usually with a business in Ireland but there are also opportunities to work abroad.
Core Modules
| Introduction to Computer Hardware | This module aims to introduce students to: Computer Hardware in general; basic Computer Hardware concepts; basic Computer Hardware and Operating System installation; Computer Hardware types and designs; Computer Hardware selection, deployment and management |
| Web Design | This module will introduce students to the principles of good design practise for websites, taking into consideration accessibility for users who may have a disability. The student will be able to choose the most appropriate technologies to design and implement a website to produce standards-compliant sites which include interactive content. The student will also be able to design their sites taking various types of access-device (desktop and mobile) into account. |
| Digital Innovation Management and Enterprise | The purpose of this module is to provide an introduction to digital innovation and enterprise. Students are expected to attend both seminars and group meetings throughout the semester and will apply knowledge gained to develop an online blog, group website and report. In this module students will develop knowledge and skills pertaining to project management. Students will engage with online learning and a group project. |
| Business Applications | This course aims to broaden the student’s computer literacy skills through the use of current Microsoft Office suite providing the students with increased competence, productivity, and credibility in any business environment. Emphasis is on word processing, spreadsheets and presentations working with: Word, Excel and Power Point. Students should master to an advanced level on how to use the applications in the MS Office suite and how to transfer data from one application to another. After course completion, students will be able to use these programs to their full capacity for both business and personal use. |
| Manage Enterprise Computer Systems | This module equips students with the basic skills necessary to administer modern enterprise operating systems. The syllabus includes the installation and configuration of software packages, starting and stopping services, signals, configuration of network interfaces, management of user accounts, shell scripting, file systems and conventional file system layouts, backups, standard operating system tools and the troubleshooting of operating system issues. |
| Collaboration and Innovation | One of the biggest challenges in collaboration is effective communication and co-operation between team members. The objective of this mode is to equip students with experience and understanding of the different types of tools and collaborative tasks which they will encounter as professionals. Going from Ideation to creation, the students will learn about project management, communication, and collaborative tools to support them. |
| Data Analysis and Visualisation | The module aims to equip students with an understanding of data analysis and visualisation techniques and the knowledge of a variety of tools and statistical techniques to make sense of the emergence and exponential growth of big data. It will teach students to identify suitable approaches for business related issues. |
| Digital World | The aim of this module is to present the student with an overview of the current state-of-the-art in the world of digital media and the increasing digital nature of the world. The module will address issues of multimedia data creation and storage, including how to capture, encode and store. Given that capture and storage is only half the problem, the module will also present the student with an overview and an understanding of how to organise multimedia data, how to access the data and how search engines for multimedia data operate. The module includes coverage of these topics as they are applied to the WWW. Finally, the module will address a number of state-of-the-art concepts in Digital Multimedia and the digital world to give the student an understanding and appreciation of how digital technologies affect all aspects of our lives.. |
| Networks and Internet |
The Networks and Internet module introduces students to how different networks and the Internet work and how they interact. It equips them with knowledge to describe the internet's infrastructure and organisation as well as how typical web applications operate and how they use services, hidden from the user, to provide functionalities such as web browsing, email, instant messaging, online gaming and online shopping. It also enables them to understand the risks associated with computer network security and learn about the tools available to examine the security status of an Internet connected machine. |
| Problem-solving, Creativity and Critical Thinking | The module aims to consolidate and develop the student's ability - both in a group and individually - to solve problems, to be creative and to think critically. Students taking this module will explore and tackle a wide variety of problems, which may have relevance to programming, mathematics or both, but will be set in non-programming contexts. Students will also learn to validate the arguments in their own writing and that of others. The module is aimed at students who are relatively new to third-level education in the expectation that they will be better prepared for the demands of independent thought expected at third-level. |
| Programming Fundamentals | This is an introduction to computer programming. Students will learn to write simple computer programs, including variables, basic flow control, basic types (including strings). |
| Mathematics for Enterprise Computing | To give students a solid grounding in several mathematical topics of relevance to enterprise computing. |
| Business Systems Analysis | This module aims to introduce the student to the skills and techniques used to specify large software systems. In particular, the module will introduce the student to: - identifying and gathering software requirements; - specifying a set of requirements. It prepares student to understand tools and techniques useful at the industry level such as Unified Modeling Language (UML). |
| Enterprise Computer Systems Configuration | The purpose of this module is for the students to become familiar with setting up and managing network equipment and software as well as various servers used in modern enterprise computing environments. |
| Advanced Web Design | This module introduces more advanced aspects of web design. Students wil gain an understanding of semantic markup, CSS3, and including Javascript in web pages. Students will also gain an appreciation of reusable components, user experience and accessibility. |
| Systems Analysis | The module will introduce students to the state-of-the-art for research & practice in requirements analysis using the standards and concepts of system and requirement engineering (RE). This will include the stages of gathering requirements by use cases and documenting it by creating a software requirements specification (SRS) document. In addition, this module will examine the role of RE in software and systems engineering current techniques, notations, methods, processes and tools used in RE. |
| Enterprise Information Systems | To develop the students' knowledge of the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in business and organisational systems, and the organisational and technical issues relevant to developing and using such systems. |
| Business Database Management 1 | This module aims to familiarise the student with all aspects of database deployment in the modern business environment. It aims to ensure that the student has a sound grasp of key database technologies and software architectures and their environments and how these support on business processes and systems. The module gives the student a practical understanding of the pivotal nature of business information in the context of database systems and their integration with important ancillary business applications (Spreadsheets etc.). It provides the student with the practical skills which will allow them to understand all aspects of database management from the point of view of provision of timely information to key business processes. |
| Developing Internet Applications |
This module covers the process of designing, creating and deploying an internet application. Students will look at the various components necessary to develop an internet application including, but not limited to: The hardware/software on which the application runs; The software stack necessary to build and execute the application; Issues of performance and security which must be considered in the case of internet applications. |
| Programming Fundamentals 2 | This is a second course on computer programming. Students will learn to use structured data types including arrays (known as lists in some programming languages) and dictionaries (known as hash-maps in some programming languages). Students will be able to design simple algorithms using these structures, and write and debug computer programs requiring these data structures. Students will also learn how to write procedures/functions. |
| Programming Fundamentals 3 |
This is a continuing course on computer programming. Students will consolidate their knowledge of fundamental data structures and algorithms: how and when to use them in computational problem solving. Students will also learn to use the technique of recursion. They will also be introduced to the concepts of object-oriented programming (classes, objects, methods and attributes, etc.), and will learn how to design and write object-oriented programs. |
| Professional Practice for Enterprise Computing | The aim of this modules is to provide the learner with an ability to communicate effectively in business settings, to prepare students for the workplace (INTRA) and to provide an appreciation for the Social, Legal, Ethical and issues associated with a professional work environment. |
| Project Management | The Project Management module introduces students to how projects are planned, performed, and managed across different stages from inception to completion. It gives students an understanding of requirements and practices regarding developing the schedule, resource utilisation, determining costs, managing risk, closing a project and related ethical issues. It also introduces the different responsibilities and skills needed to manage a project, the effect of legal and organisation policies, and how to manage them within the project lifecycle. |
| Year 3 | Year 4 |
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Interviews with Current Students and Graduates
Careers and Further Options
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Career Prospects |
Career Areas |
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Business Analyst Network Engineer Project Manager System Analyst Technical Support Web Developer |
Finance Companies Government Sector IT Companies Career Prospects Systems Analyst Business Analyst Technical Support Network Engineer Web Developer Project Manager |
Master's Degrees
Graduates of this course can progress to our MSc in Computing and specialise in a number of areas: Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies, Data Analytics, FinTech & Technology Innovation or Secure Software Engineering.