2-Term Pathway - International Year One in Computer Science - Continue to Bachelor of Science (Honours) - Computer Science

The 2-Term Pathway - International Year One in Computer Science - Continue to Bachelor of Science (Honours) - Computer Science program consists of a pathway program offered by StudyGroup at the Royal Holloway International Study Centre followed by entry into a university program offered at Royal Holloway, University of London. The International Year One is equivalent to the first year of an undergraduate degree and will prepare students to seamlessly transition into the second year of their chosen degree course at Royal Holloway. Specifically designed for international students, this two-semester program focuses on introducing them to the key concepts of their chosen field of study, while also improving their spoken and academic English.

The program is open to all students who have completed local high school education. If they are looking to study a degree abroad and would like to be fully immersed in the university life and culture beforehand, the International Year One is here to help.

The International Year One in Computer Science at the International Study Centre will prepare students to study Bachelor of Science Computer Science (International) at Royal Holloway, University of London.

The International Year One in Computer Science provides a platform to develop students' programming skills and gain hands-on experience with practical programming tasks. Designed to offer an innovative learning environment that supports enhanced learning, the programme will effectively build a beginner’s knowledge of programming or computer systems.

This programme will additionally support students with the required academic English language tuition, enabling them to improve their level of writing and speaking skills in order to successfully study a degree in English.

Computers, intelligent devices and the internet are central to so many aspects of 21st century life, from business and industry to governance and personal lives. Their potential for transforming economies, driving efficiencies and enhancing the well-being of societies is almost limitless. Royal Holloway's progressive curriculum will give students the knowledge and technical skills that employers need, and introduce them to pioneering ideas and technologies to help them to realise their ambitions.

Royal Holloway covers all the essentials of application development, from programming to software engineering, databases to web development, computer graphics to robotics, and information security. Students will also explore the fundamentals of computing – what computers do, and how efficiently they do it – and learn about a host of advanced technologies, from computer games, digital sound and music, to concurrent and parallel programming, machine learning, bioinformatics, the internet of things, computational finance and more. From the outset, students will be experimenting with programming games, robots, Gadgeteer kits, Subversion, JUnit testing, Scrum-based Agile software and more, in Royal Holloway's well-equipped laboratories.

Royal Holloway is a highly respected, research-focused department with a friendly approach and award-winning teaching. Royal Holloway offers a short-term summer work placement course and a dedicated personal adviser to guide students through their studies. Students will also be welcome to join the thriving Computing Society. They are one of only seven departments in the UK to hold the Athena SWAN bronze award for increasing female participation in computer science. 

The course’s modular structure gives students the flexibility to tailor their degree to their interests. Royal Holloway also offers them the opportunity to follow a specialist pathway that matches their career ambitions. At the end of year 1, they will have the option of transferring onto one of these pathways (Artificial Intelligence, Information Security or Distributed & Networked Computing), as well as onto a year-in-industry course, or onto the longer and more advanced integrated masters course. Transferring onto the Software Engineering pathway requires previous programming experience and early permission to take the Software Development course in year 1, rather than Object-oriented Programming.

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