Bachelor of Science (Computer Science and Information Technology)

Bachelor of Science (Honours) Computer Science and Information Technology

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Course Overview
Key Facts
Course Outline
Further Education
Why Choose This Course?
Course Fees
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Computer Science and Information Technology at University of Galway

Entry Points (2024)

498

Course Overview

We depend on electronic devices, such as computers and mobile phones, computer software and networks to store, process, transmit, retrieve and manipulate information.
Students will cover the technology used in these devices and will focus on the development of the software applications that make these devices useful.

The programme has a flexible course structure, where students can choose to study a range of Next-Generation Technology areas including: Digital Media and Games, Enterprise Informatics, Energy Informatics, Computational Mathematics, Scientific Computing and Medical/ Bio-informatics.

These core subjects provide a solid theoretical and applied background in Computer Science and Information Technology.

Work Placement

As part of this four-year course, students will undertake an eight month (January - August) off-campus work placement in an industrial setting following completion of their thrid year of study. In the event that no external placement is available, students will be given projects on campus. This work experience programme gives students an opportunity to work on projects relevant to their study and significantly improves their chances of obtaining employment after graduation. Read more about Engineering work placements.

Accreditation

All Engineering Degrees at NUI Galway are professionally accredited by the statutory professional body, Engineers Ireland. This “Accreditation” means that the degree has been assessed and approved to meet the educational requirements for professional Engineers.

Under an international agreement (Washingon Accord), any Degree accredited by the National professional body (Engineers Ireland) is recognized internationally. So having an “Accredited” degree means that employers outside of Ireland can (1) understand the quality/education achieved by a graduate and (2) know that it is equivalent to their own Education system/standards, and (3) can offer appropriate employment on this basis. For example, certain functions (sign off on large civil engineering construction projects) can only be carried out by a chartered engineer.
Engineers Ireland changed the criteria for Accreditation in 2012, and now require a Masters (Level 9) qualification as the education standard required for Registered Professional Titles of Chartered Engineer* (prior to this, a Level 8 degree was required). The changes were implemented because the standard European engineering qualification (degree or diplome) is at level 9, and European industry maintains a strict differentiation between those engineers qualified at level 9 and those qualified at level 8. Any graduate interested in working in Europe/Worldwide is now strongly advised to get an accredited level 9 award.
Engineers Ireland accreditation can be obtained at the following levels:
- Level 8: 4-year honours degree – associate engineer
- Level 9: 5-year masters degree – chartered engineer

*A Chartered Engineer is the highest professional education standard in Engineering. A chartered Engineer is competent (because of their education and training) to assume personal responsibility for the development and application ofengineering in research, design, construction, manufacturing, superintending, managing and in the education of the engineer. His/her work is predominantly intellectual and varied and not of a routine mental or physical character. It requires the exercise of original thought and judgement and the ability to supervise the technical and administrative work of others.

Applications and Selections

Who Teaches this Course

Requirements and Assessment

Key Facts

Entry Requirements

Minimum Grade H5 in two subjects and passes in four other subjects at O6/H7 Level in the Leaving Certificate, including Irish, English, Mathematics, and any three other subjects recognised for entry purposes. Students must also obtain a minimum Grade O2 or H6 in Mathematics or alternatively obtain a pass in the Engineering Maths Qualifying Examination (held in the University).

Additional Requirements

Students must obtain a minimum Grade O2 or H6 in Mathematics or alternatively places available (which may vary in number year to year) may be allocated to those candidates who have achieved the points requirement for the programme that year, who satisfy the general requirements for Matriculation in the College of Engineering and Informatics and who attain a Pass in the Engineering Maths Qualifying Examination. The places available will be allocated in strict order of merit based points attained in the Leaving Certificate. Due to capacity constraints, not all candidates who achieve a pass in the examination may receive an offer.

For A-Levels a Grade D in A-Level Mathematics or Grade B in O-Level Mathematics is required.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

Duration

4 year

Next start date

September 2025

A Level Grades (2024)

universityofgalway.ie/alevels

Average intake

QQI/FET FETAC Entry Routes

Closing Date

NFQ level

Mode of study

ECTS weighting

Award

Bachelor of Science (Honours) Computer Science and Information Technology

CAO

GY350

Course code

Course Outline

Curriculum Information

Curriculum information relates to the current academic year (in most cases).
Course and module offerings and details may be subject to change.

Glossary of Terms

Credits: You must earn a defined number of credits (aka ECTS) to complete each year of your course. You do this by taking all of its required modules as well as the correct number of optional modules to obtain that year's total number of credits.
Module: An examinable portion of a subject or course, for which you attend lectures and/or tutorials and carry out assignments. E.g. Algebra and Calculus could be modules within the subject Mathematics. Each module has a unique module code eg. MA140.
Subject: Some courses allow you to choose subjects, where related modules are grouped together. Subjects have their own required number of credits, so you must take all that subject's required modules and may also need to obtain the remainder of the subject's total credits by choosing from its available optional modules.
Optional: A module you may choose to study.
Required: A module that you must study if you choose this course (or subject).
Required Core Subject: A subject you must study because it's integral to that course.
Semester: Most courses have 2 semesters (aka terms) per year, so a three-year course will have six semesters in total. For clarity, this page will refer to the first semester of year 2 as 'Semester 3'.

Year 1 (60 Credits)

Year 2 (60 Credits)

Year 3 (60 Credits)

Year 4 (60 Credits)

Further Education

Graduates can pursue postgraduate study as Masters or PhD students. Directly after their undergraduate courses, students can earn a Master of Science (MSc) Degree, which involves either course work with a minor thesis, or research work with a major thesis, or students can enter a PhD programme.

Why Choose This Course?

Career Opportunities

Graduates of the BSc in Computer Science & Information Technology are highly skilled and are equipped to take on employment as professional engineers, designers and consultants in a range of organisations, specialising in areas such as software design and development, digital media and games, IT consultancy, telecommunications and medical informatics. Career prospects for IT/computing graduates are very strong in Ireland and throughout the world. The government’s Expert Group on Future Skill Needs has highlighted a shortfall in the number of IT/computing graduates as the number of students studying IT/computing is not adequate to meet the demands in virtually every sector.

Who’s Suited to This Course

Learning Outcomes

Transferable Skills Employers Value

Work Placement

Study Abroad

Related Student Organisations

Course Fees

Fees: EU

€7,268 p.a. (€7,408 p.a. including levy) 2025/26

Fees: Tuition

€4,268 p.a. 2025/26

Fees: Student Contribution

€3,000 p.a. 2025/26

Fees: Student levy

€140 p.a. 2025/26

Fees: Non EU

€27,000 p.a. (€27,140 including levy). 2025/26

EU Fees are comprised of Tuition + Student Contribution Charge + Student Levy* €140. *Payable by all students and is not covered by SUSI. Further detail here.

For 25/26 entrants, where the course duration is greater than 1 year, there is an inflationary increase approved of 3.4% per annum for continuing years fees**.
**Excludes Full-Time EU Undergraduate fees. These are fixed and do not change.

Find out More

School of Computer Science, College of Science and Engineering

T:+353 (0)91 493143

E:computerscience@universityofgalway.ie

W:www.cs.universityofgalway.ie

What Our Students Say

Alan Cunningham | BSc (Information Technology)

I chose the IT undergraduate course because I was interested in technology and the software behind it. Through the course I was challenged to think creatively to solve problems and discovered how systems that are incorporated into everyday life work. I also met many people who shared similar interests and we were able to incorporate these into various class group projects which included music, computer games and artificial intelligence. The degree has led me to postgraduate research in artificial intelligence in University of Galway.