BEng Electronic Engineering & Computer Science

Course outline

Computer systems have a dramatic impact on the way we work and live with new technology developing every week.

Modern digital electronics and computing systems and desirable gadgets are all pervasive in commerce, industry and the home. They form one of the most rapidly changing and influential technologies in modern society.

To gain the competitive edge over its global rivals British industry and commerce needs trained computer systems engineers with skills in both hardware and software who can assess, contribute to, harness and influence the growth of information technology.

Jump to:

• Subject guide & modules
• Learning, teaching & assessment
• Placement year
• Professional accreditation
• Career prospects
• Facilities & equipment
• Further information
  

Subject guide & modules

The EECS course at Aston aims to meet this challenge by expanding the breadth and depth of our students’ knowledge in electronics, internet technology, computing, digital systems and software design and by encouraging the development of essential professional skills.

You will gain a solid grounding in software engineering and computing systems which will be complemented by engineering expertise in digital electronics and telecommunications. The emphasis is on gaining a specialist and extremely valuable set of skills that form a bridge between the hardware and software specialist; to achieve this you will study computing and electronics with single honours students from the electronic engineering and computer science subject groups.

Year 1

• Digital and Analogue Electronics 
• Electrical Systems Engineering 
• Transition Mathematics
• Engineering Mathematics
• IT & Communications Skills
• Introduction to Business Management
• Java Programming Foundations 
• Java Program Development 

Year 2

• Digital and Programmable Systems 
• Computing Systems Engineering
• Themed Design Project 
• Software Engineering 
• Prof Aspects Computing
• Operating Systems
• HCI
• Data Structures Java

Year 3 - Optional placement year

See placement year section or find out more about the Aston placement year.

Final Year

• Individual Final Year Project
• Digital Systems Design
• Contractual Software Development
  

Specialist electives including:

• Digital Transmission
• Internetworking
• Radio Systems and PC Networks
• Digital Systems Architecture
• Signal Processing
• Information Security
• Distributed Systems
• Distributed Applications
• Programming Language Implementation
• Software Engineering: Management and Metrics
• Innovation Management
• Energy Efficiency
• HCI

Learning, teaching & assessment

You will benefit from a range of teaching methods and learning styles, including formal lectures; laboratory and design classes, and seminars; computing classes; small groups tutorials with a personal tutor; computer-aided learning and virtual learning environments.  You can expect an exciting learning experience with practical work and taught material integrated throughout the degree course.

During the year you will find a sequence of formative assessments to re-enforce and enhance the taught material. The overall assessment is a collation of marks from examination, classroom and laboratory exercises, internet-based practical assessments and oral presentations.

Placement year

As a student of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science you can choose to opt for a four year sandwich course and incorporate an integrated year of paid industrial placement with an electronics or computing company. The placement will allow you to gain invaluable professional experience, improve your attractiveness to employers and will help you make a more informed judgement about your future career.

Find out more about placement years at Aston.

Professional accreditation

Our courses have been developed in collaboration with the electronics and telecommunications professions. All courses in the Electronic Engineering Academic Group are accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET, formerly the IEE). The BEng Electronic Engineering & Computer Science is also accredited by BCS The Chartered Institute for IT (BCS).

Career prospects

Our graduates have been in high demand from employers offering career opportunities in business, commerce or the public sector, in Britain and abroad.

Graduates have readily found employment in areas as diverse as:

• Hardware Engineer for ABB
• Graduate Trainee for MOD
• IT consultancy with Accenture
• Software Verification Engineer with TRW Lucas
• System Programming with IBM
• Systems Analysis with Reuters
• Systems Engineering with Schlumberger
• Management Consultancy with PricewaterhouseCoopers
• Stock Exchange Graduate for First Continental Trading
• Software Engineer with Smiths Aerospace
• PhD research
  

Facilities & equipment

You will have access to an extensive network of computer facilities including high performance PCs for industrial standard ECAD, suites of PCs, Unix workstations and Multimedia capable Macs for day-to-day work and a large number of embedded processors for lab work. These resources are complemented by specialist electronics, telecommunications and networked laboratories and research facilities.

Further information

EAS Undergraduate Admissions Office
+44 (0)121 204 3400
engineering@aston.ac.uk