Computer technology is increasingly embedded in business processes and society, which means there are always opportunities for suitably qualified professionals. Equivalent to two years of a university degree, this Computing HND offers you the practical and personal skills needed for a role in the sector or progression to higher-level study.

Key information

Award:

HND

Mode of Study:

Full-time

Duration:

2 years

Location:

Bolton College

UCAS points:

UCAS code:

104G

Start date:

20/09/2021

Course Details

This Level 5 HND in Computing can help you turn your interest in technology into a rewarding career opportunity. It’s designed to develop your knowledge and skills across a range of computing and information technologies that are essential to businesses in this evolving sector of the economy. The course also aims to help you gain key transferable skills that are highly valued by employers.

Throughout the course, our team of dedicated experts will guide you as you gain knowledge and understanding, as well as practical, professional and subject specific skills. Your studies will focus on the core knowledge that is required by all computing professionals, such as programming, networking, database design and development, security, professional practice, business intelligence and how to manage a successful computing project. You’ll build on this learning with optional units that concentrate on developing your understanding and skills in areas such as games development and advanced programming, where you can use your imagination and creativity to modify and manipulate software to create animations and cutting-edge interfaces.

We’ll help you learn essential skills from problem-solving, through supporting individual computer users and organisations, to maintaining and managing their online systems. You’ll undertake an individual research project, where you’ll explore and examine a relevant and current topical aspect of computing in the context of a business environment. Overall, we’ll support you as you develop cognitive, intellectual and thinking skills, and gain valuable key, personal and transferable skills ready for employment or further study.

Highlights

The course provides opportunities for you to make progress towards achieving eligibility for professional body membership and vendor certification, with organisations such as the BCS, CompTIA, CISCO, Microsoft, Oracle and AXELOS.
The computer suites at Bolton College offer up-to-date, high-specification equipment and software.
We’ll encourage you to undertake a work placement during the summer break – this is recommended but is not a course requirement.
On successful completion of this programme you’ll be awarded a Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Computing.
Bolton College scores highly in student satisfaction surveys for its HE provision, and we take pride in being able to offer you the opportunity to learn from industry-experienced staff.

Key Features

This course offers essential subject knowledge that you’ll need to progress successfully within or into the world of work or onto further study.
Our approach to teaching and learning is ‘student-centred’, so we’ll work with you on an individual basis, providing tailored help and support throughout your studies.
You’ll have the opportunity to develop and enhance crucial skills such as communication, teamwork, organising and planning, numeracy, problem solving, flexibility and adaptability, action planning, self-awareness, initiative, personal impact and confidence, environmental sustainability, and social, public and ethical responsibility.
You’ll have the chance to take part in project trips to gain first-hand experience in the industry; and gain knowledge and insights from guest speakers during class time.

Professional recognition

Holders of the Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Computing are eligible for Associate Membership of the BCS. The BCS represents IT professionals both in the UK and internationally and are a member organisation of CEPIS (Council of European Professional Informatics Societies).

48 UCAS points. Please see our guide to the UCAS Tariff for examples of how to achieve these points.
Any subjects are acceptable at Level 3. You should also have two GCSEs at grade C or above or grade 4 to 9 (or equivalent) in English and Mathematics.
Entry to this course is also available to applicants who have extensive appropriate work experience in the IT sector. If you don’t possess the academic qualifications listed above but have extensive appropriate work experience we’ll be delighted to consider your application.
You’ll be required to attend an interview and/or provide a portfolio of work.
If English isn’t your first language you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

If you choose to complete a BTEC HND in Computing it’s expected that you’ll be aiming to go on to employment or progress to a final year at university. Pearson developed these qualifications in close collaboration with experts from employers, vendors, professional bodies, universities and colleges to ensure you gain the skills and knowledge you’ll need to succeed in the future – whichever route you take.

What can I do with this qualification?

This HND is designed to prepare you for a career in general computing, in roles such as systems analyst, data designer, systems tester, database administrator, IT project manager, IT support technician and web designer.

If you successfully complete the Pearson BTEC Level 5 HND in Computing you’ll be able to progress onto a higher level qualification. For instance, you’ll be eligible to apply for final year top-up programmes, such as the University of Bolton’s BSc (Hons) Computing (Top-up). Further study in specialist areas such as network engineering, software engineering, data analytics, security, intelligent systems, and applications development should also be possible.

Alternative career options

Diploma holders can also use the qualification to enter a range of other careers, and for some of these roles, both relevant experience and/or further study may be required. Some of these careers include:

Digital copywriting
IT sales
IT training
Teaching
Research and development
Network engineering
Product management
Technical writing
Social media management
Cyber security
Information systems management
Games development

Course fees

Home EU Fees	Year of study			Total
Entry year	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23
2020	£5,996	£5,996	-	£11,992
2021	-	£5,996	£5,996	£11,992

The fees for a student’s course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.

The university is currently awaiting government guidelines as to EU fee charges for students commencing study in 2021-2022.

For 2021-2022 entry, the maximum government approved undergraduate tuition fee for UK students is £9,250 per year. The University is able to charge this fee subject to an approved Access and Participation Plan for 2021-2022 and its current rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework.

Bursaries

Click here for more information about the scholarships and bursaries available to University of Bolton undergraduate students.

For details of how to apply for this course, please choose your status from the options below:

You may apply directly to the University using the University's online application form. Please select your chosen start date from the list below:

You should have to hand:

Details of the educational establishments you attended and dates
Your certificates for the qualifications you are using to gain entry to the course – you will need to enter the completion date and upload copies
Details of any employment history including name, address, dates and role
Personal statement – this can be either input into the relevant field or uploaded separately
Details including e-mail addresses of two referees, at least one of which should be someone who can provide an academic reference

Please make sure any documents you wish to upload in support of your application are in pdf or jpeg format. Personal statements may be word documents.

Please ensure your data is correct at each stage of the application before you proceed to the next page. If you use the back button at any time during the application, you should check the validity of the data you have already input.

If you experience difficulties during the application process, contact the Admissions Team on 01204 903394 or admissions@bolton.ac.uk

Apply online: Bolton College Pearson BTEC HND Computing - Bolton College - 20 September 2021

International applications are not possible for this course

As an international student you are not allowed to study this course because of the restrictions on your visa.

We offer a wide range of full-time courses in lots of different subjects, many of our courses start in September and January. If you would like to see what courses are available please visit our Course Search.

University of Bolton Group Partners

Bolton College
University Technical College
University of Bolton

The University welcomes applications from our group partners and progressing students so we try to make our application process as simple and as fast as possible. By selecting the link for your chosen course from the list shown below you will be taken directly to our online application form. Please read the user guidance before completing this and ensure you upload all supporting documents such as certificates and your personal statement when you apply.

Please ensure when you are asked to add a contact email address you add your college/university email account address as well as your personal address. If you do not add your college address as your contact address we will be unable to identify you as a partner and you will be referred to apply via UCAS, which incurs a cost.

Apply online: Bolton College Pearson BTEC HND Computing - Bolton College - 20 September 2021

We look forward to receiving your application and you continuing your academic journey with us!

The varied nature of this HND programme means that we use a wide range of teaching and learning methods. In order to ensure you acquire and develop the appropriate concepts, knowledge and skills, we combine timetabled classes with student-centred and independent learning. You can expect to attend lectures, practical sessions, workshops, tutorials and informal group study sessions. There will also be opportunities to go on site visits to view state-of-the-art projects, and attend guest lectures by specialists from industry, professional bodies or other academic institutions.

There are significant opportunities to spend time with the tutors and technicians during timetabled classes, practical work and tutorials. However, we’ll still expect you to devote a significant amount of time to personal study. For example, this time might be spent engaging in general background reading, revisiting practical work, attending technical meetings and lectures provided by professional bodies or working on assignments.

We use a range of assessment methods, depending upon the learning outcome in question and the type of module content being assessed. You’ll have opportunities to test your understanding of subjects informally before you complete the formal assessments that count towards your final mark or grade. Each module/unit will normally contain at least one piece of practice or ‘formative’ assessment for which you’ll receive feedback from your tutor. Practice assessments are developmental and any grades/marks you receive for them do not count toward your module/unit mark or grade.

There is a formal or ‘summative’ assessment at the end of each module/unit. Methods include a range of coursework assessment such as exams, essays, reports, portfolios, presentations, and final year major project. The grades from the formal assessments count towards your module/unit mark or grade.

Modules

The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.

Programming
Networking
Professional Practice
Database Design and Development
Security
Managing a Successful Computing Project (Pearson Set)
Computer Systems Architecture
Website Design and Development
Computing Research Project (Pearson Set)
Business Intelligence
Advanced Programming
Network Security
Emerging Technologies
Games Development
Operating Systems

Assessment methods

Level	Assesment method
Level one	Coursework 100%
Level two	Coursework 100%

Learning activities

Level	Learning activity
Level one	Guided independent study 60%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 40%
Level two	Guided independent study 60%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 40%

Disclaimer

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.