BSc Smart Systems (Dual Honours)
Annual Intake
8
Course Title
BSc Smart Systems
Lab Classes
3 hours per week
Lecture Hours
4 hours per week
Tutorials
1 hour per week
Course Information
Computing is fundamentally a problem-solving discipline, concerned with creating solutions that can meet an ever-increasing set of needs, and employing a wide range of tools and techniques to aid with developing these solutions. Smart Systems is therefore particularly suited to the Keele emphasis on Dual Honours programmes and helps prepare you for a wide range of career opportunities.
Smart Systems requires a solid grounding in Computer Science, and for that reason the course shares some modules with the Computer Science degree programme. As the course progresses you will delve more deeply into computational intelligence, with modules on expert systems, neural networks, robotics, logic programming and adaptive and evolutionary computing.
What About Maths?
Smart Systems is chiefly concerned with an ability to think logically, to handle abstract ideas, and to reason about these. Therefore, there are no specific subject requirements for entry to our course.
There are no specific subject requirements for entry to this course: A-level, AS-level or an equivalent in a science subject or Mathematics is desirable, but applicants with suitable qualifications in mathematically-based subjects and a range of good grades at GCSE will also be considered.
The degree programme itself does not involve an advanced level of mathematics. Any mathematical topics, beyond those covered at GCSE, required by the course will be taught as part of the degree.
Dual Honours
Smart Systems must be taken in combination with another subject as part of the Dual Honours degree programme (see the subject entry in the undergraduate prospectus for details).
Smart Systems is a discipline that both merits study in its own right, providing many fascinating problems, and also one which enables other disciplines, by providing powerful problem-solving strategies. Many synergies exist with other subjects across the range of the Dual Honours programme, from the humanities and the arts through to the natural sciences. The choice is a very wide one, both because of the structure of Keele's degree programme, and also because of the nature of the subject.
Students combining Smart Systems with a natural science or mathematics may specialise in one of the subjects in their final year - please see the prospectus for details.
Course Outline
In the first year of study the emphasis is placed upon learning to design and write programs to solve problems. You therefore study both the algorithmic aspects of programming and the use of data structures as a means of incorporating data and knowledge within programs. In addition, you learn about some of the fundamental concepts in computing and the way in which humans interact with technology.
The second year builds upon this foundation and introduces a number of different models for solving problems with computers. You examine some more advanced programming techniques and put them to use within the context of computational intelligence. You also explore some of the professional and ethical issues in computing.
During the final year, you study a selection of more advanced and specialist topics. Each student also undertakes an individual project which continues throughout the year, culminating in a written dissertation.
First Year Modules
Fundamentals of Computing
Programming I - Programming Fundamentals
Programming II - Data Structures & Algorithms
Human Computer Interaction
Second Year Modules
Requirements, Evaluation & Professionalism
Computational Intelligence I
System Lifecycles & Design
Programming III - Advanced Programming Practices
Virtual Worlds
Third Year Modules
Software Engineering Project Management
Advanced Databases and Applications
Advanced Information Systems
Games Computing
Communications and Networks
Electronic Commerce
IT Architectures
Computational Intelligence II