Technology Degree Accelerator Programme
Heriot-Watt University
UCAS Code: GC22 | Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Must also have GCSE English & Mathematics at Grade C/4
GCSE/National 4/National 5
5 GCSEs at Grade C/4 including English & Mathematics.
UCAS Tariff
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About this course
Our Bachelor Degree Accelerator Programme (The Accelerator) is an alternative route to begin your degree offering direct entry to second-year study across our undergraduate degrees.
**Learning style**
The Accelerator’s style of teaching will best prepare you for degree level studies with lectures, tutorials and seminars, encouraging independent thinking and developing your academic knowledge and skills.
The intensive and focused programme will enable you to:
• transition seamlessly into degree-level studies;
• make an informed choice about your degree;
• develop independent learning skills through our problem-based and student-centric learning approaches;
• learn to work in groups, conduct research and deliver presentations.
**Course options**
The first year of The Accelerator can normally be completed within one academic year (nine months). The programme comprises four year-long courses of 30 credits each.
**Academic skills**
This course introduces students to the study skills, practices and expectations of university study while preparing you to better participate in a tertiary learning environment. Throughout the course, there will be an emphasis on the utility and transferability of these academic skills and competencies not only for foundation and degree studies, but also for employability and lifelong learning.
**Option courses**
There are four options for the technology programme, you will need to choose three:
• Mathematics (recommended)
• Computing (recommended)
• Physics (recommended)
• Chemistry
**Degree pathways**
Successful completion of Year 1 of the Accelerator programme offers a direct pathway into Year 2, of a wide range of professionally relevant degrees:
• Data Sciences, BSc
• Computer Science, BSc (Hons)
• Computer Science and Diploma in Industrial Training, BSc (Hons)
• Computer Science (Computer Games Programming), BSc (Hons)
• Computer Systems (Computer Games Programming), BSc (Hons)
• Computer Systems, BSc (Hons)
• Computer Systems and Diploma in Industrial Training, BSc (Hons)
• Computer Science (Cyber Security), BSc (Hons)
• Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence), BSc (Hons)
• Computer Science (Data Science), BSc (Hons)
• Computer Science (Data Science) and Diploma in Industrial Training, BSc (Hons)
• Computer Science (Software Engineering), BSc (Hons)
• Software Engineering, MEng
• Information Systems (Internet Systems), BSc (Hons)
• Information Systems (Management), BSc (Hons)
• Information Systems (Interaction Design), BSc (Hons)
• Information Systems, BSc (Hons)
• Information Systems and Diploma in Industrial Training, BSc (Hons)
• Actuarial Science and Diploma in Industrial Training 1, BSc (Hons)
• Combined Studies, BSc (Hons)
Tuition fees
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What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Electrical and electronic engineering
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Information technology
Sorry, no information to show
This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Software engineering
Sorry, no information to show
This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Electrical and electronic engineering
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
This is one of the more popular areas to study engineering and there is not quite such a serious shortage of electrical engineers as there is of other engineering subjects - but there's still plenty of demand. The most common jobs are in telecommunications, electrical and electronic engineering, but there is some crossover with the computing industry, so many graduates start work in IT and computing jobs. At the moment, there's a particular demand for electrical engineers in the electronics, and the car and aerospace industries, and also in defence, and salaries can vary across the country depending on the industry you start in. Bear in mind that a lot of courses are four years long, and lead to an MEng qualification — this is necessary if you want to become a Chartered Engineer.
Information technology
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
Software engineering
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
A specialist subject, and not surprisingly graduates tend to go into software engineering roles or related. The degree classification students achieved made a particular difference last year — computing graduates with the best grades were much less likely to be out of work after six months and employers can even rate a good grade as important as work experience. Most students do get jobs, though, and starting salaries are good — particularly in London, where average starting salaries for good graduates were getting towards £38k last year. Be aware that at the moment, recruitment agencies are much the most common way for graduates from this degree to get their first job, so it may be worth getting in touch with a few specialist agencies in advance of graduation if you take this degree to get a foot in the door.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Electrical and electronic engineering
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£26k
£31k
£35k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Information technology
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£26k
£33k
£39k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Software engineering
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£26k
£33k
£39k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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Higher entry requirements
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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
Have a question about this info? Learn more here
