Bachelor of Science (BSc)

BSc Computer Science with Industrial Experience

Graduate the most targeted university by top graduate employers, having already gained invaluable experience in industry (THE Graduate Market, 2023).
  • Duration: 4 years
  • Year of entry: 2025
  • UCAS course code: G405 / Institution code: M20
  • Key features:
  • Industrial experience
  • Scholarships available
  • Accredited course

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Fees and funding

Fees

Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2025 will be £9,535 per annum (subject to Parliamentary approval). Tuition fees for international students will be £36,000 per annum. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.

Policy on additional costs

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

Scholarships/sponsorships

The University of Manchester is committed to attracting and supporting the very best students. We have a focus on nurturing talent and ability and we want to make sure that you have the opportunity to study here, regardless of your financial circumstances.

For information about scholarships and bursaries please visit our  undergraduate student finance pages .

Course unit details:
Microcontrollers

Course unit fact file
Unit code COMP22712
Credit rating 10
Unit level Level 2
Teaching period(s) Semester 2
Available as a free choice unit? Yes

Overview

The module is a strong practical reinforcement of the software/hardware interface.  It provides experience in hardware/software codesign as well as dealing with interfacing techniques, from 'bit fiddling' to interrupt routines.  There is also an underpinning of operating systems and their implications in machine architecture.  The module uses custom designed hardware and software tools developed locally for this specific purpose.

Pre/co-requisites

Unit title Unit code Requirement type Description
Fundamentals of Computer Architecture COMP15111 Pre-Requisite Compulsory
Students who are not from the School of Computer Science must have permission from both Computer Science and their home School to enrol.

Aims

This module aims to familiarise students with the use of microprocessors/microcontrollers for simple control and interfacing applications. The module aims to develop the understanding of the programming and operation of a microprocessor (the RISC-V introduced in COMP15111) to include modular program construction, separation of user and operating system tasks and interfacing techniques at the hardware and software levels.  This course builds upon the understanding of processor operation and assembler programming introduced in COMP15111 and upon the logic design in introduced in COMP12111 to show how hardware and software interact in solving interfacing problems.  There is some variation towards the end of the module to accommodate different backgrounds.

Learning outcomes

  • interface, from the software side input and output devices with an embedded controller

  • customise simple digital I/O hardware

  • properly understand the von Neumann memory architecture (I can't think of a circumlocution which expresses this any better even if it does use a naughty word!)

  • write reasonably sizeable assembly language routines with all the familiarity with processor architecture that entails

  • write I/O software for parallel interfaces, including time-division multiplexing and timers

  • write interrupt-driven code

  • structure, lay-out and document code to a maintainable standard

Syllabus

  • Basic Interfacing [1]
  • Parallel I/O [2]
  • Procedure calls, Nesting & Stacking [2]
  • System calls, Privilege levels, Initialisation [2]
  • Timers [3]
  • Interrupts [2]
  • Real-time operation, User interaction [2]
  • Introduction to Verilog [3]/System design [3]
  • System design [3]/Project [3]

Teaching and learning methods

Lectures

No formal lectures

Laboratories

44 hours in total, 22 2-hour sessions

Employability skills

Analytical skills
Innovation/creativity
Problem solving
Other

Assessment methods

Method Weight
Practical skills assessment 100%

Feedback methods

Direct verbal feedback and advice in scheduled laboratory sessions.

'Automatic' feedback from tools seeing exercises work/fail.

Written feedback by annotating listings from submitted exercises.

Recommended reading

COMP22712 reading list can be found on the Department of Computer Science website for current students.

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
Practical classes & workshops 24
Independent study hours
Independent study 76

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
James Garside Unit coordinator

Additional notes

Course unit materials

Links to course unit teaching materials can be found on the School of Computer Science website for current students.

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