Does it make a huge difference whether a course is accreddited or not?

Hi,

Usually for computer science courses, they are accredited by the british computer society. If entering into a professional career, it is normal to receive recognition by the appropriate body. That demonstrates a commitment to the profession and a high standard of work. For example, as an aerospace engineer, I would become a Chartered Engineer and have membership to the Royal Aeronautical Society. My chartered status would indicate to employers I have reached a standard of professional quality suitable to carry out a particular level of work. Its a standardisation across the field.

To become a chartered engineer, its necessary to have a period of work experience and be educated to a certain standard. Accredited courses have been recognised by the appropraite professional body to meet those academic standards to reach professional qualification.

Therefore, having an accredited course is not a necessity, but will be more helpful in your continued professional development post university. It should also give you reassurance of the quality of the teaching and course you are receiving. I would personally not choose to study a course not accredited over one that is.

If it is accredited it is likely to be more recognised by employers as well. If it is because it offers Japanese, I would think about how important/essential Japanese is to your future career/personal happiness. For example, I study engineering, single major, no minor. But I study Arabic at the university for very cheap (£120). Each semester I have 12 x 2hr lessons. They also offer Japanese, spanish, mandarin, german, etc. Depending on your current level of Japanese, how long you will be at university and your commitment to study outside of your degree programme, you could potentially take it to quite a high level if you university offers the same language studies as mine.

Also, quite a number of engineering courses offer a study abroad theme, where you can go for a year or half a year to study in another country as part of your course. I have some friends going to America, Germany and Netherlands. These are other options you could also consider.

Hope that helps. The link to the british computer society is below. Have a look there for some more detailed info about CEng status and Chartered IT Professional status.

http://www.bcs.org/category/5844

hi

Theres this perfect course at Oxford Brookes which combines computer science with a Japanese. It said on the website that the course was no longer accreddited.

...where does it say that exactly?