Best distance learning for Acess to HE Computer Science? Or A levels?

Original post by HumanPerson54

Is anyone aware of any distance learning courses that would be good for a undergrad in Computer science? Can't find many with the right modules

What is the specific degree that you want to do? Depending on the subject requirements, you might need certain modules at a certain number of credits in order to enroll in certain courses.

If the university is picky, they might require 15 credits in maths. In which case, the following courses might be suitable (you will need to email the course providers to check):
https://www.learndirect.com/course/access-to-higher-education-diploma-computer-science,
https://www.stonebridge.uk.com/course/access-to-higher-education-diploma-computer-science
https://www.stonebridge.uk.com/course/access-to-higher-education-diploma-computer-science-and-maths
https://courses.dncolleges.ac.uk/Courses?page=~/coursedisplay&CourseInformationID=5550
The alternative is 3 A Levels with one being maths. The other 2 can usually be in any subject you want (some top end universities might be picky and strongly encourage you to have further maths with your application though). This would strongly depend on the individual course as well as the individual university.

If the university is not picky, the following course should be OK:
https://accesscoursesonline.com/products/access-to-higher-education-diploma-computer-science-ref-400-0826-5
https://courses.dncolleges.ac.uk/Courses?page=~/coursedisplay&CourseInformationID=4307

For future reference, you can do your own search using the course directories at the exam body's website e.g.
https://www.accesstohe.ac.uk//en/course-search

Reply 2

HumanPerson54

OP

2

Original post by MindMax2000

What is the specific degree that you want to do? Depending on the subject requirements, you might need certain modules at a certain number of credits in order to enroll in certain courses.

If the university is picky, they might require 15 credits in maths. In which case, the following courses might be suitable (you will need to email the course providers to check):
https://www.learndirect.com/course/access-to-higher-education-diploma-computer-science,
https://www.stonebridge.uk.com/course/access-to-higher-education-diploma-computer-science
https://www.stonebridge.uk.com/course/access-to-higher-education-diploma-computer-science-and-maths
https://courses.dncolleges.ac.uk/Courses?page=~/coursedisplay&CourseInformationID=5550
The alternative is 3 A Levels with one being maths. The other 2 can usually be in any subject you want (some top end universities might be picky and strongly encourage you to have further maths with your application though). This would strongly depend on the individual course as well as the individual university.

If the university is not picky, the following course should be OK:
https://accesscoursesonline.com/products/access-to-higher-education-diploma-computer-science-ref-400-0826-5
https://courses.dncolleges.ac.uk/Courses?page=~/coursedisplay&CourseInformationID=4307

For future reference, you can do your own search using the course directories at the exam body's website e.g.
https://www.accesstohe.ac.uk//en/course-search

Thank you for your reply! I'm not yet decided on which University I want to aim for, I'm a mature student at 23. Ideally, I want to undertake a degree that has a chance against other candidates in the tech industry. I'm interested in the artificial intelligence, robotics, and cyber security fields of employment. However, I'm also considering engineering and business.

My main reason for wanting to complete a degree is to upskill myself so that I can have a interesting and challenging career compared to the lower-skilled temporary jobs I have held.

Reply 3

Original post by HumanPerson54

Thank you for your reply! I'm not yet decided on which University I want to aim for, I'm a mature student at 23. Ideally, I want to undertake a degree that has a chance against other candidates in the tech industry. I'm interested in the artificial intelligence, robotics, and cyber security fields of employment. However, I'm also considering engineering and business.

My main reason for wanting to complete a degree is to upskill myself so that I can have a interesting and challenging career compared to the lower-skilled temporary jobs I have held.

In which case, I would encourage you to look into engineering. I hold a certain bias against doing unnecessary degrees (if you're going for research, then it's a different matter).

Be it Access or A Levels, you should really look at what the entry requirements are for the specific degree that you want to do before applying. Doing random qualifications may mean you don't have the suitable qualifications you need and resulting you going back to do more qualifications. It gets expensive and becomes time consuming.

In terms of A Level options, if you want something that would encompass engineering, IT, and business, I would look at A Levels in Physics and Maths. Business degrees don't have any specific subjects unless you want to go and study something with quite a bit of financial mathematics (in which case you need Maths). IT degrees generally only ask for Maths if they're picky, otherwise they accept any subjects (Computer Science A Level won't really help that much despite being a more relevant subject). Engineering generally involves maths, so it's more or less essential; however, it depends on the type of engineering that you would do - most would require physics, but you can have chemical engineering that involves chemistry and bioengineering that involves biology. If you want to play it safe do 3 sciences + Maths, but that's overkill. If you know the general direction is in engineering but wouldn't involve chemistry or biology, Maths + Physics + whatever your third subject would be.
In terms of Access courses, I would focus on doing an engineering Access course where you have 15 credits in Maths and 15 in Physics/Engineering. The engineering Access course should allow you to go into IT degrees, if the particular course and university accept Access courses (contact the administrator/admissions of the Computer department, not general admissions, to double check before enrolling onto the course).

If you intend to work in the tech industry as opposed to going into academic research, can I suggest professional certifications for the specific role that you want to do in IT as opposed to a degree? If you want to go into business, you can do professional business qualifications and try to get the relevant experience.
Engineering is the only discipline where it would make sense to go to university for if you don't want to go into academia.

Do note that you can go into any area of business with any or no degree. You can also go into IT with any or no degree. You cannot go into a specific area of engineering (or progress towards a senior role) without an appropriate degree.

If you want to check which qualifications you would need, I would recommend checking National Careers Service (https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/explore-careers), Prospects (https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles), or Bright Network (https://www.brightnetwork.co.uk/job-profiles/). (I prefer National Careers Service, since it's more comprehensive.)

Reply 4

HumanPerson54

OP

2

Original post by MindMax2000

In which case, I would encourage you to look into engineering. I hold a certain bias against doing unnecessary degrees (if you're going for research, then it's a different matter).

Be it Access or A Levels, you should really look at what the entry requirements are for the specific degree that you want to do before applying. Doing random qualifications may mean you don't have the suitable qualifications you need and resulting you going back to do more qualifications. It gets expensive and becomes time consuming.

In terms of A Level options, if you want something that would encompass engineering, IT, and business, I would look at A Levels in Physics and Maths. Business degrees don't have any specific subjects unless you want to go and study something with quite a bit of financial mathematics (in which case you need Maths). IT degrees generally only ask for Maths if they're picky, otherwise they accept any subjects (Computer Science A Level won't really help that much despite being a more relevant subject). Engineering generally involves maths, so it's more or less essential; however, it depends on the type of engineering that you would do - most would require physics, but you can have chemical engineering that involves chemistry and bioengineering that involves biology. If you want to play it safe do 3 sciences + Maths, but that's overkill. If you know the general direction is in engineering but wouldn't involve chemistry or biology, Maths + Physics + whatever your third subject would be.
In terms of Access courses, I would focus on doing an engineering Access course where you have 15 credits in Maths and 15 in Physics/Engineering. The engineering Access course should allow you to go into IT degrees, if the particular course and university accept Access courses (contact the administrator/admissions of the Computer department, not general admissions, to double check before enrolling onto the course).

If you intend to work in the tech industry as opposed to going into academic research, can I suggest professional certifications for the specific role that you want to do in IT as opposed to a degree? If you want to go into business, you can do professional business qualifications and try to get the relevant experience.
Engineering is the only discipline where it would make sense to go to university for if you don't want to go into academia.

Do note that you can go into any area of business with any or no degree. You can also go into IT with any or no degree. You cannot go into a specific area of engineering (or progress towards a senior role) without an appropriate degree.

If you want to check which qualifications you would need, I would recommend checking National Careers Service (https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/explore-careers), Prospects (https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles), or Bright Network (https://www.brightnetwork.co.uk/job-profiles/). (I prefer National Careers Service, since it's more comprehensive.)

Going to take a look at those links. I agree with your reply strongly and it's widened my perspective. It seems best to avoid doing unnecessary qualifications and then having to backtrack because of uncertainty about an end goal/employment. I'm going to do more research on what I want to work toward as I'm torn between a couple areas

Reply 5

ajj2000

20

Original post by HumanPerson54

Is anyone aware of any distance learning courses that would be good for a undergrad in Computer science? Can't find many with the right modules

I think a lot of people have found the same issue looking for CS degrees. To some extent it depends on how competitive a university you wish to aim for. Do you have the requisite grades for GCSE maths and English?

At least one poster on here did an access course plus A level maths and got offers. Even then I think you would be advised to check this route with universities before committing a lot of effort. Might Open University be an option?

Reply 6

zineb.elkettani

8

Original post by MindMax2000

What is the specific degree that you want to do? Depending on the subject requirements, you might need certain modules at a certain number of credits in order to enroll in certain courses.

If the university is picky, they might require 15 credits in maths. In which case, the following courses might be suitable (you will need to email the course providers to check):
https://www.learndirect.com/course/access-to-higher-education-diploma-computer-science,
https://www.stonebridge.uk.com/course/access-to-higher-education-diploma-computer-science
https://www.stonebridge.uk.com/course/access-to-higher-education-diploma-computer-science-and-maths
https://courses.dncolleges.ac.uk/Courses?page=~/coursedisplay&CourseInformationID=5550
The alternative is 3 A Levels with one being maths. The other 2 can usually be in any subject you want (some top end universities might be picky and strongly encourage you to have further maths with your application though). This would strongly depend on the individual course as well as the individual university.

If the university is not picky, the following course should be OK:
https://accesscoursesonline.com/products/access-to-higher-education-diploma-computer-science-ref-400-0826-5
https://courses.dncolleges.ac.uk/Courses?page=~/coursedisplay&CourseInformationID=4307

For future reference, you can do your own search using the course directories at the exam body's website e.g.
https://www.accesstohe.ac.uk//en/course-search

hey could u help me out too? For Business?

Thanks

Reply 7

Original post by zineb.elkettani

hey could u help me out too? For Business?

Thanks

Generally, business degrees don't require specific subjects and often the unis aren't as picky with their qualifications - so long it's a level 3 qualification you should be fine. Can I check which specific area of business you want to study or go into?

As mentioned previously, I hold a bias against business degrees for a myriad of reasons.

Can I check why you want to do a business degree?

Reply 8

zineb.elkettani

8

Original post by MindMax2000

Generally, business degrees don't require specific subjects and often the unis aren't as picky with their qualifications - so long it's a level 3 qualification you should be fine. Can I check which specific area of business you want to study or go into?

As mentioned previously, I hold a bias against business degrees for a myriad of reasons.

Can I check why you want to do a business degree?

thanks for your reply.

I would apply for International Business Management for next year 2025. Im still debating whether i should go to university or not (debt etc.) because business degreess are somewhat useless sometimes? not to sound rude!

Reply 9

Original post by zineb.elkettani

thanks for your reply.

I would apply for International Business Management for next year 2025. Im still debating whether i should go to university or not (debt etc.) because business degreess are somewhat useless sometimes? not to sound rude!

Reply 10

zineb.elkettani

8

Original post by MindMax2000

Thank you so much for this!

You really summed up eveyrthing for me 🙂 Tbh im not too sure abpout what i would like to do in the future. Ifi do ill come back to you. Thanks so much again😊

Reply 11