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BCS Exemptions and Accreditation on Computing courses
I know most university's computing courses are accredited and/or have exemptions by BCS after completing the course. I read about this topic on the website, but I don't understand it, as it has loads of stuff about it, and lots of rules and regulations, etc.. 
. If the course is accredited and/or exempted by BCS, does that mean we don't do the exams and gain the membership automatically, as we have the course accredited/exempted by BCS? If not, what do you need to do after the degree to gain BCS membership?
While we are on the topic of Computing societies exemptions and accreditations, what other computing organisations or societies are there that are similar to BCS that accredit and exempt membership for computing degrees?
Is your course accredited and/or exempted by BCS?
. If the course is accredited and/or exempted by BCS, does that mean we don't do the exams and gain the membership automatically, as we have the course accredited/exempted by BCS? If not, what do you need to do after the degree to gain BCS membership?While we are on the topic of Computing societies exemptions and accreditations, what other computing organisations or societies are there that are similar to BCS that accredit and exempt membership for computing degrees?
Is your course accredited and/or exempted by BCS?
Well the course I did at Kings (Computer Science with Management) is accredited by the BCS, and while I was a student I was an Associate Member (AMBCS) now im a full member (MBCS) 
To tell the truth I dont really think it means much, I get a BCS magazine every month and I get free subsciption to the Computing magazine. Oh and I get to access the members only area on their website
But apart from that I dont really think there are any other benefits in terms of employment. I think that if your degree is not accredited by the BCS, then you will have to do some exams to gain the membership, although im sure you will be exempt from quite a few if you already have a computing related degree.
The BCS is the main computing society, although there I think is another more specialised institute for programmers and analysts - can't remember the name though. Some MEng Computing degrees also give exemptions / accreditations for the IEE (which is the Institute of Electronic Engineers).
To tell the truth I dont really think it means much, I get a BCS magazine every month and I get free subsciption to the Computing magazine. Oh and I get to access the members only area on their website
But apart from that I dont really think there are any other benefits in terms of employment. I think that if your degree is not accredited by the BCS, then you will have to do some exams to gain the membership, although im sure you will be exempt from quite a few if you already have a computing related degree.
The BCS is the main computing society, although there I think is another more specialised institute for programmers and analysts - can't remember the name though. Some MEng Computing degrees also give exemptions / accreditations for the IEE (which is the Institute of Electronic Engineers).
I was talking about this to one of my professors at uni. He has previously landed a few jobs from word of mouth through the BCS. It can be helpful.
This may be something seperate but i think you can become a chartered engineer (Ceng) from doing exams from the BCS (not sure on this one, will check later) and you can have that after your name just like Bsc. My uni (Teesside) got Bsc accredication and started teaching the exam s associated with it since 1972)
This may be something seperate but i think you can become a chartered engineer (Ceng) from doing exams from the BCS (not sure on this one, will check later) and you can have that after your name just like Bsc. My uni (Teesside) got Bsc accredication and started teaching the exam s associated with it since 1972)
Reply 3
KingsComp
Well the course I did at Kings (Computer Science with Management) is accredited by the BCS, and while I was a student I was an Associate Member (AMBCS) now im a full member (MBCS)
To tell the truth I dont really think it means much, I get a BCS magazine every month and I get free subsciption to the Computing magazine. Oh and I get to access the members only area on their website
But apart from that I dont really think there are any other benefits in terms of employment. I think that if your degree is not accredited by the BCS, then you will have to do some exams to gain the membership, although im sure you will be exempt from quite a few if you already have a computing related degree.
The BCS is the main computing society, although there I think is another more specialised institute for programmers and analysts - can't remember the name though. Some MEng Computing degrees also give exemptions / accreditations for the IEE (which is the Institute of Electronic Engineers).
To tell the truth I dont really think it means much, I get a BCS magazine every month and I get free subsciption to the Computing magazine. Oh and I get to access the members only area on their website
But apart from that I dont really think there are any other benefits in terms of employment. I think that if your degree is not accredited by the BCS, then you will have to do some exams to gain the membership, although im sure you will be exempt from quite a few if you already have a computing related degree.
The BCS is the main computing society, although there I think is another more specialised institute for programmers and analysts - can't remember the name though. Some MEng Computing degrees also give exemptions / accreditations for the IEE (which is the Institute of Electronic Engineers).
How did you become a full member? I guess when you pass your degree, your membership changes from the student one to a full member? When you enter a BCS accredited degree course at university, you become a student member automatically.
I assume the BCS magazine is for members only then. I really want to see what it's like.
The university that I'm going to will be BCS accredited in the future, and they might exempt the examinations too, so we could get the membership in full after completing the degree course.
How come there aren't any benefits for employment?
[QUOTE='[-David-]']I was talking about this to one of my professors at uni. He has previously landed a few jobs from word of mouth through the BCS. It can be helpful.
This may be something seperate but i think you can become a chartered engineer (Ceng) from doing exams from the BCS (not sure on this one, will check later) and you can have that after your name just like Bsc. My uni (Teesside) got Bsc accredication and started teaching the exam s associated with it since 1972)
Yeah, the CEng status is seperate, when I read about it on the BCS website. Do you think the exams are different from BCS and CEng?
It seems that a lot of universities are successful in having their computing coursese accredited and exempt from the exams by BCS, when I saw a list of uni's having BCS accreditation/exemptions. It must be a difficult process to have BCS accreditation/exemption from the uni's computing courses.
The BCS can give you the following status (which you can then put in front of your name) :
AMBCS: Associate Member of the British Computer Society
MBCS: Full Member of the British Computer Society
FBCS: Fellow Member of the British Computer Society
CITP: Chartered IT Professional
I think that the BCS can also award the following:
CEng: Chartered Engineer
CSci: Chartered Scientist
AMBCS: Associate Member of the British Computer Society
MBCS: Full Member of the British Computer Society
FBCS: Fellow Member of the British Computer Society
CITP: Chartered IT Professional
I think that the BCS can also award the following:
CEng: Chartered Engineer
CSci: Chartered Scientist
Reply 6
[QUOTE='[-David-]']I'll be able to get more info when i next talk to one of my lecturers, so i'll ask then.
Some unis still dont have Bsc accreditation, i think the BSC withdrew their accreditation from Durham at one point...But they may have it back.
Why did BCS withdrew their accreditation from Durham? I thought withdrawing means that the courses are not good anymore. I don't think that happend, as Durham is also good for it's Computing courses.
Yeah, some universities don't have BCS accreditation, as it's quite hard to have their courses to accreditated. I saw the application and process of having BCS accreditation and it's quite complex.
Yeah, I saw those statuses on the website. Most likely after completing the degree, you would have MBCS. How do you gain the AMBCS membership? Is that the same as the student membership? I think for the last two needs examinations or something, correct me if I'm wrong.
I think BCS can award Incorporated Engineer (IEng) too.
Some unis still dont have Bsc accreditation, i think the BSC withdrew their accreditation from Durham at one point...But they may have it back.
Why did BCS withdrew their accreditation from Durham? I thought withdrawing means that the courses are not good anymore. I don't think that happend, as Durham is also good for it's Computing courses.
Yeah, some universities don't have BCS accreditation, as it's quite hard to have their courses to accreditated. I saw the application and process of having BCS accreditation and it's quite complex.
KingsComp
The BCS can give you the following status (which you can then put in front of your name) :
AMBCS: Associate Member of the British Computer Society
MBCS: Full Member of the British Computer Society
FBCS: Fellow Member of the British Computer Society
CITP: Chartered IT Professional
I think that the BCS can also award the following:
CEng: Chartered Engineer
CSci: Chartered Scientist
AMBCS: Associate Member of the British Computer Society
MBCS: Full Member of the British Computer Society
FBCS: Fellow Member of the British Computer Society
CITP: Chartered IT Professional
I think that the BCS can also award the following:
CEng: Chartered Engineer
CSci: Chartered Scientist
Yeah, I saw those statuses on the website. Most likely after completing the degree, you would have MBCS. How do you gain the AMBCS membership? Is that the same as the student membership? I think for the last two needs examinations or something, correct me if I'm wrong.
I think BCS can award Incorporated Engineer (IEng) too.
To gain the Associate membership, you need to be studying for an accredited computer science degree. You then need to fill in an application form along with a fee of about £20 or so.
If your application is successful they will send you a membership card along with an introductory pack and a subscription to their monthly magazine. You can also use the number on the membership card to get free subscription to the Computing magazine as well, and to be able to enter the "members only" area on their website
By being a member you can attend the various seminars and lectures that the BCS do at a discounted price, and you can buy software and books from the BCS also at a discounted price
Oh and you can put AMBCS infront of your name as well
If your application is successful they will send you a membership card along with an introductory pack and a subscription to their monthly magazine. You can also use the number on the membership card to get free subscription to the Computing magazine as well, and to be able to enter the "members only" area on their website
By being a member you can attend the various seminars and lectures that the BCS do at a discounted price, and you can buy software and books from the BCS also at a discounted price
Oh and you can put AMBCS infront of your name as well
Reply 8
KingsComp
To gain the Associate membership, you need to be studying for an accredited computer science degree. You then need to fill in an application form along with a fee of about £20 or so.
If your application is successful they will send you a membership card along with an introductory pack and a subscription to their monthly magazine. You can also use the number on the membership card to get free subscription to the Computing magazine as well, and to be able to enter the "members only" area on their website
By being a member you can attend the various seminars and lectures that the BCS do at a discounted price, and you can buy software and books from the BCS also at a discounted price
Oh and you can put AMBCS infront of your name as well
If your application is successful they will send you a membership card along with an introductory pack and a subscription to their monthly magazine. You can also use the number on the membership card to get free subscription to the Computing magazine as well, and to be able to enter the "members only" area on their website
By being a member you can attend the various seminars and lectures that the BCS do at a discounted price, and you can buy software and books from the BCS also at a discounted price
Oh and you can put AMBCS infront of your name as well
Sounds cool!
What is the difference between Associate member and student member? Is the student membership of BCS free and you automatically gain it when you are doing the course? How do they judge if your appliction is successful?Being a member is so good when you mentioned about it, especially the members area and the seminars. What does the member area include (I'm curious
)?My uni hasn't have a BCS accreditation yet, however, they are planning to apply for it in the near future. If they plan the have BCS accreditation in place for the courses at the university, and I am in the second year of my course, would my course still be BCS accreditated?
trev
Sounds cool! What is the difference between Associate member and student member? Is the student membership of BCS free and you automatically gain it when you are doing the course? How do they judge if your appliction is successful?
Being a member is so good when you mentioned about it, especially the members area and the seminars. What does the member area include (I'm curious )?
My uni hasn't have a BCS accreditation yet, however, they are planning to apply for it in the near future. If they plan the have BCS accreditation in place for the courses at the university, and I am in the second year of my course, would my course still be BCS accreditated?
What is the difference between Associate member and student member? Is the student membership of BCS free and you automatically gain it when you are doing the course? How do they judge if your appliction is successful?Being a member is so good when you mentioned about it, especially the members area and the seminars. What does the member area include (I'm curious
)?My uni hasn't have a BCS accreditation yet, however, they are planning to apply for it in the near future. If they plan the have BCS accreditation in place for the courses at the university, and I am in the second year of my course, would my course still be BCS accreditated?
I'm on a BCS accredited course but as far as I'm aware I'm not a student member (certainly haven't had anything telling me I am) so I don't think it's an "automatic" thing. I'm not sure about the BCS (having no personal experience of it) but, assuming it's like the IEE, it's probably not worth the effort of joining! My course is also accredited by the IEE and my dad (who has rather a lot of years of engineering experience under his belt!) told me it wasn't worth the membership fee. You pretty much just get a magazine periodically, though I guess it might be useful to help you find a graduate job if your university careers service are particularly crap (though the IEE have a separate website for careers which you can access even if you're not a member). If you want CEng status then yeah, I guess you'd probably join the professional association (IEE or BCS - assuming the BCS can aware CEng), however I'm honestly not sure why you'd want to be one (again - my dad's advice - he can't be bothered with the paperwork!!!).
Oh, and as for the seminars, check at your university as mine periodically give free talks anyway.
Jenn xx
Reply 10
JennLlama
I'm on a BCS accredited course but as far as I'm aware I'm not a student member (certainly haven't had anything telling me I am) so I don't think it's an "automatic" thing. I'm not sure about the BCS (having no personal experience of it) but, assuming it's like the IEE, it's probably not worth the effort of joining! My course is also accredited by the IEE and my dad (who has rather a lot of years of engineering experience under his belt!) told me it wasn't worth the membership fee. You pretty much just get a magazine periodically, though I guess it might be useful to help you find a graduate job if your university careers service are particularly crap (though the IEE have a separate website for careers which you can access even if you're not a member). If you want CEng status then yeah, I guess you'd probably join the professional association (IEE or BCS - assuming the BCS can aware CEng), however I'm honestly not sure why you'd want to be one (again - my dad's advice - he can't be bothered with the paperwork!!!).
Oh, and as for the seminars, check at your university as mine periodically give free talks anyway.
Jenn xx
Oh, and as for the seminars, check at your university as mine periodically give free talks anyway.
Jenn xx
The membership fee for a student is 20 quid, so it isn't bad. It's strange that your lecturer didn't tell you anything about being BCS student member. If you work in the IT/Computing industry, it would be useful in some way. It's another title after your degree (in your case it's MEng or BSc).
I think joining BCS would be good as you get a magazine, seminars which will be intersting, an extra title at the end of your name, discounted software, etc...
For the payment stuff, is it monthly or yearly or do you only have to pay once?
The paperwork is only a form though.
For the CEng status, do you need to take an exam, or is it granted automatically after completing the BCS accreditated degree course in university?
trev
The membership fee for a student is 20 quid, so it isn't bad. It's strange that your lecturer didn't tell you anything about being BCS student member. If you work in the IT/Computing industry, it would be useful in some way. It's another title after your degree (in your case it's MEng or BSc).
I think joining BCS would be good as you get a magazine, seminars which will be intersting, an extra title at the end of your name, discounted software, etc...
For the payment stuff, is it monthly or yearly or do you only have to pay once?
The paperwork is only a form though.
For the CEng status, do you need to take an exam, or is it granted automatically after completing the BCS accreditated degree course in university?
I think joining BCS would be good as you get a magazine, seminars which will be intersting, an extra title at the end of your name, discounted software, etc...
For the payment stuff, is it monthly or yearly or do you only have to pay once?
The paperwork is only a form though.
For the CEng status, do you need to take an exam, or is it granted automatically after completing the BCS accreditated degree course in university?
The department don't seem that bothered about people joining the BCS, though engineering keep ramming the IEE down our throats (though most people just ignore it after a while!). I honestly couldn't care less about having an extra title after my name - I don't intend to start writing "Jenn MEng" or whatever after I graduate so I'm certainly not going to add "MBCS" or whatever! Judging by the IEE magazine, I'd rather just read about the latest developments in the field, etc. online - cheaper that way anyway! I believe the cost is per year (it is for the IEE) rather than a one-off cost and I can certainly think of better ways to spend the 20GBP per year. Cheaper software might be useful if I thought I'd buy any software from them, but to be honest I've not bought software in years as I tend to use either free or demo stuff anyway (e.g. OpenOffice). I guess it might be worth it for some people but I just can't really see the benefit for students, who aren't that likely to be buying software (everything you need is likely to be on the university machines even if you don't have it yourself) and 20GBP for a couple of seminars and a free magazine seems pretty steep to me. I'm not that big on seminars myself, but even so, I know there are ones regularly at my university anyway so I'd just go to them if I wanted some extra-curricular being-talked-at
I believe that you need several years work experience under your belt for CEng status and you would also need to specifically apply for it. If your course is 'exempt' then you shouldn't need to do any more exams as far as I'm aware (though with a BSc/BEng you would need to complete some additional work - possibly including an exam - to show you were up to the academic standard of an MEng I think).
Jenn xx
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