Prospective Students :: Entry Requirements
This page is a guide to the entry requirements for undergraduate and postgraduate programmes run by the School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences. However, all applications are treated on an individual basis and in all cases applicants may be required to attend for an interview.
Entry requirement details:
Standard GCSE requirements:
All applicants should have GCSEs at grade C or above in English and Mathematics (or equivalent qualifications, such as Key Skills at level 3 in Communication and Application of Number, or should have passed the relevant modules in an access course).
Applicants without these qualifications may be invited in for a test.
For students whose first language is not English, the minimum level of English is the equivalent to an IELTS score of 6.0 or for TOEFL, 220 (computer-based test) or 550 (paper-based test).
- All programmes, except those listed below
- Mathematics, Statistics & Games Technology programmes
- MEng programmes
- BEng programmes
- Film & TV Production programme
- Foundation degree programme
The normal entry requirement for BSc undergraduate programmes in the School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences is a minimum of 160 points from subjects studied to A-level or equivalent. You must also satisfy the standard GCSE requirements in Mathematics & English.
[N.B. 160 UCAS tariff points are equivalent to "2 A-levels at grade C" or "CC for an AVCE Double Award" or "merit/pass/pass for a BTEC National Diploma" or "merit/merit for a BTEC National Certificate", etc.]
All programmes involving Mathematics or Statistics, and also BSc Games Technology, have the same entry requirement (160 points at A-level), but you need at least 40 points from a Mathematics A- or A/S-level, or equivalent; if at A-level these 40 points can be included as part of the 160 requirement, but if at A/S-level they are in addition to the 160 points. Alternatively, if you have a good background in maths but do not meet this requirement, you may be invited in for an advanced maths test. You must also satisfy the standard GCSE requirements in English.
The entry requirements for MEng Computer Systems & Networking, and MEng Software Engineering are a minimum of 240 points from subjects studied to A-level or equivalent. You must also satisfy the standard GCSE requirements in Mathematics & English.
The entry requirements for BEng Computer Systems & Networking, BEng Software Engineering, and BEng Embedded Computer Systems are a minimum of 200 points including 160 points from subjects studied to A-level or equivalent. You must also satisfy the standard GCSE requirements in Mathematics & English.
Applications to BSc Film & Television Production are judged on an individual basis, but typically you will need 240 points from subjects studied to A-level or equivalent and must include some studies in a relevant discipline such as Film, Television, Editing, Art, Photography, Media or English. You must also satisfy the standard GCSE requirements in Mathematics & English.
For foundation degree programmes based at the University you need at least 80 points, of which 40 must come from subjects studied to A-level or equivalent. You must also satisfy the standard GCSE requirements in Mathematics & English. [For foundation degree programmes based at our partner colleges, these requirements may vary.]
Access to Higher Education:
We welcome applications from students taking access courses and the normal entry requirement is a good pass of an approved Access to Computing, Maths, Science, or Engineering course.
However, students taking other access courses will be considered sympathetically.
For degrees involving Mathematics or Statistics (including Decision Science) then the pass must be on an Access to Maths course.
Typically we are looking for 45 credits at level 3 but in all cases applicants should give a detailed list of the units they are studying (and the level). Finally, note that access courses usually include modules which satisfy the standard GCSE requirements in Mathematics & English.
City & Guilds qualifications in IT:
We welcome applications from students taking City & Guilds qualifications in Information Technology, in particular the Technician Diploma, the Advanced Technician Diploma and the Full Technological Diploma, and holders of the higher of these awards may qualify for direct entry into the second or final year of some of our computing degree courses.
In all cases, applicants should give a detailed list of the units they are studying (and the level) and must also satisfy the standard GCSE requirements in Mathematics & English.
Professional Qualifications:
We welcome applicants with professional qualifications, and several diplomas even allow direct entry into the second year and final years of certain degree courses.
The following table, although not exhaustive, gives an indication of which qualifications normally apply, including those offered by the Institute for the Management of Information Systems (IMIS), the National Computing Centre (NCC), the Association of Computing Professionals (ACP) and the Association of Business Executives (ABE).
All applications are considered on an individual basis (so entry is not automatic) and in all cases, applicants must also satisfy the standard GCSE requirements in Mathematics & English. Applicants should apply with full details of all of their qualifications, and may be required to attend for an interview.
| Qualification | Level | BSc (Hons) Computing | BSc (Hons) Business Information Systems | BSc (Hons) Business Information Technology |
| IMIS Diploma (new syllabus) | overall pass of 60% | Year 2 | Year 2 | Year 2 |
| IMIS Higher Diploma (new syllabus) | overall pass of 60% | Year 3 | Year 3 | Year 3 |
| IMIS Graduate Diploma | pass (but exemptions possible for distinctions) | Year 3 | Year 3 | |
| NCC Diploma | overall pass of 60% | Year 2 | Year 2 | Year 2 |
| NCC Advanced Diploma | overall pass of 60% | Year 3 | Year 3 | Year 3 |
| ACP Diploma | overall pass of 65% | Year 2 | Year 2 | Year 2 |
| ACP Advanced Diploma | distinction (in ALL four modules) | Year 3 | Year 3 | Year 3 |
| ABE Certificate | pass | Year 1 | Year 1 | Year 1 |
| ABE Diploma | 4 part II subjects at grade B | Year 2 | Year 2 | |
| ABE Advanced Diploma | 4 subjects at grade B | Year 3 | Year 3 |
Notes:
1. Entry to other degrees may be possible, subject to prerequisite knowledge in relevant topics.
2. Entrants to the final year of BSc (Hons) Computing may be restricted as to which courses can be taken because of the prerequisite conditions for some of the level 3 options.
Direct Entry:
If you have partially completed a degree at another University, or have some other relevant work/study experience, it may be possible to get direct entry into the second (or even final) year of a degree programme, subject to interview by the Programme Leader.
Note that if transferring from another University you must have successfully completed the first year to get direct entry to our second year (and similarly for final year); however, your results at the previous institution will not be taken into account when assessing your degree classification.
All applicants should also satisfy the standard GCSE requirements in Mathematics & English.
Combined honours:
For degrees combined with a modern language (i.e. BSc Computing / Information Systems / Mathematics / Statistics with French / German / Italian / Spanish), you also require a GCSE at grade C (or equivalent) in that language.
The standard entry requirement for all MSc programmes is a British Honours Degree of at least 2:2 classification or equivalent although in some cases applicants with substantial commercial or industrial experience can be accepted, subject to interview and references. For some MSc programmes a subject-specific undergraduate degree is required (e.g. multimedia, information systems, computing); details are given on the page for each MSc programme. For the MSc Enterprise Software Engineering, MSc Internet Technology and MSc Internet Technology & e-Commerce a working knowledge of Java (or C++) is required.
MSc project-only applicants:
Students holding the NCC Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip) in Strategic Business Information Technology may be eligible for an MSc in Information Systems Management solely by completing the 60-credit project.
However, all such applicants must have a good first degree (BSc) in computing, information systems or a related discipline, or equivalent.
Furthermore, there is no January intake.
Mature students
We welcome applications from mature students and in fact the University of Greenwich has a very high proportion of mature students compared to the rest of the UK higher education sector.
Applications from mature students are considered on an individual basis and will be treated sympathetically - applicants should apply with full details of qualifications, relevant work experience and any other factors that may support their application.
Overseas / non-standard qualifications
Applicants who have qualifications which are not covered here, and in particular prospective students from outside the UK, should apply with full details of all of their qualifications and will be assessed using standard comparison tables.
For the English language requirement, see the standard GCSE requirements section.