Why study this programme
In independent research assessments over the past 10 years, our institute has consistently been ranked as the top computing science institute in the Netherlands. Especially in Cyber Security research, Radboud University is leading.
Unique aspects of the programme are the student software company GiPHouse and the New Devices Lab. Both involve close collaboration with fellow students in team projects: in GiPHouse to develop projects for real clients, in the New Devices lab to experiment with the latest IT gadgets.
Student advisors keep close contact to guide you through the programme and are easy to contact for any type of question.
The study association Thalia is very active. They organise all sorts of activities – some more serious, some more fun – to get to know your fellow students, alumni, and teachers. Thalia also organizes events in collaboration with companies to help in your career orientation.
Our students rate this study with an 8,4 (source: NSE)."
Overview
Biomedical sciences is a broad field ranging from infectious diseases to toxicology, from epidemiology to immunology, and from medical neuroscience to cancer. The field is also broad in its approach to any one of these areas with the common aim to improve.
Course details
Every academic year in the Computing Science Bachelor’s programme is divided into four quarters of ten weeks each. Every quarter consists of eight weeks of classes followed by two weeks of exams. Every course has a specific number of course credits, EC (European Credits). One EC equals a 28-hour study load.
Different teaching methods are used during your programme. On average you will have 10 hours of lectures, 8 hours of lab courses, 4 hours of tutorials led by students from higher years and 18 hours of independent study per week in the Bachelor’s programme. Collaborations with other students are also essential in the programme.
Double Bachelor’s
Radboud University offers the possibility of doing a double Bachelor’s; a challenge for motivated students. You can combine the Computing Science Bachelor’s with the Mathematics Bachelor’s. Upon completing both programmes, you will receive two diplomas. This programme is partially taught in Dutch.
Collaborations with fellow students
As a computer scientist, you need to be able to work accurately and like to solve puzzles. Also, creativity is important, not only to use new technologies in ways to tackle known problems, but also to invent entirely new applications and new solutions. IT solutions are typically not developed by individual people on their own, but as team efforts involving many people, and in close discussion with the users of the system. This is why you’ll often have to work together during this Bachelor’s programme. One of the group projects is the student software company GiPHouse, where you will learn what it takes to develop software in collaboration with real costumers.
New Devices Lab
In our New Devices Lab you will develop software for gadgets like 3D virtual reality headsets by OculusRift, smart wearables, or robots. Other applications are in the ‘Internet of Things’ domain, where tiny devices are in constant communication through the internet. You learn how to make such systems work together and how you can assure that software and hardware are in tune on every level.
Entry requirements
Before you can enrol in Computing Science, you must meet the admission requirements. You need to have received sufficient previous education in the Netherlands or abroad, proven by a diploma. You also need to be proficient in English, in some cases proven by a certificate.
If you have a non-Dutch Secondary School degree, your previous education will be assessed by the Admissions Officer of the Faculty of Science to determine whether it is of sufficient level. If the level is sufficient, then you could be directly admissible or additional conditions may apply (such as taking an English or Mathematics test). For accepted English tests, have a look at the language requirements. For Mathematics tests: we accept the Mathematics B tests from the CCVX and Boswell-Bèta.
You should have sufficient proficiency in English. You will be required a certificate from one of the accepted English language exams below before the enrolment deadline: IELTS Academic, overall-score ≥ 6.5, sub-scores ≥ 6.0; or TOEFL iBT, overall-score ≥ 90, sub-scores ≥ 20; or Cambridge English Qualifications: C1 Advanced (CAE) or C2 Proficiency (CPE), scores ≥ C.
Career outcomes
Computing Science at Radboud University trains you to become a computer scientist who can work in a broad array of fields. You decide what you want to specialise in! Companies are dying to take on our students. Students often find a job before graduating. The possibilities are endless. Will you become an information and software analyst? Or would you rather become an advisor or manager in a corporation or government? Maybe you want to be a researcher for a company, a university, or a research institution like TNO? Perhaps you will become an entrepreneur and build your own business, like of our students. In other words, with a Computing Science diploma you are never out of a job!
Graduated Cyber Security specialists could, for example, end up at the police (Team High Tech Crime), the National Forensic Institute, intelligence service, defence ministry, and in health care.
In business, consultancy companies such as KPMG and Deloitte, software developers and industrial companies such as NXP can’t wait to employ well educated people. If you are more interested in the field of research, you have many opportunities both within the university (in research institute ICIS) and with other research institutes in the Netherlands or abroad. You also have all the knowledge you need to start your own business, some students already start one during their programme.
In the upcoming years, an increasing number of IT specialists is needed. Corporate processes are becoming more atomised, digital security is gaining in importance and our infrastructures circle more around computer scientists than ever. The business community has a real need for both technical as well as business administration-oriented computer scientists.
The majority of students apply for a Master's programme after obtaining their Bachelor's degree. Your working prospects and future salary depend on the specialisation you choose.
