The Foundation Degree in Computing is a University of Teesside award delivered at our partner colleges around the region; Darlington College and Stockton Riverside College.

The FdSc is a vocationally focussed higher education qualification. It provides the high level of technical skills that will be needed by many organisations, both large and small.

Currently, the FDSc Computing (Networking) is offered on a part time basis over 3 years at Stockton Riverside and full time over 2 years at Darlington. This degree specialises in giving students the skills to become computer network specialists. Included on this course are modules in networking theory, routers and WAN technologies as well as the broader topics of system design and user support.

Work-Based Learning is a major part of any foundation degree. In this one, it involves students undertaking activities at employers premises for the equivalent of one day a week over the second and third years of the course on part time study and over both years on full time study.

Foundation Degrees are available to anyone with the ability to study a Higher Education course. They are designed for learners from a wide range of backgrounds, including those with work experience rather than conventional entry requirements.

Although the normal entry requirements for the course are two advanced level qualifications or equivalent, other qualifications and work experience may also count. The overriding consideration when admitting students is whether they are likely to succeed on the course. Prior knowledge of computing is helpful but not essential.

The foundation degree in computing has been designed to enable successful students to progress to the final stage of the University's honours degree in Computer Studies should they wish to do so. That would involve just one more year of full-time study or two years of part-time study.