By specialising in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), students will learn how to understand the user experience (UX), and to use the insights they gain to help build systems that better meet the user’s needs. Through a mixture of theory and real-world practice, students will learn how to assess organisational problems and apply solutions. At Brunel they teach students how to determine a dynamic mix of processes, which allow information delivery systems and users to carry out business effectively and efficiently. Students will come to intuitively understand how an organisation’s information systems need to adapt to the changes and developments natural to growth and progress.

Featured modules include software development and management, usability engineering and process modelling, e-business, and social media. Other Web 2.0 technologies and simulation modelling also feature.

This course is designed for flexibility, students can select modules and specialise gradually. Students can transfer between Computer Science and Business Computing up to the start of Level 2, then they can choose a specialism up to the start of Level 3.

One third of each year of this programme is project-based. On Levels 1 and 2, students build a software solution in a team, and in the final year they carry out an individual project. Students also have the opportunity to showcase their projects at the annual Made in Brunel (Software Innovation) event, with awards presented by the likes of Cisco, Sky and Xerox.

As part of this degree course, students have the chance to take a year-long work placement between their second year and third year. Brunel supports students in finding that all-important paid professional experience, in the UK or abroad. Recent graduates have gone on to work for well-known names such as Accenture, Toshiba, Microsoft, British Airways, O2, and Barclays.

This programme is accredited by the British Computer Society, the Chartered Institute for IT, for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered IT Professional (CITP). The accreditation also allows students to apply for professional membership of the BCS after they have successfully completed their degree

The department has been awarded an Athena SWAN Bronze, recognising their dedication to the advancement of gender equality in STEM subjects. Brunel now has an ongoing three-year action plan to further implement strategies and improve their practices. As part of this endeavour, Brunel’s Women in Engineering and Computing mentoring scheme provides their female students with invaluable help and support from the industry.