HND in Computing for England (HTQ)

• 48 UCAS points. We accept a full range of qualifications that carry UCAS points, including A-levels, BTECs and T-levels. Please see our guide to the UCAS Tariff for examples of how to achieve these points. For most courses, we are also able to consider non-tariffable qualifications.
• Any subjects are acceptable at Level 3. Relevant computing-related subjects are preferred.
• You should also have GCSEs in Mathematics and English at grade C or above or grade 4 to 9 (or equivalent).
• This course is also open to applicants who have extensive appropriate work experience in the IT sector. If you don’t possess the academic qualifications listed above but have extensive appropriate work experience, we’ll be delighted to consider your application.
• You may be required to attend an interview and/or provide a portfolio of work.
• If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 5.5 with no less than 5.5 in reading and writing (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.
• If you apply or enrol on this course, Bolton College and the University of Bolton will share the information you provide. You’ll also receive communications from both organisations.

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

HTQs open up an exciting world of opportunity, empowering you for the future. The University of Bolton's HND in Computing for England taught at Bolton College is an approved Level 5 HTQ. It's ideal if you're seeking a career in the digital sector or wish to progress to the final year of a computing-related honours degree or degree apprenticeship. If you're already working in the digital sector, you can use this HND to upskill or retrain, acquiring valuable digital experience and gaining vital new skills to support your career progression.

This qualification was developed in close collaboration with experts from employers, vendors and professional bodies to ensure you gain the skills and knowledge you'll need to succeed in the future. Your learning will be rooted in the real world so that you leave the course as a work-ready graduate with the professional skills and behaviours that employers need.

What can I do with this qualification?

As a graduate of this HND, you'll be digitally skilled and industry-ready. You'll be well-prepared to take on roles in general computing such as systems analyst, data designer, systems tester, database administrator, IT project manager, IT support technician and web designer. With additional experience and training, it can also support you to pursue digital roles such as artificial intelligence architect, web developer, growth hacker and cloud specialist.

Upon successfully completing the Level 5 HND in Computing for England, you'll be able to progress to higher-level qualifications. For instance, you'll be eligible to apply for final year top-up programmes, such as the University of Bolton's BSc (Hons) Computing (top-up) or degree apprenticeship training through your employer. Further study in specialist areas such as network engineering, software engineering, data analytics, security, intelligent systems, and applications development should also be possible.

Bolton NHS Trust are endorsing our Higher Technical Qualifications which means that they are offering a direct link to employment post studying with us. Keep updated on their digital roles by following the link below:

<a href="http://jobs.boltonft.nhs.uk/job_list/s7/Administrative_Services?_ts=178798">http://jobs.boltonft.nhs.uk/job_list/s7/Administrative_Services?_ts=178798</a>

Alternative career options

You also use this qualification as a stepping-stone into a range of other careers. For some of these roles, relevant experience and/or further study may be required. Some possibilities include:

• Digital copywriting
• IT sales
• IT training
• Teaching
• Research and development
• Network engineering
• Product management
• Technical writing
• Social media management
• Cyber security
• Information systems management
• Games development

Holders of the Higher National Diploma in Computing for England are eligible for Associate Membership of the BCS. The BCS represents IT professionals both in the UK and internationally and is a member organisation of CEPIS (Council of European Professional Informatics Societies).

When completing your student finance application, please list your institution as ‘University of Bolton’, not ‘Bolton College’.

Home/EU Fees

	Year of study			Total
Entry Year	2024/25	2025/26	2026/27
2024-25	£5,996	£5,996	-	£11,992
2025-26	-

International Fees

No fee information is currently available, please contact the University of Bolton’s Academic Fees team by emailing AcademicFees@bolton.ac.uk for more information.

Bursaries

Click here for more information about the scholarships and bursaries available to University of Bolton students.

Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2024-25 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for 'Home' fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for 'Home' fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance for EU students web page on www.gov.uk for information.

The fees for a student's course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.

The varied nature of this HND programme means that we use a wide range of teaching and learning methods. We combine timetabled classes with student-centred and independent learning to ensure you acquire and develop the appropriate concepts, knowledge and skills. You can expect to attend lectures, practical sessions, workshops, tutorials and informal group study sessions. There will also be opportunities to go on site visits to view state-of-the-art projects, and attend guest lectures by specialists from industry, professional bodies or other academic institutions.

There are significant opportunities to spend time with the tutors and technicians during timetabled classes, practical work and tutorials. However, we'll still expect you to devote a significant amount of time to personal study. For example, you might engage in general background reading, revisit practical work, attend technical meetings and lectures provided by professional bodies, or work on assignments.

We use various assessment methods, depending upon the learning outcome in question and the type of module content being assessed. You'll have opportunities to informally test your understanding of subjects before completing the formal assessments that count towards your final mark or grade. Each module/unit will typically contain at least one piece of practice or 'formative' assessment, for which you'll receive feedback from your tutor. Practice assessments are developmental, and any grades/marks you receive for them do not count toward your module/unit mark or grade.

There is a formal or 'summative' assessment at the end of each module/unit. Methods include a range of coursework assessments such as exams, essays, reports, portfolios, presentations, and final year major project. The grades from the formal assessments count towards your module/unit mark or grade.

Modules

The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.

• Programming
• Networking
• Professional Practice
• Database Design and Development
• Security
• Website Design and Development
• Planning a Computing Project
• Software Development and Lifecycles
• Computing Research Project (Pearson Set)
• Network Security
• E-Commerce and Strategy
• Game Design Theory
• User Experience and Interface Design
• Business Process Support
• Internet of Things

Assessment methods

Level	Assessment method
Level 1	Coursework 100%
Level 2	Coursework 100%

Learning Activities

Level	Activity
Level 1	Guided independent study 60% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 40%
Level 2	Guided independent study 60% Scheduled learning and teaching activities 40%

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.