Swinburne University - Bachelor of Science (Professional Software Development)

[acebug]

Hi Guys,

Just checking out the uni courses and this one really caught my attention and im considering it. Ive heard really good stuff about swinburne university and the bachelor of science (Professional Sofware Development) really interested me. Anyone doing this course? Hows the content and whats your feedback on it? How many times do you guys go to uni a week in first year?

[excal]

I believe one of the site admins, Daniel15, is currently studying towards this degree.

[Daniel15]

Yeah, I'm doing PSD at Swinburne. It's pretty good . My friend Ben is also doing this course; I think he'll reply here soon with a longer post than my one

I started in 2008, so I've completed one year already. The subjects probably have changed a bit since I did them, but, going through the first year subjects:
Algorithmic Problem Solving - This is basically programming in Pascal, learning about how to write and structure code. It's a pretty good introduction subject, and is pretty easy if you've done any coding in the past. Instead of having an exam, you have to write a 'portfolio' demonstrating your knowledge. If you get Andrew Cain as a lecturer, he's awesome 
Database Analysis and Design - This is basic database stuff, mainly SQL as well as diagramming.
Computer and Logic Essentials - A lot of logic stuff, like logic gates, boolean algebra, some graph theory, simplifying boolean expressions.
Enterprise Technologies and Architectures - I found this very boring, but that's probably just me. It's looking at enterprise architectures, work flow, and other random stuff I can't remember . Some hardware stuff, too.

Object-Oriented Programming - Probably the best subject so far (IMO), this is an introduction to object-oriented programming. You have a choice of C# or Java (in my class, everyone except 2 or 3 people chose C# ). Quite good, you learn a lot of OO theory in this subject, it's really good (also, because I had Andrew Cain, that made it better)
Internet Technologies - Basic HTML and JavaScript stuff, pretty easy really. Also deals with internet sites, wikis, blogs, etc.
Computer Systems - Assembler programming You learn the assembler language used on PIC microcontrollers (little chips you can program). You don't actually get to flash the chips with your code, all the stuff is done in a simulator. Also, this has a few weeks of Linux stuff, for reasons I can't comprehend. Seems randomly stuck to the end
Usability - I hated this, I found it boring . You study the usability of interfaces, prototyping, other related stuff.

The Swinburne course seems rather practical as opposed to theoretical; the first semester jumps right in to coding. I like this quite a lot

How many times do you guys go to uni a week in first year?

Generally, most classes have a two-hour lecture, and one- or two-hour lab or tutorial per week. The first and second semesters are 16 hours per week.

Hope this helps you 

[BenBenMan]

Wow, it's been a while since I've been to VCENotes ... i'm the Ben that Dan mentioned, I'm also studying PSD at Swinburne.

Dan's pretty much right with the summary of the first year ... APS and OOP were really good subjects, and Usability and ETA were the least-enjoyable. Though that said, getting to do a usability test in the Swinburne Usability Laboratory was kinda cool. Another highlight of the first year was using our in-house games SDK SwinGame to teach both functional and object-oriented programming. Most of the demos on the SwinGame site are by first-year students who did APS. I'd probably say Computer Systems was my favourite subject though, because I really enjoyed the assembler-language programming on the PIC microcontroller and the logic design. Most other people didn't really like it though.

The good thing about PSD at Swinburne I've noticed is since Swinburne is a small university, the class sizes are generally small so you tend to be able to get assistance from lectures more easily than at bigger universities. There's usually only about 20 people each year who will study the PSD course, and since for the first and second year most of the subjects are fixed, you'll get to know everyone pretty well. There's a good sense of community in the PSD degree.

Another really nice thing is the Industry-Based Learning component of the degree. In the third year, you get a paid work placement at a real company doing real software engineering work. This means when you graduate, you already have experience, so you'll be looked at more favourably by employers than graduates who have no experience. Theoretically, this means it will be easier to get a job when you graduate. Where you do your IBL is pretty much up to you, though Swinburne has a lot of good ties with many companies. They also have connections with places such as the Defence Science and Technology Organisation, which would look very nice on a CV.

Plus, at the start of the first year there's The Ama-Swin Race, a PSD-exclusive orientation activity where you run all around Melbourne solving puzzles and get a free t-shirt.

So, to conclude, PSD at Swinburne is quite an enjoyable course so far. It's not the conventional Computer Science/Software Engineering degree that you might expect, since it's missing the heavy maths subjects (though the theory picks up in the second year), but it's still very good. I rejected an offer for Computer Science at the University of Adelaide for it, and i'm pretty happy with my decision.

Another thing you might want to consider ... if you think you have a chance of getting a high ENTER score, you might want to consider applying for the Vice Chancellor's Scholarship. If you get an ENTER of above 97, and you have applied for the scholarship, you are practically guaranteed to receive it, though this depends on the demand. The end result of it is that you don't have to pay HECS after you graduate, Swinburne will cover it. So, when you graduate, you aren't losing any of your hard-earned graduate salary to HECS. It's quite nice. You have to maintain a 70% grade average and not fail any subjects, but that's not too difficult.

[excal]

Another really nice thing is the Industry-Based Learning component of the degree. In the third year, you get a paid work placement at a real company doing real software engineering work. This means when you graduate, you already have experience, so you'll be looked at more favourably by employers than graduates who have no experience. Theoretically, this means it will be easier to get a job when you graduate. Where you do your IBL is pretty much up to you, though Swinburne has a lot of good ties with many companies. They also have connections with places such as the Defence Science and Technology Organisation, which would look very nice on a CV.

Well that does depend on what kind of career path you decide to take. Often it's easier to transition from the private sector to the public as opposed to the opposite.

Another plus about IBL (and I've seen this happen even during the current economic conditions) - is that you might not even have to look for a graduate job if you enjoyed your placement. A lot of companies will simply take on their IBLs as permanent staff when they graduate if they have the budget to. The reason for this is that IBL students are cheap and are a form of 'try before you buy' recruiting. And you get the experience on your CV...pretty much a win-win deal for both parties.