Preparing graduates for the tech industry
Validate the high quality of your undergraduate and postgraduate computing degrees by accrediting your courses with the professional body for IT.
Raise your university’s profile within the IT industry by verifying the quality and integrity of your computing degree courses
Equip graduates with real-world knowledge and technical expertise — and set them on the path to chartered status
Benchmark your course content and delivery with other universities and colleges in the UK and internationally
Embed industry best practice standards and a continuous improvement approach across your computing faculty
What is BCS academic accreditation?
Accreditation from BCS provides you with independent assurance and recognition of the quality of your institute’s computing education. Your course content and provision are assessed by academics and employers, aligned with IT industry frameworks and benchmarked against other educational institutions, to ensure they meet the rigorous standards set by the profession.
Students choose to study BCS-accredited degrees knowing they’ll gain the right set of technical, personal and professional skills for the evolving tech industry — while employers can be confident that your graduates are prepped and ready to make an impact in their business.
Developing the tech profession
BCS is dedicated to inspiring young people to follow a career in tech and to providing them with solid learning foundations. It’s a key part of our Royal Charter and it’s why we work with over 100 higher education institutions (HEIs) to accredit their computing degree courses and provide professional development support for their students and faculty teams.
Employers need graduates leaving university with cutting-edge skills and understanding which they can apply to the real world; a challenging demand in the continually evolving field of tech. BCS accreditation provides recruiters with assurance that your courses are delivering relevant learning that’s regularly updated and that meets the high standards set by the profession. It confirms that your university’s computing graduates are among the best.
For global professional recognition
All undergraduate degrees accredited by BCS for full CITP, are recognised under the Seoul Accord which aims to establish and promote mutual recognition of academic programs among member countries.
This recognition enhances the credibility and quality assurance of academic programmes, allowing students to have their qualifications recognised globally. It helps students and graduates in their pursuit of international education, employment, and professional mobility.
BCS accreditation introduces your computing graduates to their professional body right at the start of their career. And by achieving a BCS-accredited degree, they’ll meet the criteria (in part* or in full) to become professionally registered with BCS as a Chartered IT Professional (CITP), Registered IT Technician (RITTech), Chartered Engineer (CEng) or Incorporated Engineer (IEng).
*Partial CITP accredited degrees are not recognised under the Seoul Accord agreement
More reasons to accredit your courses…
The benefits of BCS Academic Accreditation are far-reaching, not just for your organisation and your technology students but for their future employers and the tech industry as a whole.
Independent recognition
Grow the reputation of your university and your computing department with independent assurance and recognition from the industry body for tech.
Attract top students
Faced with today’s wide choice of IT study options, students are increasingly searching for degrees that have been accredited by their professional body.
Continual improvement
Our accreditation process highlights areas of best practice and offers support and guidance for the ongoing development of your programmes.
Raise your faculty’s profile
Show senior management that your department is committed to providing high quality computing education and exceptional career prospects for students.
Better graduate outcomes
Graduates from accredited programmes stand out in the competitive job market with credentials that tech employers recognise and value.
In-demand IT skills
Through regular employer consultation, BCS-accredited degrees equip your students with the knowledge, skills and capabilities employers are demanding in their organisation.
Professional recognition
BCS-accredited programmes introduce students to professional registration and set them on the path to Chartered IT Professional status.
Industry connections
Your BCS partnership gives students a direct line into the industry and world of work, a thriving community of IT employers and practitioners, and the latest tech ideas and innovations.
Exceptional talent
BCS-accredited degrees promote a steady flow of qualified talent into the industry with the calibre and skills to strengthen the profession and drive digital growth.
Business acumen
As well as specialist expertise, BCS accredited degrees nurture valuable workplace and business skills and an understanding of risk, security, and legal, social, ethical and professional issues.
Recruiting with confidence
Employers select graduates from accredited programmes knowing they’ll have the subject-relevant knowledge and skills to start adding value to their tech team from day one.
Bridging industry and academia
Employers and educators collaborate on the design of the degree programmes ensuring they deliver the right skills and capabilities to meet real world demands.
“Our relationship with BCS, particularly the membership element, aligns with our values and priorities as a university. At UCLan, our focus is on equipping our students with real-world learning experience, preparing them to be successful in the world of work. We are investing in our students and their future, and the tools and services provided by the BCS is another demonstration of that.”
How do I become accredited?
If you’re interested in the benefits of accreditation for your university, firstly take a look at our Academic Accreditation guidelines to find out more about the criteria involved and to determine whether your programmes are likely to meet them.
Your next step is to get in touch with us. We’ll discuss the type of accreditation you’re after and send you an application form with details of the documentation you’ll need to submit for our initial review.
If you’re becoming accredited with us for the first time, there are three stages to the assessment process:
Our accreditation assessors will review your documentation to determine the suitability of your programme(s).
Following a successful initial review, we’ll arrange an advisory visit. These are normally conducted remotely by a single assessor who’ll determine your institution’s readiness for a full accreditation visit.
In line with the recommendations from the advisory visit, we’ll arrange for our panel of chartered BCS members to visit your HEI. The visit will typically last a day though it can take longer depending on the number of departments / campuses we need to see.
As part of the process ahead of the accreditation visit, your organisation will become a BCS HEI Educational Affiliate member — we’ll provide you with logos you can use to promote your affiliation.
How much does it cost?
To maintain your BCS-accredited status, there’s an annual fee of £1,050 which covers all of your accredited courses.
BCS Academic Accreditation is awarded for a period of five years, after which time you’re required to revalidate. We’ll contact you towards the end of your accreditation period to make arrangements for reassessing your programme.
Practice highlights
During your accreditation review, the panel will be on the lookout for ‘practice highlights’ — these are any aspect of your education programme or delivery that stands out as exemplary and/or has the potential to be adopted in other HEIs to enhance their programmes — View all practice highlights
Staffordshire University
University of Southampton
University of Salford
Already accredited?
Once you’ve achieved accreditation, we’ll visit you every five years to review and re-accredit your programmes. We’ll provide at least 12 months’ notice prior to our visit so you can prepare all the necessary documentation for review.
If you make any changes to your BCS-accredited programmes in the meantime, please let the team know at educ@bcs.uk.
Here are the resources you’ll need to prepare for your accreditation review:
Academic accreditation guidelines April 2022 — these include the Engineering Council’s AHEP4 learning outcomes.
For re-accreditation including CEng/IEng against AHEP3 during the Engineering Council’s transition phase, refer to these guidelines on course accreditation.
Mapping templates — including AHEP4 learning outcomes
These templates are for HEIs applying for accreditation for the first time, as well as re-accreditation.
Integrated Masters - Full CITP and Full CEng (XLSX)
Bachelors (Hons) - Full CITP and Partial CEng (XLSX)
Bachelors (Hons) - Integrated Masters – Full CITP (XLSX)
Specialist Masters - Partial CITP (XLSX)
Specialist Masters - Partial CITP and CEng (Further Learning) (XLSX)
Generalist Masters - Partial CITP (XLSX)
Foundation Degree - Partial IEng (XLSX)
Ordinary Degree - Full IEng (XLSX)
Mapping templates — including AHEP3 learning outcomes
These templates are for HEIs seeking re-accreditation against AHEP3 during the Engineering Council’s transition phase (which ends in August 2024).
Table for UG Ordinary Degree & FdSc (IEng) (XLS)
Table for UG Joint (Hons) and Generalist MSc (XLS)
Table for UG (Hons) Degree (XLS)
The Euro-Inf Quality Label is awarded to informatics degree programmes at bachelor’s and master’s level that comply with the Euro-Inf Framework Standards and Accreditation criteria.
The Euro-Inf Quality Labels are owned by the European Quality Assurance Network for Informatics Education (EQANIE) and BCS is one of three awarding bodies.
About EQANIE
EQANIE is a non-profit association seeking to enhance evaluation and quality assurance of informatics study programmes and education in Europe.
The objectives of the Euro-Inf Quality Label are:
- to enhance quality and transparency of educational programmes in informatics
- to provide information on study programmes across Europe through an appropriate label for accredited educational programmes in informatics
- to facilitate mutual transnational recognition of qualifications
- to increase mobility of students
Which degrees are eligible?
A range of degree programmes have been awarded the Euro-Inf Quality Labels in a number of countries. BCS is authorised by EQANIE to award the Euro-Inf Bachelor and Euro-Inf Master Quality Labels for degree programmes offered in the UK. These include programmes accredited for Full or Partial CITP or CEng.
Applying for the Euro-Inf Quality Label
Applications are likely to fall into one of two categories.
Retrospective award: to apply for a course that’s already received BCS-accredited, you’ll need to email us with details of the title, mode of study and length of the programme(s) to be considered. We’re able to award the label retrospectively as far back as the start of your current BCS accreditation period.
Accreditation review visit: if you’d like us to consider a programme for review at a forthcoming BCS accreditation visit, please provide a course list prior to the visit, indicating the levels of accreditation you’re seeking. Our application forms include tick boxes for the Euro-Inf Bachelor and Master Quality Label.
