Course length: One year FT/Two years FT + placement/Two years PT. Computer-based multimedia techniques are used to communicate a whole range of ideas in business, education, government, the arts and entertainment, and the aim of this course is to give you a clear understanding of the underlying principles and technical issues associated with developing computer systems that incorporate multimedia content. During the course you will learn about underlying principles of the technology that is used to create, store and manipulate a variety of media on computers. You will gain experience of using state of the art software and you will explore how programming can be used to develop the complexity and interactivity of applications on a range of platforms. You will develop the research skills to enable you to keep up to date and explore new ideas in a rapidly changing field, working with our highly regarded academics who recently achieved 80% world-leading or internationally excellent research impact (REF 2014). Overall you will be equipped to be an independent learner in this field who can analyse the requirements for interactive applications, evaluate tools and solutions and who can work creatively in this area. This course can complement the knowledge and skills that you have obtained on almost any undergraduate course. We have had artists who wanted to present their material on the Internet, engineers who wanted to create product and factory simulations and even an archaeologist who wanted to create a virtual museum.

Companies are increasingly looking for flexible employees with a range of abilities, which is why our graduates often find employment thanks to a combination of their first degree and postgraduate qualification. This is particularly true in the field of computer-aided learning (CAL), and a significant number of graduates have gone into CAL development roles in both the public and private sector. Their CAL development expertise was obtained from this course and their subject knowledge from their first degree. On completion of the course you will be able to work in any environment where interactive systems are needed to aid communication. This may be internally in companies, externally through the internet or using other forms of delivery. A significant number of students from this course have found employment in the rapidly developing field of computer aided learning (CAL) where they often combine the subject specific knowledge from their undergraduate degree with the new knowledge and skills that they have gained on this programme.