Course Overview
Course summary
Working in the world of information systems can be exciting and rewarding as businesses become more and more reliant on information systems to support innovation, decision making and day-to-day operations.
The creative use of information systems can transform organisations. Successful enterprises require hybrid managers and analysts who can evaluate and use the tools, gauge the risks and provide the key insights and sound direction for strategic business planning.
Our Business Information Systems BSc will give you a clear perspective of the current nature and practice of business information systems, and will develop your understanding of the business challenges of an enterprise, and your ability to conceive and manage solutions which are increasingly ICT dependent.
You’ll integrate your skills of problem solving and information systems modelling with your knowledge of business processes and environments. You’ll be able to consult on, support or develop the technological platforms of an enterprise to achieve competitive advantage, building a career in roles ranging from systems developer to business manager.
Our course offers a short-term work-based learning experience that will give you the opportunity to work on a real-life problem, which is normally set by an external organisation as a small-scale project. This experience will allow you to put your new knowledge and skills into practice by addressing a real-life situation, usually within the context of a business-related problem.
In addition, you’ll have the opportunity to undertake a year in industry (work placement) after completing the second year of your study. This will help you gain work experience and enhance your employability. You’ll be offered help and support to find and secure placement opportunities through various workshops and events organised by the Careers and Employability Service and the course team. Typically, you’ll be assigned into roles involving tasks related to business information systems.
Top reasons to study with us
- Develop the skills and knowledge that will help you play a leading role in using IT and information systems to achieve business goals
- Learn to use IT management skills to help improve business efficiency and sharpen a company’s competitive edge
- Build the skills that will help you lead digital transformation, plan strategically and redesign business secure operations as well as establish business processes and direct digitalization in big and small companies.
- You’ll have the opportunity to undertake a work placement year to develop your skills and enhance your employability
- Our course meets business and industry needs and ensures that you, as tomorrow’s business managers, are equipped with important IT, business, project management, personal and interpersonal skills
Course structure
You’ll learn through a mixture of lectures, practical tutorials, laboratory sessions and independent study.
In Year 1 you will be introduced to business and information systems fundamentals, concepts, components and architectures.
In Years 2 and 3 you will follow the Specialist Themes that interest you the most.
Specialist Themes
Business Information Systems and Business Management
You'll focus on how value is created in business activities through the use of IT to establish competitive advantage, and how the alignment between business strategy and technology can be managed in an efficient and effective way.
Business Information Systems and Business Analytics
You'll focus on unlocking insights into data to improve business efficiency, financial performance and strategic management. You'll learn to interrogate information needs and transform information into knowledge, and knowledge to decisions and actions.
Business Information Systems and IT/ Cyber Security
You'll understand how to defend IT-based business systems, networks and data from cybercrime and become a cybersecurity professional.
The following subjects are indicative of what you will study on this course.
Subjects of study include:
- Business Computing
- Business Information Systems Concepts
- Business Mathematics
- Database Design and Implementation
- Requirements Modelling
- Web Design and Development
Credit Level 4
Subjects of study include:
- Agile Project Management and Professional Experience (work-based learning)
- BIS Design and Architecture
- BIS Development
- Business Analytics
- Database Systems
- Information Technology Security
- Server-side Web Development
- Service Operation Management
Credit level 5
This course gives you the opportunity to take a year in industry (work placement) after completing the second year of your study. This will help you gain work experience and increase your chances of employability after you graduate.
You will be offered help and support to find and secure placement opportunities through various workshops and events organised by the Careers and Employability Service and the course team.
Typically, you will be assigned into roles involving tasks related to business information systems.
Subjects of study include:
- Big Data Analytics
- Customer Relationship and Change Management (CRM & CM) with Business Intelligence
- Cyber Security
- Data Visualisation and Dash Boarding
- Digital Marketing, Social Media and Web Analytics
- Final Year Project
- Information Driven Entrepreneurship & Enterprises
- Strategic Management of Information Systems
Credit Level 6
Professional accreditation
The course is intended to fulfil the educational requirements of the British Computer Society (BCS) towards registration as a Chartered IT Professional (CITP).
Programme Specification
For more details on course structure and modules, and how you will be taught and assessed, see the programme specification.
Careers
With a growing global network of 3,000 employers, our Careers and Employability Service is here to support you to achieve your full potential.
Transferable skills
You'll gain the knowledge and experience to work in roles such as business analyst, change manager, IT consultant, project manager, security analyst, system analyst, systems architect and web designer.
Work placement opportunities
You’ll have the opportunity to undertake a work placement year to develop your skills and enhance your employability.
3,000
Employers around the world
The University’s Careers and Employability Service has built up a network of over 3,000 employers around the world, helping all our students explore and connect with exciting opportunities and careers.
Career development
Our course offers a short-term work-based learning experience by providing you with an opportunity to work on a real-life problem, which is normally set by an external organisation as a small-scale project.
This experience will allow you to put your new knowledge and skills into practice by addressing a real-life situation, usually within the context of a business-related problem.
This experience will also help you develop subject-specific technical skills as well as employability skills such as leadership, organisation and commercial awareness.
Our course also gives you the opportunity to undertake a year in industry (work placement) after completing the second year of your study and gain work experience, enhancing your employability. You'll be offered help and support to find and secure placement opportunities through various workshops and events.
Job roles
This course will prepare you for roles such as:
- Business analyst
- Change manager
- IT consultant
- IT project manager
- IT security analyst
- System analyst
- Systems architect
- Web designer
Graduate employment
Graduates from this course have found employment at organisations including:
- Citi Group
- GlaxoSmithKline
- HP
- IBM
- NHS
International Opportunities
Many of our courses offer international study and work experiences, and the University provides other global opportunities that all students can apply for - so whatever you're studying, you'll have the chance to go abroad.
Opportunities could include:
- Taking part in semester or year-long exchanges at institutions around the world
- Attending an international summer school or field trip
- Developing your CV through volunteering or work placements abroad
International experience broadens horizons, boosts self-confidence, and improves global understanding, alongside being fantastic for your career.
Find out more about our international opportunities, including funding options and where you can go.
Course Leader
Dr Panagiotis Chountas
Principal Lecturer
Dr Panos Chountas's research expertise
focuses on the areas of data and knowledge engineering, and intelligent systems and their application to businesses and public organisations for the purposes of maximising business profitability and achieving more efficient and proactive process management.
His research is focused on the following areas: business intelligence, Big Data analytics, health informatics, large databases and Big Data repositories, and digital media storage architectures.
His research has been supported by the Royal Society and Technology Strategy Board.
Dr Chountas chaired the 12th International Conference on Flexible Query Answering Systems FQAS 2017, and the International IEEE Conference-Intelligent Systems 2006 (IEEE-IS'2006 and EEaE IS'2010). For the 6th IEEE International Conference “Big Data, Knowledge and Control Systems Engineering” (BdKCSE’2019) he delivered the opening keynote talk on “Big Data and Change Analytics”.
"Information technology and business are becoming inextricably interwoven. I don't think anybody can talk meaningfully about one without talking about the other”.
- Bill Gates
Course Team
Why study this course?
Get ahead before graduating
Our work placement opportunities will prepare you for your career after graduation and improve your employability.
Fantastic central London location
Based in our Cavendish Campus in central London, you’ll enjoy the benefits of studying in a global business hub.
A supportive environment
We provide our students with the right environment, support and guidance throughout their studies to keep them motivated.
Online open days
Join us at an online open day or information session and get a feel for student life at the University of Westminster.
You'll get a chance to:
- Speak to our academic staff
- Take a virtual reality tour of our student halls
- Ask us any questions you may have about student finance and accommodation
Entry Requirements
- A levels – CCC to BBB
- International Baccalaureate – 96 to 120 UCAS Tariff points from the IB
- BTEC Extended Diploma – MMM to DDM
- BTEC Diploma – DD to D*D*
- Access – 96 to 120 UCAS Tariff points from the Access course
In addition to one of the above, you should have:
- GCSE English Language grade 4/C – IB grade 4 Higher Level, GCSE Maths grade 4/C – IB grade 4
If your first language is not English, you will need an IELTS score of 6.0 overall, with 5.5 in each component.
Mature entrants without formal qualifications will be considered on an individual basis.
We also welcome applications from students who are taking a combination of qualifications listed above. For further information, please contact Course Enquiries.
View more information about our entry requirements and the application process.
- International Baccalaureate – 96 to 120 UCAS Tariff points from the IB
If your first language is not English, you will need an IELTS score of 6.0 overall, with 5.5 in each component.
More information
Learn new skills
Learn a new language
From Arabic to Spanish, you can learn a new language alongside your degree with our Polylang programme.
Develop your entrepreneurial skills
Our award-winning Creative Enterprise Centre offers industry networking events, workshops, one-to-one business advice and support for your startup projects.
Gain extra qualifications
We provide access to free online courses in Adobe and Microsoft Office applications, as well as thousands of specialist courses on LinkedIn Learning.
Fees and Funding
UK tuition fee: £9,250 (Price per academic year)
When you have enrolled with us, your annual tuition fees will remain the same throughout your studies with us. We do not increase your tuition fees each year.
Find out how we set our tuition fees.
Funding
As well as tuition fee loans, there is a range of funding available to help you fund your studies.
Find out about undergraduate student funding options.
Scholarships
The University is dedicated to supporting ambitious and outstanding students and we offer a variety of scholarships to eligible undergraduate students, which cover all or part of your tuition fees.
Find out if you qualify for one of our scholarships.
Additional costs
See what you may need to pay for separately and what your tuition fees cover.
International tuition fee: £14,400 (Price per academic year)
When you have enrolled with us, your annual tuition fees will remain the same throughout your studies with us. We do not increase your tuition fees each year.
Find out how we set our tuition fees.
International student funding
Find out about funding for international students.
Scholarships
The University is dedicated to supporting ambitious and outstanding students and we offer a variety of scholarships to eligible undergraduate students, which cover all or part of your tuition fees.
Find out if you qualify for one of our scholarships.
Additional costs
See what you may need to pay for separately and what your tuition fees cover.
Student success
Tanisha Sharma
Business Information Systems Bsc Honours
To pursue the BSc Business Information Systems (BIS) course at the University of Westminster was one of the best decisions I ever made. I enjoyed the full BIS course and the learnings were very useful for my future career. Also, it shaped me into a well-rounded, open-minded individual.
The practical course approach enhanced my confidence and skills that make me truly professional in today’s fiercely competitive environment.
I secured a job in the Business Analysis division of a technology company before even taking my final year exams. I chose the BIS course mainly because of its curriculum, offering a great balance between the technology and business modules. The requirements analysis and agile project management modules are some of the course highlights, which I am using day-to-day in my career.
BIS is a degree that can be applied to almost any job. Having completed the course, I recommend future students to be proactive, curious, and engaged. Learn from excellent lecturers here as they are great professionals and have deep knowledge in all spheres of computing and beyond! The guidance and the support of the lecturers throughout the course were incredible and everyone was more than happy to share valuable knowledge, so don’t be afraid to ask!
I secured a job in the Business Analysis division of a technology company before even taking my final year exams.
Teaching and assessment
Below you will find how learning time and assessment types were distributed in the past on this course, through approximate percentages taken from previous cohorts. Changes to the division of learning time and assessment may be made in response to feedback and in accordance with our terms and conditions.
How you'll be taught
Teaching methods across all our undergraduate courses focus on active student learning through lectures, seminars, workshops, problem-based and blended learning, and where appropriate practical application. Learning typically falls into three broad categories:
- Scheduled hours: examples include lectures, seminars, practical classes, workshops, supervised time in a studio
- Placement: placement hours normally include placement opportunities, but may also include live projects or virtual activity involving employers
- Independent study: non-scheduled time in which students are expected to study independently. This may include preparation for scheduled sessions, follow-up work, wider reading or practice, completion of assessment tasks, or revision
Year
1
34%66%
2
24%76%
3
21%79%
How you'll be assessed
Our undergraduate courses include a wide variety of assessments.
The graphs below give an indication of what you can expect. Assessments typically fall into three broad categories:
- Practical: examples include presentations, videos, podcasts, lab work, creating artefacts
- Written exams: end of semester exams
- Coursework: examples include essays, reports, in-class tests, portfolios, dissertation
Year
1
9%8%83%
2
17%4%79%
3
7%93%
Data from the academic year 2019/20
Supporting you
Our Student Hub is where you’ll find out about the services and support we offer, helping you get the best out of your time with us.
- Study support — workshops, 1-2-1 support and online resources to help improve your academic and research skills
- Personal tutors — support you in fulfilling your academic and personal potential
- Student advice team — provide specialist advice on a range of issues including funding, benefits and visas
- Extra-curricular activities — volunteering opportunities, sports and fitness activities, student events and more
Location
With state-of-the-art science and psychology labs and refurbished computer suites, our Cavendish Campus offers our science and technology students a range of learning spaces that are both dynamic and inspiring,
Located in central London, our Cavendish Campus is just a five-minute walk from Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road.
For more details, visit our Cavendish Campus page.
Contact us
We have an FAQs page if you are applying this year.
Or you can contact the Course Enquiries Team:
Opening hours (GMT): 9am–4pm Monday to Friday
More information
Your Westminster
Book an open day. Order a prospectus. Sign up for newsletters.