BSc Hons in Informatics
Johannesburg, South Africa
DURATION
1 up to 2 Weeks
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
31 Oct 2025
EARLIEST START DATE
Feb 2026
TUITION FEES
ZAR 43,121 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* fees for the complete programme amount to between R43121,00 and R51230,00. Fees may vary depending on the composition of a particular qualification
Introduction
The primary purpose of the BSc Honours qualification is to consolidate and deepen the students’ knowledge and expertise in Informatics, and to develop research capacity in the methodology and techniques of it. BSc Honours is essentially a coursework degree of which at least 25% (30) of the credits are devoted to a research project and reporting under supervision.
Reasons for studying at UJ
- UJ offers not only a special program called the First Year Experience to help orientate students throughout the first year but we also offer a Senior Student Experience that gears students toward the workplace!
- Grab the opportunity to participate in a variety of sports and train alongside Olympians and Paralympians on state-of-the-art pitches, tracks, and fields, or just keep fit by joining one of the gyms on each of our 4 campuses.
- Be part of a young, vibrant, and agile university that reflects and adapts easily to our country’s aspirations, while maintaining global relevance through numerous international partnerships.
- 178 Internationally respected and accepted qualifications.
- Join a university that cares enough to have raised over R300 million since the start of 2016 in order to support the Missing Middle Campaign. UJ also ensures that more than 6 000 needy students have two healthy meals per day.
- Study in the vibrant City of Gold – the economic hub of South Africa. Join a vibrant, cosmopolitan, progressive group of students and academics on their way to re-imagining the future!
- UJ offers an amazing on-campus experience whether you live in one of UJ’s residences, belong to a day house, or whether you just want to socialize at the Student Centres on all campuses.
- We ensure the health, safety, and security of all our students through our own on-campus health services and UJ Protection Services.
- Did you know that during the first five years of UJ’s existence it doubled its targeted research output and to this day, continues to break records!
Admissions
Curriculum
The Honours Degree in Informatics (H2009Q (BSc Hons)/H2C07Q (BCom Hons)) consists of seven-semester modules and a compulsory practical year project IT28X87 Project (2 modules).
The following core semester module is compulsory: IT00247 Ethical and legal aspects of IT. The scope of the practical year project is a minimum of 200 hours. The year project spans two consecutive semester modules. The continuation of the project in the second semester is dependent on satisfactory progress during the first semester. The project must be developed strictly according to the project development methodology as prescribed by the Academy of Computer Science and Software Engineering.
A research component contributing at least 25% to the final mark will form part of all of the following courses with the exception of the Project (2 modules), which will have a research component of 100%.
Elective semester modules:
- Computer Forensics
- Software Factories
- Services Computing
- Critical Information Infrastructure Protection
- Systems Programming
- Information Security
- Information Security in WWW
- Introduction to IT Project Management
- Compiler Construction
- Artificial Intelligence
- Optimization
- Functional Programming
- Mobile Programming
- Network Information Security
- Advanced Artificial Intelligence
- Graphics
- New Systems Development Paradigms
- Biometrics
- Information Security Risk Analysis
- IT aspects of Knowledge Management
- Ethical and Legal aspects of IT
- E-Business Strategy
- Advanced Information Technology Project Management
- Information Security Governance
- Data Communications
- WWW Programming: Big Data Analytics
- Cyber-social Computing – Techniques and emerging trends
With special permission, one or two lectured modules may be replaced by semester modules from related subject areas. The content of the lectured modules is determined annually by the Academy of Computer Science and Software Engineering. The content is not included in the regulation book but may be obtained directly from the Academy of Computer Science and Software Engineering.
Rankings
Shanghai Ranking
- World Rankings: 601-700 in the world / 5th in South Africa and 6th in Africa
- Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS):
Hospitality & Tourism Management: 18th in the world, 1st in South Africa and Africa
Sociology: Top 150 in the world, 1st and only one ranked in South Africa and Africa
Public Administration: Top 150 in the world, 1st and only one ranked in South Africa and Africa
Education: Top 300 in the world, 1st in South Africa and Africa
Earth Sciences: Top 300 in the world, 2nd in South Africa and Africa
Geography: Top 300 in the world, 2nd in South Africa and Africa
Chemical Engineering: Top 400 in the world, joint 1st in South Africa and Africa
Political Sciences: Top 400 in the world, 3rd in South Africa and Africa
Physics: Top 400 in the world, 3rd in South Africa and Africa
Management: Top 500 in the world, 1st in South Africa and Africa
Ecology: Top 500 in the world
Quacquarelli Symonds (QS)
- World Rankings: 434 in the world, in the Top 1.4% / 3rd in South Africa and Africa
- Subject Rankings:
English Language & Literature: Top 250 in the world, joint 3rd in South Africa and Africa
Chemical Engineering: Top 350 in the world, joint 3rd in South Africa, and joint 4th in Africa
Education & Training: Top 350 in the world, 5th in South Africa and Africa
Economics & Econometrics: Top 400 in the world, joint 4th in South Africa, and joint 5th in
Africa Agriculture & Forestry: Top 400 in the world, 6th in South Africa
Physics & Astronomy: Top 450 in the world, joint 2nd in South Africa, and joint 3rd in Africa
Environmental Sciences: Top 450 in the world, 6th in South Africa and Africa
Chemistry: Top 500 in the world, joint 3rd in South Africa, and joint 6th in Africa
Mechanical, Aeronautical & Manufacturing Engineering: Top 500 in the world, 5th in South Africa
Medicine: Top 650 in the world
- QS Graduate Employability Rankings:
Top 500 in the world, joint 4th in South Africa
Times Higher Education (THE)
- World Rankings: 601-800 in the world / Joint 7th in South Africa
- Subject Rankings:
Law: Top 201+ in the world, joint 4th in South Africa and Africa
Education: Top 300 in the world, joint 3rd in South Africa and Africa
Psychology: Top 400 in the world, joint 2nd in South Africa and Africa
Arts & Humanities: Top 400 in the world, joint 3rd in South Africa and Africa
Social Sciences: Top 400 in the world, 4th in South Africa and Africa
Life Sciences: Top 500 in the world, joint 4th in South Africa, and joint 5th in Africa
Business & Economics: Top 600 in the world, joint 4th in South Africa, and joint 6th in Africa
Engineering & Technology: Top 600 in the world, joint 4th in South Africa
Clinical & Health: Top 600 in the world
Computer Science: Top 800 in the world, joint 4th in South Africa
Physical Sciences: Top 800 in the world
- THE Young University Rankings: 173 among young universities, 4th in South Africa
- THE Emerging Economies University Rankings: 116 among universities in emerging economies, 7th in South Africa
US News & World Report’s Best Global Universities Rankings (BGUR)
- World Rankings: 378 in the world / 5th in South Africa and Africa
- Subject Rankings:
Geosciences: 222 in the world, 2nd in South Africa and Africa
Chemistry: 280 in the world, 1st in South Africa and Africa
Social Sciences & Public Health: 287 in the world, 5th in South Africa and Africa
Physics: 289 in the world, 3rd in South Africa and Africa
Engineering: 392 in the world, 2nd in South Africa, and 4th in Africa
Plant & Animal Science: 424 in the world
Environment/Ecology: 463 in the world
Program Outcome
- Identify, interpret, analyze and address complex problems, using both routine and advanced skills, conceptual and/or evidence-based inquiry, and theory-driven arguments.
- Work effectively with others in a team by being answerable for their own work and the work of others.
- Identify, evaluate and address their own professional and ongoing learning needs.
- Demonstrate efficient and effective information retrieval and processing skills, using appropriate ICT.
- Demonstrate a comprehensive, systematic, and critical knowledge and understanding of the principles, scope, theories, and epistemologies of their respective science disciplines/field.
- Evaluate their own and others’ academic work and initiatives against informed criteria.
- Present and communicate ideas and texts, offering professional insights, interpretations, and solutions to problems and issues appropriate to the science context.
- Use science and technology in complex and challenging contexts and make autonomous ethical decisions on complex professional issues in accordance with recognized professional and/or ethical standards.
- Critique current research and advanced scholarship in the science area of specialization and make sound theoretical judgments based on evidence.
- Identify, select and apply a range of research methodologies and methods/techniques to research problem/s in their science area of specialization.
- Identify, analyze, synthesize and undertake an independent evaluation of quantitative and/or qualitative data, and engage with and evaluate current research and scholarly or professional literature in their respective discipline/field.