Electrical Engineering
Early childhood education and care involves supporting babies and young children to become competent and confident learners through loving relationships with others. Children require high-quality education and care during their formative years. Research indicates that the higher the professional qualification of the educator working with the children, the higher the quality of the setting and the children’s experiences in it.
Course Structure
This honours degree in Early Childhood Education and Care enables the student to study a diverse range of subjects in order to gain a deep understanding of babies and children from birth to six years of age. Students develop a knowledge and understanding of Aistear, the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework and Síolta, the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education, essential for professional work in this area of practice.
Creative Computing
This is a four year course designed to provide students with the knowledge and practical experience of industry standard innovative tools and technologies, within the domains of technology and creative media. The course is primarily a computing course specialising in creative media, with approximately 60% computing content and 40% creative media content. It is a very practical based course where students develop skills through a strong emphasis on project work and continuous assessment. Graduates are highly employable allowing them to pursue a career in both the computing and creative media industry. If you would like to study a Computer Science Course and you also like Creative Media, this might be the course for you!
Subject Areas
Students study core computing subject areas, such as Web and Mobile Development, Computer Science and Databases, with creative subject areas such as UX (User Experience) Design, Graphic Design, Animation and Media Production.
Criminal Justice Studies
The BA (Hons) in Criminal Justice Studies is a three year degree course designed to equip the student with general knowledge and transferable skills while focusing on the broad theme of criminal justice. It is a multidisciplinary course.
Special Features of the Course
While this course is both inter-disciplinary and multidisciplinary in order to help students develop general academic skills, it is designed with those in mind who would like to enter the criminal justice professions and seeks to cater for their specific educational requirements.
Food Science and Innovation
This is a four year, full time honours degree which can be chosen within the WD002 – Bachelor of Science (Hons) Common Entry Route. The modules in this course bring together science, business, enterprise and the culinary arts responding to the needs of the food industry. The degree will train you in food manufacture, analysis and safety in addition to business, marketing and innovation, giving you key skills for your future career. The programme includes real industrial type tasks such as market research, business plan development, product innovation and manufacture, and show casing of new products.
What subjects will I study?
At the outset there is a strong emphasis on the sciences such as biology, chemistry and physics to provide you with a good basis for the following years. In years 2, 3, 4 you will study specialist modules in food chemistry, processing, microbiology and quality management, business, marketing and innovation. In year 4 you will study cross-disciplinary modules bringing together science, business, innovation and culinary arts. Fourth year students will undertake a product innovation project to develop a food product idea from inception through its technical formulation, marketing and package development.
What are the unique features of BSc in Food Science and Innovation?
You will learn a lot of practical skills in SETU Waterford laboratories and in year 4 you will learn practical culinary skills in the SETU Waterford training kitchens. The multidisciplinary approach to the programme ensures you will gain the competencies for all aspects of the food industry. We have close links with industry and the Teagasc Food Research Centres, as well as a research active staff, which ensure you will be exposed to the innovative food research and technologies currently employed within the Irish food industry.
BSc in Food Science and Innovation industrial placement
A twelve week industrial placement in the food industry occurs in the third year of the course. This is supported by our food industry partners and is seen as critical to the overall learning experience and development of the students. The industrial placement will be organised by SETU Waterford staff and monitored by both the employer and SETU Waterford staff, with the student keeping a reflective work log. Work placement can be organised for Ireland or abroad.
The Industrial Placement will allow learners to apply and develop their skills in the food industry. The placement is designed to meet the needs of industry whilst providing the student with a broader skills-base. It is envisaged that the practical element of employment will complement the course content and help develop skills that are essential in today’s work environment.
Health & Exercise Science
The BSc (Hons) in Health and Exercise Science is a full-time, four year, honours degree course of study that can be chosen within the Exercise Sciences Common Entry Route. It is the successor programme of the BA (Hons) in Exercise and Health Studies. The BSc (Hons) in Health and Exercise Science combines the disciplines of exercise science and physical activity. The Health and Exercise Science programme will give graduates the knowledge and skills needed to assist the general population, distinct population groups and those with health problems as they engage in physical activity and structured exercise programmes.
The programme is built on a broad-based exercise science education in physiology, biomechanics, psychology, nutrition, physical activity, strength and conditioning and exercise programming.
At the end of the programme, graduates will be able to:
Evaluate physiological function, fitness, physical activity and well-being in a range of population groups including aged individuals and those with health problems
Develop and lead exercise programmes for these specialist groups
Apply psychological and behavioural change techniques to promote programme adherence and increase physical activity
Devise, implement and evaluate initiatives to increase physical activity and participation, targeting a variety of population groups in a variety of settings
Assist in distinguishing fact from fiction with reference to the fitness research literature
Programme features
Awards
REPS Ireland recognised fitness instructor awards are built into the programme, including Fitness Instruction, Group Fitness Instruction, Personal Training and Exercise for Health Specialist. Awards up to Personal Training can be obtained by the end of year 2.
Facilities
Laboratories and apparatus available for practical classes and research projects include 3 human performance laboratories, dance studios, a high-performance gym, a DEXA body composition analyser and ActivPal physical activity motion sensors. A number of classes are delivered in the teaching and laboratory facilities of the SETU Waterford ARENA.
Work Placement
A 16-week work placement offers supervised experience in a fitness, special needs or physical activity promotion environment. The Department has an extensive network of placement opportunities that include:
Physical Activity Officers for people with a disability, older adults or in community settings
Experiencing cardiac rehabilitation in regional hospitals
Sports Development Officers with Local Sports Partnerships to promote participation in physical activity
Personal Trainers in community and private enterprises
Health and Exercise Specialists in workplaces, charities and NGB’s of sport.
Health Sciences (Common Entry)
The Common Entry Scheme is for students interested in Health Care as a career, but who may be unsure of what exact area of health care they would like to work in. The BSc (Hons) in Health Sciences (Common Entry) is the gateway for the two Level 8 BSc (Hons) degrees in SETU Waterford:
BSc (Hons) in Applied Health Care
BSc (Hons) in Public Health and Health Promotion
In these degrees, placement experiences allow the student to experience the broad field of health care and help them choose a career path they feel passionate about.
Student Study Advisor
All students are assigned a study advisor, a lecturer from the Department, and are encouraged to link with this advisor to discuss programme progress and any issues including programme options and career opportunities. This support offers the opportunity to ask detailed questions and get individual guidance as to which discipline they could pursue. From second year onwards the student chooses to study either applied health care or health promotion and public health.
Accounting
The Accounting stream is primarily for those students who are interested in either a career in accountancy (industry/practice) or teaching accountancy-related subjects at second-level. In this regard, the stream places an emphasis on modules that address the learning that an aspiring accountant needs. This includes modules on financial reporting, management accounting, taxation, finance, law and auditing. On successful completion of the stream, and the achievement of certain marks in specific modules, many graduates apply for a range of exemptions from the professional examinations of the main accounting bodies. In addition, graduates can also – after completion of other relevant qualifications – apply to the Teaching Council to be permitted to teach accountancy in secondary schools, again subject to the achievement of certain results in particular modules.
Career options:
Accountancy/audit
Taxation
Teaching
Consultancy
Financial services
Architecture
It is a 5 year honours degree course, designed in accordance with national and international guidelines on architectural education. The B.Arch.(hons) in SETU Waterford was the first outside of Dublin to receive full accreditation by the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (RIAI) in 2005. It is also recognized under European Directive 2005/36/EC. Studying architecture in an accredited programme is the first step towards becoming a registered professional architect.
Architectural education at SETU Waterford is primarily about developing within each student a ‘design mind’ so that they can bring together in a creative way the complex challenges facing the future world of construction. Students are introduced to design methodologies and work in a ‘learning through doing’ environment in the studio where they explore architectural designs growing in complexity as they progress through the various years. Students learn the importance of culture, climate and craft in developing design ideas. Feeding into these studio based projects are the supporting subjects grouped under the generic headings of ‘Cultural Context’, ‘Communications’, ‘Technology & the Environment’ and a suite of electives including Work Placement.
Business Management
Business touches on almost every aspect of modern human society and careers in business are diverse and often highly paid. At undergraduate level students can gain a foundation in many of these aspects of the business world, before choosing a specialisation.
In the Business Management option, Year 3 students will study specialist subjects in more detail including: Business Research Methods; Organisational Behaviour; Operations Management; Business Finance; International Business and more. Additional specialist subjects can be chosen depending on the student’s area of interest.
Business Information Systems
Digital transformation is occurring throughout business and industries, nationally and internationally. Digital transformation is a journey that an organisation embarks upon to change its client engagement, creating new business models or enabling its employees to work in a different manner using technology. Digital transformation connects a range of existing and new technologies to create value including the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data Analytics (BDA) and Data Visualization, Cloud Computing, Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs) and Blockchain, Mobile Web, etc. As the ICT and business linkage is so strong in digital transformation, the hybrid mix of graduate skills most sought after by organisations all across the world is the combination of ICT skills, business acumen, communication skills, and soft skills, such as teamwork and problem-solving capabilities. Thus, the Business Information Systems (BIS) graduate is the perfect fit to drive digital transformation across all industries both nationally and internationally.
Course Aims
Strong growth markets for emerging technologies are driving fundamental change to businesses globally. The availability of hybrid skills for developing, implementing and using ICT for digital transformation is an important condition for the competitiveness and the innovation capabilities of the European, national and international economies. The Bachelor of Business (Honours) in Business Information Systems aims to provide an environment and educational opportunities, which will develop confident, reflective, graduates who possess the required high-level technology skills and business acumen as Business Information Systems (BIS) professionals, to drive digital transformation across all industries, nationally and internationally.
