Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with Advanced and Quantum Computing
Every serious technology economy needs a small number of people who understand computation deeply enough to build the layer everyone else stands on: compilers, runtimes, schedulers, numerical kernels, cryptographic primitives and, increasin...
Employment thesis
What this programme is designed to produce
Forward publishes the destination of every programme before you enrol. If the thesis stops holding, the programme is reviewed and, where necessary, retired. Next review: 2031.
Roles
- Systems and compiler engineer
- high performance computing engineer
- research engineer
- cryptography engineer
- quantum software developer
- algorithms specialist
- academic researcher
- doctoral candidate.
Employer types
- Research institutes and universities
- national computing and cryptographic capability
- high performance computing centres
- global technology firms
- quantum and deep technology start ups
- and the financial sector's quantitative functions.
Target outcomes we hold ourselves to
- A deliberately small, highly selective programme whose primary destination is doctoral study, research engineering and the specialist end of the international market.
Compulsory · The Forward Core
How the Core works →Every Forward programme, including this one, carries the same five cross-cutting requirements. They are graded, not optional.
- AI Fluency
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Ethics and African Context
- Human-Advantage Skills
- Enterprise
Includes 12 months paid work-integrated learning
Am I eligible?
Check yourself against the published requirements
7 questions written specifically for Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with Advanced and Quantum Computing. Every answer is checked against a requirement Forward has published, and the result tells you which page that requirement comes from. Indicative only, the admissions office decides on your full file.
What is the highest qualification you hold or are completing?
Curriculum structure
The same degree, in both pathways
Every Forward programme is published in both pathways: Path One, the term plan of two six-month terms, and Path Two, the block sequence of twelve four-week blocks. Same competencies, same assessments, same award. Toggle to see this programme in each.
Path One term plan shown
Path One · The Term Model
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 101 | AI Fluency I: How Intelligent Systems Work Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| AIC 110 | Programming and Computational Thinking I Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| AIC 111 | Discrete Mathematics and Logic Objective | 5 | 4-2-0 |
| AIC 112 | Linear Algebra Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| AIC 113 | Computer Organisation and Digital Logic Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 102 | Quantitative Reasoning and Evidence Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| AIC 130 | Programming and Computational Thinking II Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| AIC 131 | Calculus and Analysis for Computing Objective | 5 | 4-2-0 |
| AIC 132 | Data Structures and Algorithm Design Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| AIC 133 | Probability and Randomised Methods Objective | 3 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 190 | Workplace Immersion (4 weeks, recess term) Performance | 0 | 0-0-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 201 | Ethics, Society and the African Context Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| AIC 210 | Automata, Formal Languages and Computability Objective | 5 | 4-2-0 |
| AIC 211 | Operating Systems and Concurrency Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| AIC 212 | Advanced Algorithms and Complexity Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| AIC 213 | Numerical Analysis and Scientific Computing Both | 3 | 1-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 202 | Human Advantage: Argument, Writing and Teams Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 290 | Co-operative Education Placement I (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| AIC 230 | Compiler Construction and Language Implementation Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| AIC 231 | Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Computing Objective | 2 | 1-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 301 | AI Fluency II: Building, Evaluating and Auditing Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| AIC 310 | Parallel and High Performance Computing Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| AIC 311 | Quantum Computing and Quantum Algorithms Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| AIC 312 | Computer Architecture and Accelerators Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| AIC 313 | Machine Learning Theory Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 302 | Enterprise, Employability and Financial Literacy Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 390 | Co-operative Education Placement II (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| AIC 330 | Cryptography and Post-Quantum Cryptographic Engineering Both | 6 | 4-2-2 |
| AIC 331 | Research Methods in Computing Objective | 2 | 1-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 401 | AI Fluency III: Domain Deployment, Governance and Assurance Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| AIC 410 | Distributed Systems Theory and Practice Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| AIC 411 | Quantum Software Engineering and Simulation Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| AIC 412 | Advanced Topics in Computation (research seminar) Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| AIC 413 | Specialisation Elective I Objective | 5 | 4-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 402 | Capability Portfolio and Day One Preparation Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| AIC 430 | Computer Science Capstone: Original Research or Systems Artefact Performance | 9 | 0-2-16 |
| AIC 431 | Post-Quantum Migration Practicum (real institutional estate) Performance | 5 | 1-0-8 |
| AIC 432 | Specialisation Elective II Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| AIC 433 | Scientific Communication and Publication Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
Total credit units: 179
Curriculum source
Forward University Curriculum Compendium
Assessment
Coursework + project + integrated exam
Work-integrated learning
12 months paid co-operative education
Your week at Forward
A typical week on Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with Advanced and Quantum Computing
Path One, the Term Model: your own pace across a six-month term, one live session a week, short flexible lessons, and assessment on demand.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Curriculum explorer
Drill into the degree, step by step
Choose a study path, then a year, then a term or block, then a course. Credit totals add up as you go, and every course shows what comes before it and what it unlocks.
Step 1, choose a year
Step 2, choose a term
TERM 1 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 1, SEMESTER 1
Year 1 · this step is worth 22 CU
Cumulative
22
Programme total
176
22 CU of 176 CU completed by the end of this step (13%)
Step 3, choose a course
Pick a course to see the detail
Credits, assessment, prerequisites and what each course unlocks later.
The twelve Forward capabilities
What this programme develops in you
Every Forward degree develops the same twelve cross-cutting capabilities. The profile below is the level this programme is designed to develop and verify by graduation, on the four-level scale in Part B2 of the Curriculum Compendium. Every claim above Level 2 is verified by someone other than the teaching lecturer.
- C1Intelligent Systems FluencyLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C2Quantitative and Evidential Reasoning CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C3Ethical and Contextual JudgementLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C4Communication and PersuasionLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C5Disciplinary Mastery CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C6Technical Production and CraftLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C7Problem Framing and Systems Thinking CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C8Collaboration and Multidisciplinary TeamingLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C9Enterprise, Value and Commercial LiteracyLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C10Professional Conduct and Workplace PerformanceLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C11Learning to Learn and Adaptive Capacity CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C12Stewardship and Public ContributionLevel 3 of 4, Independent
Critical capabilities for this programme: Quantitative and Evidential Reasoning · Disciplinary Mastery · Problem Framing and Systems Thinking · Learning to Learn and Adaptive Capacity. A graduate cannot pass out of this programme below the stated level on any capability marked critical.
Programme Learning Outcomes
What you will be able to do
Each outcome is assessed, and each is tagged with the Forward capabilities it is verified against.
- PLO 1Reason rigorously about computability, complexity and the limits of algorithmic solution.
- PLO 2Design and analyse advanced algorithms and data structures with proven correctness and complexity bounds.
- PLO 3Build systems software — compilers, runtimes, schedulers and memory systems — and reason about performance at the hardware level.
- PLO 4Program parallel, distributed and accelerator based high performance systems and measure their scaling behaviour.
- PLO 5Explain and apply quantum information principles implement algorithms on quantum simulators and available hardware, and assess claimed advantage critically.
- PLO 6Plan and execute a post-quantum cryptographic migration for a real institutional estate.
- PLO 7Conduct original computational research: formulate a question, design the study, and write it to publication standard.
- PLO 8Learn a new formal or computational framework independently and demonstrate mastery.
Why this programme exists
Every serious technology economy needs a small number of people who understand computation deeply enough to build the layer everyone else stands on: compilers, runtimes, schedulers, numerical kernels, cryptographic primitives and, increasingly, quantum and post-quantum systems. Uganda currently produces almost none. This is deliberately the most theoretically demanding programme in the School and is capped at a small cohort. Quantum computing is included not because the hardware is imminent in the region but because post-quantum cryptographic migration is a live national obligation within the working life of this cohort, and because quantum information is now a standard component of leading catalogues worldwide.
Admission requirements
UACE with two principal passes including Mathematics at grade C or better and one of Physics, Chemistry or Economics, plus UCE with five passes. Admission includes a mathematical problem paper. Alternative pathways: Foundation Year, diploma entry with advanced standing, mature age entry and recognition of prior learning, all governed by Part A5 and Part G. Online applicants additionally complete the compulsory Digital Readiness orientation under Part D6.
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