Bachelor of Science in Digital Product Management and Platform Growth
Product management is one of the highest paid and most remote accessible professions in technology, and it is almost entirely closed to African graduates because it is conventionally entered after years in another role. That gatekeeping is ...
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
- Associate and full product manager
- product operations analyst
- platform and partnerships manager
- product marketing manager
- programme manager
- business analyst
- growth product manager
- founding product hire.
Employer types
- Technology, financial technology and platform companies
- banks, insurers and telecommunications operators
- e- commerce and marketplace businesses
- software companies internationally including through remote employment
- consulting firms
- and start ups.
Target outcomes we hold ourselves to
- Among the strongest remote accessible international markets available to a Ugandan graduate, with rapidly growing domestic demand from financial services and platform businesses.
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 Digital Product Management and Platform Growth. 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 |
| BIV 110 | Foundations of Digital Products and Platforms Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| BIV 111 | Programming and Technical Literacy for Product Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BIV 112 | User Research and Product Discovery Studio Performance | 5 | 1-0-8 |
| BIV 113 | Data Analysis and Product Metrics Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 102 | Quantitative Reasoning and Evidence Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| BIV 130 | Product Design and Prototyping Performance | 5 | 1-0-8 |
| BIV 131 | Working with Engineering: Specification and Delivery Performance | 5 | 1-0-8 |
| BIV 132 | Business Models, Pricing and Product Economics Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BIV 133 | Databases, Systems and Technical Constraints Performance | 4 | 1-2-4 |
| 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 |
| BIV 210 | Product Studio I: Live Product Ownership Performance | 5 | 1-0-8 |
| BIV 211 | Experimentation and Product Analytics Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BIV 212 | Intelligent Features and Model Backed Products Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BIV 213 | Product Marketing and Positioning 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 |
| BIV 230 | Industry Product Placement Performance | 5 | 0-0-0 |
| BIV 231 | Platform, Marketplace and Partnership Strategy Both | 3 | 1-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 301 | AI Fluency II: Building, Evaluating and Auditing Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 390 | Co-operative Education Placement II (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| BIV 310 | Product Studio II: Growth and Retention Ownership Performance | 5 | 1-0-8 |
| BIV 311 | Privacy, Accessibility, Safety and Product Duty Both | 3 | 1-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 302 | Enterprise, Employability and Financial Literacy Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| FDC 401 | AI Fluency III: Domain Deployment, Governance and Assurance Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| FDC 402 | Capability Portfolio and Day One Preparation Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| BIV 330 | Product Capstone: Shipped Product Outcome (client verified) Performance | 8 | 0-2-14 |
| BIV 331 | Product Leadership, Stakeholders and Roadmap Defence Performance | 4 | 1-0-6 |
Total credit units: 134
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 Digital Product Management and Platform Growth
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 23 CU
Cumulative
23
Programme total
132
23 CU of 132 CU completed by the end of this step (17%)
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 Fluency CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C2Quantitative and Evidential ReasoningLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C3Ethical and Contextual JudgementLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C4Communication and Persuasion CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C5Disciplinary MasteryLevel 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 4 of 4, Leading
- C9Enterprise, Value and Commercial Literacy CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C10Professional Conduct and Workplace PerformanceLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C11Learning to Learn and Adaptive CapacityLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C12Stewardship and Public ContributionLevel 4 of 4, Leading
Critical capabilities for this programme: Intelligent Systems Fluency · Communication and Persuasion · Problem Framing and Systems Thinking · Enterprise, Value and Commercial Literacy. 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 1Discover and validate user problems and translate them into prioritised product decisions.
- PLO 2Write specifications and work effectively with engineering and design teams.
- PLO 3Define, instrument and interpret product metrics and experiments.
- PLO 4Manage a product roadmap against commercial objectives and constraints.
- PLO 5Apply sufficient technical understanding to make credible trade off decisions.
- PLO 6Design and manage platform, marketplace and partnership dynamics.
- PLO 7Apply privacy, accessibility, safety and consumer duties to product decisions.
Why this programme exists
Product management is one of the highest paid and most remote accessible professions in technology, and it is almost entirely closed to African graduates because it is conventionally entered after years in another role. That gatekeeping is ...
Admission requirements
UACE with two principal passes in any subjects, plus UCE with five passes including Mathematics and English. 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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