Computer science degree now available from private Afrikaans university
Private Afrikaans university Akademia has announced it will start offering a full-time three-year computer science degree at its Centurion campus from 2023.
The university, developed by the Solidarity Movement, announced the new degree at the official launch of its Faculty of Natural Sciences at the CSIR in Pretoria on Thursday.
Akademia will offer the degree alongside its BSc Mathematics qualification, which Akademia first rolled out in 2021.
According to natural sciences faculty dean Professor Hannes Rautenbach, the BSc Computer Science degree will focus on computer science fundamentals, algorithm development, and object-oriented programming.
“It includes the understanding of theory and abstract concepts around problem-solving and calculations, and the development and use of computer coding and programming skills to solve such problems,” Rautenbach said.
The programme will have a starting cost of R55,440 in the first year.
For comparison, the University of Pretoria charges upwards of R66,000 for the first year of its BSc Computer Science degree.
More information on the course’s modules across all three years is available on Akademia’s website. Applications for the 2023 academic year are open.
To qualify for the course, Akademia requires that applicants achieve a minimum of 50% for Afrikaans and 60% for mathematics in their matric year.
Having Physical Sciences as a subject will count in your favour, but it is not a requirement.
Akademia previously told MyBroadband it was aiming to launch the BSc Computer Science degree in 2023.
Lecturer in mathematical computer sciences at Akademia, Dr Corné de Ridder, said the objective of the degree was to deliver students that could compete successfully in the South African workforce and who are also able to contribute on an international level.
De Ridder also said Akademia had plans to offer other tech-related qualifications in the future, including BSc degrees in Data Science and Information Systems.
Akademia has been operating since 2012, offering a range of accredited full-time and part-time degrees, post-graduate diplomas, and higher certificates with Afrikaans as the language of instruction. These include:
- BCom Economics and Law, BCom Business Management, BCom Financial Management
- BEd Intermediary Education
- LLB
- BSc Mathematical Sciences
- BA Communications and Journalism
- BSocSci Politics, Philosophy, and Economics
The university plans to move its full-time classes to a new campus in Pretoria by 2025.
Solidarity also launched a R300-million campus for its technical college Sol-Tech in Monument Park, Pretoria, in March 2021.
Despite challenges to its construction due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the project was completed within the original timeline and for less than its planned cost.