Studying web development in the UK

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23 Mar 2009
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Hi all.

I was looking for some advice for studying PHP/SQL/CSS at college/uni.

Unfortunately I didn't really take school seriously and left after my GCSEs with poor grades meaning I'll probably have to start on a really rubbish course first?

I know basic HTML/PHP but really need a bit of tuition to help me get further.

What sort of courses can you guys recommend? I don't want a "How to use dreamweaver" course, but a proper language-based one.

Thanks :)
 
Obviously I can't speak for every University going, but I've just finished a Computer Science degree and having experienced it, you'll get the opportunity to cover things such as object-oriented programming, interface design and certainly SQL if you're course has a Database module in it as mine did.

I'm not sure you'll actually find a course that specifically targets chosen technologies - I think it depends on the technologies that the University favours for it's courses and, to an extent, depends on what the actual lecturer prefers. One of the last modules I did was on service oriented architecture and the lecturer running it had settled on ASP.NET, where as the lecturer who ran it the previous year had preferred Java.

The one chance you will get to specialise is on your honours project in the last year, which you have a reasonably large scope of projects to actually do as long as you can produce a decent enough project brief that the University is happy with you doing :)

I think you'd be better off logging on to academic institution web sites, have a look at the courses in the computing sections, see what they offer and look at the module content and see if it sounds like the sort of thing you're interested in.

I would imagine that if you don't have the minimum qualifications to enter the course (which should be listed on the website) they will suggest a bridging course that will take you about a year to do and as long as you pass that, you will be able to progress to the actual degree course; there's plenty of options :)
 
I am sort of in the same boat as you OP I have looked into it a little and I found a course called CIW web development; ICS does it as distance learning the price is about 1k, I left it for a while and they sent me a discount of £100 on the course, maybe worth looking into.

Also get yourself a copy of PHP and MySQL Development by Luke Welling and Laura Thompson I think it's upto the Forth edition now, I use it as my bible!

Luke
 
with regards the http://www3.open.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/qualification/c39.htm

i did this and passed it, and i have to say its okay but i knew a hell of a lot going into it, it gives you a base to start on and you learn alittle in each course, but most of the credits go to report writing which is a bore.

with the ou there isnt much help if you dont understand it, if you are the kind of person who can work things out on your own and find the answers online then id say go for it, it will give youy a start.

oh and if you are gaoing to learn php, learn object oriented 1st!!!!!!!! its much harder to get out of procedural habits if you dont. :p or thats just me,
 
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