England
Where do you live?
What you will study
You will learn
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make you understand to a greater level of detail, the concepts and algorithms underlying switching and routing protocols -
provide you with further practical skills for implementing switching and routing protocols in real-world scenarios -
make you aware of best practices for securing LAN (Local Area Networks) and WAN (Wide Area Networks) -
teach you the fundamental and systematic processes for troubleshooting larger networks -
teach you the fundamental and systematic processes for network automation -
provide you with an opportunity to go on and gain two industry-recognised qualifications (CCNA and DevNet1 certifications).
Vocational relevance
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
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marking your assignments and offering detailed feedback to help you improve -
providing individual guidance, whether that’s for general study skills or specific module content -
guiding you to additional learning resources -
facilitating online discussions between your fellow students in the dedicated forums.
Assessment
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2 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) -
End-of-module assessment -
Embedded residential school
Virtual day school
What's included
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a week-by-week study planner -
course-specific module materials -
audio and video content -
assessment details and submission section -
online tutorial access -
access to student forums.
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access to Cisco study materials -
additional supplementary material.
Qualifications
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BA/BSc (Honours) Open degree (QD) -
BSc (Honours) Combined STEM (R28) -
BSc (Honours) Computing & IT and a second subject (Q67) -
BSc (Honours) Computing and IT (Q62) -
BSc (Honours) Computing with Electronic Engineering (R62) -
BSc (Honours) Cyber Security (R60) -
Top-up BSc (Honours) Computing and IT Practice (Q68)
Future availability
Regulations
Entry requirements
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equivalent work at another university -
relevant technical experience as an IT professional -
evidence of taking Cisco NetAcad Introduction to Networks (CCNA 1) and Routing and Switching Essentials (CCNA 2) since 2019.
Preparatory work
Computing requirements
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Primary device – A desktop or laptop computer with at least 8 GB of RAM, a quad-core processor (2.4 GHz minimum speed). It’s possible to access some materials on a mobile phone, tablet or Chromebook; however, they will not be suitable as your primary device. -
Peripheral device – Headphones/earphones with a built-in microphone for online tutorials. -
Operating systems – Windows 11 or the latest supported macOS. We advise against using a Mac with an M1 chip, as you could experience issues with the module software. -
Internet access – Broadband or mobile connection. -
Browser – Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge are recommended; Mozilla Firefox and Safari may be suitable. -
Our OU Study app operates on supported versions of Android and iOS. -
Software – Any additional software will be provided or is generally freely available.
If you have a disability
Course fee
| Start | End | Register by | England fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03 Oct 2026 | 30 Jun 2027 | 10 Sep 2026 | £2,044 |
Additional costs
Study costs
Ways to pay
Open University Student Budget Account
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Register now, pay later – OUSBA pays your module fee direct to the OU. You then repay OUSBA interest-free and in full just before your module starts. 0% APR representative. This option could give you the extra time you may need to secure the funding to repay OUSBA. -
Pay by instalments – OUSBA calculates your monthly fee and number of instalments based on the cost of the module you are studying. APR 5.1% representative.
Employer sponsorship
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Your employer just needs to complete a simple form to confirm how much they will be paying and we will invoice them. -
You won’t need to get your employer to complete the form until after you’ve chosen your module.
