If you don't have sufficient points to secure a degree place or if you don't wish to commit yourself to four years' full-time study, then a certificate or diploma would make a good starting point. Certificates and diplomas are valid qualifications in their own right and there is also the option of working towards a degree.

The ladder from certificate to diploma to degree is well-trodden with students usually taking two years to cert, a further year to diploma and one or two year's to top up to a degree. The advantage of this route is its flexibility: you can leave after a certificate, and in this buoyant employment market, get a job, and then return to study on a full or part-time basis later.

You must obtain certain minimum grades in your exams to progress up the ladder. The free fees initiative and the grants scheme apply for eligible full-time student using this route.

The list contained in the fact file gives an idea of the range of add-on degrees currently available in the software area. The number of courses grows each year so, by the time you graduate with a certificate or diploma, there will probably be even more opportunities on offer.