Front-end Development
Online Studies 2 years Higher Professional Degree
Front-end Development is the technology education where visual design meets coding, web design and UX design. Front-end developers are in great demand, giving the students great career opportunities after graduation.
Technical and visual competence
As a front-end developer, you write the code behind what you can see and interact with when you open a website or app. The need for developers who possess a combination of technical and visual expertise is increasing. This two-year education provides competence for practical work in the most critical areas of developing interactive and dynamic solutions. The program covers technical programming skills and gives an introduction to design
The study in front-end development is exciting, challenging, and future-oriented. Michelle Kristine Narverud, student
You work on logical tasks such as coding, but at the same time you get to be creative. Oskar Heming Jenssen, student
Web and mobile devices
Front-end development is for individuals who want to develop user-oriented websites and web applications. The program is suitable for both beginners in the field and those who have worked with conventional media and want to continue working with digital solutions.
After the programme, you will be competent at creating responsive websites that look good across different screen sizes. You will be taught about the fundamentals of JavaScript and go on to learn how to build applications in a JavaScript framework. In conjunction to creating these applications, you will be competent in deploying these applications to cloud infrastructure.
Learn coding and programming languages
Students get a thorough introduction to industry tools used in web development. You learn design principles, how websites and interactive products are structured logically and visually, and how website technology communicates with underlying systems.
The study focuses on most relevant JavaScript frameworks at any given time, such as React.js and Vue.js. You will be taught how to use CSS-Preprocessors such as SASS that is in high demand in the industry, coupled with a CSS framework like Bootstrap you will be equipped to handle any development specification with ease. With the skills that you have acquired you will be able to deploy a site to Netlify using GitHub. The study places a lot of emphasis on GitHub, which has become an industry standard.
Programme objectives
The programme focuses on developing the interface between customer experience and core backend systems. The products that are developed during the study must have both aesthetic value and useful functionality. The study's main goal is practical skills mastery. The teaching plan therefore primarily consists of practical work with industry-specific tasks.
You will also gain insight into how to exercise entrepreneurship. Professional life as a front-end developer requires competence in automation and streamlining of both the work process and the product. The final project exam can be used as an attachment for a job application or as a proposal for real production.
Courses first year of study:
- Design
- Web and communication technologies
- HTML and CSS
- Project Methodology
- Semester Project 1
- Programming Foundations
- JavaScript 1
- Interaction Design
- Content Management Systems
- Project Exam 2
- Portfolio 1
Courses second year of study:
- CSS frameworks
- JavaScript 2
- Workflow
- Semester Project 2
- Industry knowledge
- Development Platforms
- JavaScript framework
- Project Exam 2
- Portfolio 2
You get/can:
- has knowledge of concepts, techniques, languages and professional tools that are used in web development, production and implementation of interactive concepts, solutions and products
- has knowledge of relevant tools that are used for deploying websites, interactive solutions and products across platforms
- has knowledge of concepts, problem-solving and tools that are used for programming in front-end development
- can assess his/her own work in relation to relevant regulations and guidelines for universal design and web standards
- is familiar with the distinctive aesthetic nature of websites and the logical placement of elements inside these websites
- is familiar with the communication between website technology and backend systems
- is familiar with professional publications, talks, online portals and developer communities
- has insight into methods of entrepreneurship within front-end development
- has insight into his/her own opportunities for development, and can keep abreast with current trends and new developments in the field
- can explain his/her choice of tools, methods and techniques for planning, designing, developing, and testing interactive web solutions
- can explain his/her choices for universal design of ICT solutions and web standards
- can explain his/her own methods for entrepreneurship within the field
- can explain his/her choices for selection and use of various platforms used in front-end development
- can reflect over his/her own practice as a front-end developer and adjust it under supervision
- can reflect over his/her own knowledge of deploying a web application to a production environment
- can reflect over his/her own user testing of a new or existing interactive product or service and identify, document and correct visual and technical deficiencies
- can plan and carry out tasks in web design and develop interactive web solutions, alone or as part of a group
- can plan and carry out front-end development tasks in accordance with ethical requirements and principles for universal design
- can plan and carry out interactive web solutions from a concept to a complete functional and deployed product
- can exchange points of view with graphic and interaction designers, programmers and content developers, and participate in discussions on the development of interdisciplinary and future-oriented practices
- can contribute to related interdisciplinary projects
- can contribute to the architecture of a web solution with a focus on best practices in the industry
- can contribute to user-friendly interactive web solutions of relevance based on the needs of selected target audience
- can contribute to organisational quality assurance, streamlining and optimisation through good development and deployment practices.
We recommend the following:
500 GB Hard drive (or 250 GB + cloud storage: fx. Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive (recommended)).
8 GB RAM.
Core i5 or M1 processor.
Both PC and Mac are applicable.
Job opportunities
As a trained frontend developer you possess the knowledge, skills and expertise needed to develop and produce user-oriented solutions and services for web and mobile devices. The main objective of the programme is to provide you with a practical and industry-relevant education, so that you will be ready to apply for your first job as a front-end developer after you graduate.
There is a great variety in job adverts related to this field for various businesses and professions. After you complete the programme, you will be able to work for businesses like design agencies, IT companies, software houses, media agencies or communication agencies. These industries are constantly changing due to rapid technological developments. Job descriptions will therefore vary and change over relatively short periods of time.
Watch recording of livestream
We recommend watching the latest livestream on Front-end Development, hosted by Shabana Jahan and Michael John Phillip 10 March 2023.