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BCS
Last Reviewed: 15 June 2026 - 4 min read
Enrolling in a BCS Qualification course can greatly improve and upgrade your resume, showcasing your IT knowledge and skills to your current or potential employers.
However, with many professionals taking on industry qualifications such as BCS in order to develop their careers while continuing to work, it is only natural for you to wonder how long the completion time of such qualifications may be before committing to enrolling in one.
Below we have developed a comprehensive guide, looking into the completion times of the BCS Qualifications we offer, to help you out.
BCS qualifications are industry-standard IT qualifications, offering people from all walks of life the chance to upskill and enhance their IT knowledge.
This, in turn, allows learners to understand how they can effectively utilise information technology relevant to the current marketplace, and make a real change in their role and organisation.
BCS, The Chartered Institute of IT currently consists of over 60,000 members and is responsible for elevating and safeguarding the standards of education, professionalism, ethics and practice of the IT industry.
Globally recognised and designed by industry experts, the BCS certifications have helped generate numerous IT-related careers since its formation in 1975.
Not only that, but upon successful completion of your first BCS certificate and examination, BCS offers a free 1-year BCS Associate Membership. Such memberships usually carry great benefits, including:
A BCS Foundation Certificate in Agile usually takes students around 18 hours to complete. Comparatively, if you dedicate 2 hours a day to your studies, the course can be completed within a week.
This, however, doesn’t include examinations, which for this certificate consists of a 60 minute examination with 40 multiple-choice questions and a 65% pass mark (26/40).
To gain this certification, you'll need 84 hours. So, if you study 2 hours a day, you would be able to finish the BCS International Diploma in Business Analysis in around 6 weeks.
In addition, you'll need to sit five exams in total:
On average, students need 18 hours to complete the BCS Foundation Certificate in User Experience.
Examinations are not included in this duration. For this certificate, it is a 60-minute examination with 40 multiple-choice questions and a 65% pass mark (26/40).
To wrap up the BCS Essentials Certificate in Artificial Intelligence will take around 40 learning hours, which means that if you study 2 hours a day, five days a week, it would take you one month to complete.
On top of that, you'll also have to sit your online multiple-choice exam. The exam is 30 minutes long, and you'll need a score of 65% (13/20) to pass.
The BCS Foundation Certificate in Artificial Intelligence takes a little while longer to complete in comparison to the Essentials Certificate in AI. You'll be learning for 60 hours,, and by committing to study for 10 hours a week, you'll be able to complete it in a little more than a month.
You'll also sit a one-hour-long exam, consisting of 40 questions.
If you decide to take the BCS Foundation Certificate in Information Security Management Principles (CISMP) qualification, you'll be learning for 30 hours and will have to sit a one hour exam (40 multiple-choice questions).
By dedicating yourself 2 hours a day, it would take you about two weeks to finish it.
The duration for completion of the BCS qualifications presented in this guide is an estimate, mainly based on the average competition time required by students through self-led online learning.
However, the completion time of your studies depends on many factors such as the type of qualification you decide to do or the learning provider you choose.
By studying a BCS certification with ICS Learn, your completion time is entirely up to you, allowing you to work at your own pace and around your professional and personal commitments.
Moreover, if for any reason, any unforeseen circumstances arise, you have the choice to pause your studies and resume them when you feel ready. Our extended support period, offered across most of our courses, provides you with the flexibility to help make your study experience with us as stress-free as possible.
Interested in taking a 100% online BCS IT qualification? Get in touch with our course advisors and get started today.
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