Computer Science

What do you come out with? BEng, BSc or MEng.

Why do it? You've been playing with computers for years and you want to get paid to do so. You realise that almost everything in the modern world relies on computing. You will have been exposed to new technology, gadgets and games from an early age.

What's it about? In the first year at Imperial you learn five programing languages and can start from scratch with no previous experience. There is a course of computer architecture to show students how computers are built and a course on mathematics and logic. In the second year, there is a lot of software engineering, including human-computer interaction, core software engineering, and more traditional theoretical courses looking a how long a particular programme will take to run. The final year group project involves working with six or seven other students on a major piece of software for six months, to bring together all of the theory and skills. There are lots of options in the final year in three areas of software engineering, theory of computing and computational applications.

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Aberdeen’s first years are required to do 50 per cent non-computing subjects, which can be anything from film studies to physical education, but they advise you to take modules in subjects that will help you later on in the course, such as maths. This drops to 30 per cent of the course in the second year. The computing elements include four modules of programming as well as website design, robotics and distributed systems. You will have an individual final year project, in which you work with a substantial piece of software and then explain it in a dissertation.

First year at Leicester covers a number of core topics including Java programming and internet technologies. Second year involves a group project, which teaches you about computing law and professional practise. In the third year you’ll do an individual project which can require sophisticated AI knowledge or mathematical techniques in advanced graphics.

At Bath, they start you off with basic modules in mathematics for computation and mathematics for applications, along with programming and systems architecture. Second year involves more programming, systems development and interaction, whilst the final year is made up of a triple module project as well as a range of options.

In the first few years at Durham, you do core modules in computing systems, networking, operating systems and Java programming languages. In the second year it’s more traditional computing sciences, with a theoretical approaching to teaching software engineering. One third of the second year is a big group project, which is supervised by third year students, allowing them to get experience in project management. In the third year you can take research-led modules, such as artificial intelligence and computing applications.

How long is a degree? Three; or four years if you are at a Scottish university or you are doing a MEng or you take a year out to work in industry. Durham offers a year abroad with European studies, which will push your BSc up to four years. Leicester offers a year in industry, a year abroad or an MComp.

What are the students like? Mostly men. Imperial looks for students who are good at maths - about 80 per cent tend to be men, although Imperial is trying to attract more women with their new computation in biology and medicine course. At Aberdeen and Durham it’s 90 per cent men, who come in two broad types, as Dr Wamberto Vasconcelos from Aberdeen explains: “We have techie teenagers who grew up in the internet era and were the first to try Twitter and Facebook before they got famous. But we also have mature students who are looking for a career change. They will all be comfortable with new technology and have an interest in IT.”

How is it packaged? It’s about 80:20 exams to coursework at Imperial. Aberdeen has a similar balance in first year and it goes up to 25 per cent coursework from the second year onwards. At Durham you can look forward to about 40 per cent coursework in the first two years, with more coursework in the final year.

How cool is it? Still pretty uncool despite large starting salaries and the dot.com revolution.

What A-levels do you need? Imperial wants to see an A at maths A-level, and also values subjects such as modern languages. For first year entry to Aberdeen, you’ll need two sciences or a science and maths at A-level, whereas for the second year entry you need computing A-level, plus another science or maths. Durham wants you to have a B at A-level maths for the computer sciences course, and likes a science base for all other courses. Leicester likes to see A-level maths in its computer science applicants, but it’s not essential. You’ll need maths A-level for Bath.

What grades? AAA at Imperial; AAB for computer science at Durham and ABB for all other courses; AAB for Bath; BBB for Leicester; BBB for second year entry and CCC for first year entry at Aberdeen

Will you be interviewed? Yes at Imperial, not usually at Aberdeen, Leicester, Bath or Durham.

Will it keep you off the dole? Imperial graduates may go onto graphical design for TV and movies, software engineering companies, such as IBM, Microsoft or Google, or new technology companies such as Phillips, Vodafone, Nokia or Siemens. Despite the financial crash, they may still go on to work for financial companies such as Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank or Goldman Sachs. Imperial also makes an effort to try and keep the top 10 per cent by getting them to do a PhD. Aberdeen is well-placed because of the local oil industry. Many students are absorbed locally into the many IT consultancies and companies and go onto further education or school teaching. Some graduates are head-hunted by banks and go to work in London or Edinburgh.

What do students say? Diana Ramchandani, 22, Computing MEng, Imperial: “I had always had an interest in computing, but at school I wasn’t offered anything apart from how to use Microsoft Office. I wanted to know about the inner workings and the technicalities of computers. The best thing about Imperial is the fact that the students come from all around the world, which made the whole process of getting used to university life so much easier. The course was definitely harder than I thought it would be - we all thought that - but at the end of the day it’s paid off. I’ve just signed a contract with an investment bank, so I’m going to see what it feels like to be an analyst.”

Where's the best for teaching? Greenwich came top of the 2009 National Student Survey with 4.24, followed by Leicester with 4.20 and Dundee with 4.12.

Where's the best for research? Cambridge scored 3.35 in the 2009 Research Assessment Exercise, which put them top, ahead of Imperial, Edinburgh and Southampton, who all came joint second with 3.20.

Where's the cutting edge? Imperial offers a six-month industry placement in the third year, which can help you cover the costs of your fourth year by earning a decent graduate salary. They also boast a great student to staff ratio of 8:1, one of the lowest in the country for computer sciences. At Aberdeen, they are proud of their research-led teaching, which aims to address practical problems (e.g. how to match farmers and their produce to supermarkets). Durham has been chosen by the Higher Education Funding Council as the centre for excellence in teaching and learning for computer sciences, and they are just about to start a new project whereby students will be able to work with charities to help them solve technical problems. Durham also has a techno-café, where students can do lab work in a relaxed environment.

Who are the stars? Professor Stephen Muggleton at Imperial works in bio-informatics, which involves deducing information from genetic observations. Professor Chris Mellish, at Aberdeen, is big on natural language processing for artificial intelligence and Professor Tim Norman, also at Aberdeen, has done a lot of work on multi-agency systems which can react to changes in the stock market. Dr Elizabeth Burd at Durham received a national teaching fellowship this year and also recently won the computer science and engineering undergraduate teaching award. Professor David Budgen, also at Durham is an expert in empirical software evaluation.

Related courses: Imperial offers a range of MEng specialisms from artificial intelligence to international programming studies (which includes a year abroad in Europe, USA or NZ). You can also do a combined BSc or MSci with maths at Imperial. Aberdeen offers several BSc courses which can be upgraded to an MSci via a year in industry. Durham offers BSc courses in computer science, computing and software engineering, all of which can be taken with European studies. They also offer a foundation year and joint honours with astronomy, physics, maths or business.