Which unis offer good Computer Science degrees?

[L1vewell]

Ds doing Maths, Computer Science and Psychology A levels. Done Cyber Elite summer school and other coding courses

The top courses( Oxbridge and Imperial)seem to want Further Maths which he could do but not sure he’d want to do 4 or drop psychology.

Which other courses have a good reputation for Computer Science?

Sally when you say FM isn’t essential do you mean he’ll struggle without it but could still get in?

Yy re Machine Learning he’s been banging on about that and is looking at a summer school in it for next year.

Then I second my recommendation for Sussex University. Their degree in Artificial Intelligence sounds like it would suit him down to the ground. Psychology is a part of it too because we have to understand how humans learn something first, before we can try to get a computer to do it!
You wouldn’t have to have Further Maths either.

@L1vewell - I think I may have given away where I work in my last message! 😬. But, yes, FMaths isn't essential. We've spotted a pattern where the best-performing students will often have maths, FMaths and, say, physics . However, that doesn't mean that those without FMaths will struggle. Modules in the first year revisit and extend relevant maths knowledge anyway.

Do those with FM get preference in admissions?

My DD is hoping to go to Nottingham in September.

No, they don't. We look at the entire application for everyone: predicted /actual grades, personal statement and reference. We don't rank according to subject studied and the only essential subject is A level Maths or equiv qualification.

Great that’s really helpful.

... and I should also say that we read every single personal statement.

Why not do a higher apprenticeship with a reputable company offering computing qualifications. Big banks do some amazing apprentiships!!

Edinburgh is a big name and I don’t believe they require further maths. Southampton also gets good feedback.

My DH says the same - your degree classification and university might matter when you first start out but once you have some experience under your belt chances are no one will ever ask you about it again!

I’m so glad the uni days are over for us - I well remember the days of trying to make judgements and plans and working out what was best. Good luck to your DS, @L1vewell!

I’ve got 3 to sort. 😩 You get all this and the teen years to go with it. Fun times.

Yes my two are adults now and both settled into their grown up lives...I have to say I enjoy being able to be a little more relaxed these days. ☺️☺️

I would suggest he looks at some graduate roles etc to give him a flavour of what he may be interested in and the requirements so it doesn’t become a shock. My husband works for one of these city firms and generally they have a much tougher interview criteria than many other firms he’s worked at, a bit like oxbridge but a level up. Experience counts for a lot more after you have your foot in the door. But even then a lot of firms do a lot of ‘academic testing’within their interview process (many software questions but also many that also rely on having a strong mathematical background).
Many of the software developers also now come from highly mathematical backgrounds such as physics/maths/engineering so the field is getting stronger and stronger. They look for a strong problem solving mind as well as programming skills. Machine learning is also becoming a big area too. But many are looking for the raw ability to solve problems, programme well and also communicate well as a person.
Generally further maths in most colleges mean A-level maths fast tracked in one year then further maths modules the second year.

My DH is a software engineer and went to Southampton, although his first choice was Warwick. Soton had loads of people who were thrilled to be there, and I think it's still good.

Just found this league table which may help?

www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings/computer-science

I think he'd be better off doing a general Comp Sci degree rather than specialising in AI or machine learning - those fields are moving so fast that anything he learns will have changed by the end of his degree, so a broader degree will give a better grounding, and keep his options open for the future.

Interestingly my Dh always does really well in the academic tests at interview. He’s been through days of arduous job interview processes and got the jobs beating off a fair bit of competition.He has an engineering degree and MSc in CS but as I said no Alevel maths just a B in O level maths( he’s old) and a BTech in engineering. He says ds is way better than him at maths now so I think he’d be fine on that score re interviews when the time comes.They both find producing good quality code easy. Dh says enough maths, problem solving and the communication bit are far more key. Although ds would want a city job he’d want to be happy and not sure the Oxbridge preferring companies would necessarily fit him. There will be others.

Yes IIRC (I have an absolutely terrible memory!), my daughter did fast-tracked Maths, plus FM, chemistry, physics and biology (but dropped biology in final year).

That link is useful. Wonder why Kings and UCL are lower than others?

Agree with everything you have said in your last comment, OP. It will all fall into place!

I’m going to go and enjoy a glass of wine now and thank my lucky stars it’s all behind us! 😉🍷

Many European students admitted to highly ranked CS courses won’t have FM level at entry and still manage to catch-up fine.

specialising in AI or machine learning - those fields are moving so fast that anything he learns will have changed by the end of his degree, so a broader degree will give a better grounding, and keep his options open for the future.

The degree in AI isn’t structured to be dependent on what is currently the ‘in thing’, so I wouldn’t discount it based on that assumption. Like Computer Science, the foundations haven’t changed in decades. However, I do agree that it is important to look at what modules a university offers. A Computer Science degree in one university will have different content than another, for example

My son is doing a PhD at one of the Uni's mentioned and is shocked at how the Comp Sci courses at his Uni has changed over the last few years. The number of students on the courses has rapidly increased to such a level that there isn’t the facilities or staffing levels to run the courses how they should be run. It’s a bums on seats situation. 🙁.

Courses that were strong a few years ago might not be so good now.

Where posters say experience counts might I just add that you don’t get experience if you don’t get the decent job in the first place. Therefore university and course matter. MEng is better than BEng if available or masters undergrad. Alternatively a year a rued always adds to the cv as does a year in industry. I would look to the complete university guide for the best rankings as the info is up to date.,

A year abroad ...