Best universities for computer science

[Life1sGood]

Best universities for computer science in the UK, please - ? :-)
My son likes the idea of Bristol, then the other options he is considering are Manchester and Edinburgh or St Andrews. He doesn't like the idea of Warwick due to remote location. Doesn't like Durham (should we consider it anyway though?..)
In terms of grades definitely hoping for AAA but maybe higher.

Bump :)

There's quite a range of what constitutes computer science. Can your DS narrow down what particularly interests him?

Those are the top ones for CS although you can add Southampton and Nottingham. Just look at the ranking stats. Which will be the best fit for what your son wants is quite personal. CS is high demand. They’ll all get jobs afterwards whether they go to Bristol, Manchester or Liverpool.

Honestly you need to see a few. Once you’ve seen the buildings, met a lecturer and heard what the course offers you’ll be able to put down some with confidence.

Aberystwyth is good, but if he thinks Warwick is remote then it's a non starter. Has he thought of the OU if he's anxious about being away?

Firstly, this is probably as trustworthy as it gets for lists

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

Also you need to check the grades last year Manchester was A star AA this year it is 3 A stars. Bristol is 1 A star AA but specify A star in maths.

CS is competitive so they take more students with higher grades than the entry grades advertised. The easiest way to see what each uni stipulates is google the university name and G400 which is the UCAS code for a BSc in computer science and the entry grades are easy to find.

Ds is at Durham doing CS. He visited places and made decisions based on how he felt about the place. Manchester just felt too big and sprawling, Warwick is campus based so a different feel, Durham is small and very green and leafy plus is collegiate so you apply to a college. This is also about location, how far is each uni from home? Would he be able to come home for a weekend mid semester considering travel time? How will they get to uni for move in and move out? Will it take 8 hours of driving if he chooses Scotland? He could be in accommodation that needs emptying at the end of each semester.

Ds would say that not having further maths is a disadvantage from an application perspective as lots of applicants will have it and secondly from making life easier in terms of learning. I am not the expert in this but this could just be that Durham is more maths heavy.

Meant to @Life1sGood you

I always thought Reading was considered one of the best for CS

@LadyMonicaBaddingham I took that he wanted a fun party city? Warwick is a fairly lame campus miles from anywhere.

CS is extremely competitive. For any of the ones listed he'll need a predicted A star in Maths at the very least. Further Maths also recommended.
This year, many with 4 predicted A stars (including Maths and FM) were rejected by top universities. It will probably get a bit less bad next year as the effect of the artificial grade inflation by TAGs in the last few years will gradually subside, but I think your DS should include a few less aspirational universities as well.

Agree with poster above. My ds is also planning to apply to CS this year and has similar grades to your son. Manchester's standard offer is 3 x A stars and the others at least 1 A star but this year it seems candidates with predicted 3 A stars are being rejected from the top places such as the ones on your list. My son didn't do Further Maths which would also rule him out. We are looking at places like Nottingham Loughborough Sheffield. Its difficult to know whether the squeeze on places would have eased this year but definitely and idea to put a range of places.

@LadyMonicaBaddingham "OU if he's anxious about being away" - not anxious at all and not interested in remote study but thank you🙂

Thanks all, just caught up on all responses, incredibly useful and much appreciated. DS is doing Further Maths and (rather realistically) hoping for a few A*. Good advice to research and settle on a solid safe (less ambitious) choice.

Computer Science is a bit outdated as a degree now so I'd strongly advise him to go to the degree that's superseded CS. It's not available everywhere yet but it's a much better grounding.

Employers, industry and education all felt that although CS had worth while bits to it it, didn't make graduates ready enough for the workplace so they got together and created a degree which has subsequently superseded computer science.

My son took the new degree and it was a very tough few years but he's come out undoubtedly more skilled up and work ready than the CS graduates, (by their own admission), that he's worked alongside.

He's now earning £12k more than his CS friends and only out of uni three years where his friends are out of their CS degree a couple of years longer than him.

Definitely go for the new one. Good luck!

What is the new degree?

I haven't come across a new CS degree what is the name of it?

Former Russell Group STEM admissions tutor here. In my subject, my School is well thought of, in the bunch below the COWI Schools.

As @User3568975431146 left us hanging, I am going to take an educated guess at what she meant. The typical alternative degree to CS is IT. Let me begin by saying that I emphatically believe that IT degrees and practitioners have a valuable place. But a superior one?

I have searched for which U.K. universities offer undergraduate IT degrees. The only Russell Group one to do so are Queens, Belfast and Manchester. Now Manchester is very strong in CS, as PPs have said, but it does have a reputation as an early adopter of profitable trends, for both better and worse.

OTOH almost all RG universities off CS degrees. The latter are thoroughly grounded intellectually.

IT degrees are more pragmatically orientated. This is not a criticism! The universities that offer them tend to have a more pragmatic approach to education (and this is reflected in their entrance requirements). I want to be clear that I am happy for user’s DS as I think useful skills should be rewarded, full stop. But if CS graduates at the firm are being sidelined, something is wrong. Loads of them make superb salaries precisely because of the combo of tech and higher order analytical skills. There is plenty of room for both kinds of graduates, and I think that user’s understandable pride in her DS led her to overgeneralise.

@poetryandwine Thank you, that makes sense actually. I work in IT myself, and have heard about 'new' IT degrees. Agree with your summary about pragmatic angle etc.

University of Bath was always good for CS.

Where does he fancy living, city size, near the coast or inland? Southampton is good for CS

DS is looking at CS entry in 2023, with a gear in industry. At Manchester open day, we were expressly told that a fourth A Level wouldn't reduce the requirement for 3 A*, so further maths not necessarily an advantage. DS wants a big Northern city, close to home, so we're looking at Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Liverpool and Sheffield.

A year in industry!

Further Maths doesn't need to be a fourth A level these days. It's a perfectly legitimate third subject in its own right. I imagine its usefulness depends on the kind of courses the applicant is looking at, but in some cases it's a distinct disadvantage not to have FM behind them, not necessarily for admissions purposes, but for their confidence as they embark on a CS degree.

What’s done is done, including the AL choices of older DC. I am a big believer in three ALs, possibly with the addition of an EPQ, rather than four ALs. I agree with @DahliaMacNamara that FM is desirable for CS. Some unis require or strongly recommend it and having it will likely prove to boost confidence in maths- orientated programmes. Nevertheless anyone who has been admitted without FM should rest assured that the tutors are confident they are up to the task.

@resuwen how did you find Manchester Open Day? Was it useful? The one this summer was fully booked up a while ago! My DS is doing Maths, Further Maths, CS and Music A-levels. Three A* is a possibility although I'm surprised that Manchester entry requirements are so high! We've got family in Manchester and as a location both my DS and I think it's overpriced and a bit meh. However the university is very good.

The CS talk was really impressive, and the union and Uni facilities look great. It is very expensive though! Leeds had a really nice vibe, not as plushy but really welcoming, plus a brand new building for physics and CS.