Unis for Computer science (North-ish)

[TerribleWoman]

Hi
DS is predicted A* in maths and computing and A in psychology. He is also doing a voluntary further maths AS in year 13 for fun.

GCSES are 99987777766

He wants to be within a couple of hours of our Manchester home (this is wise as he has a health condition) and to do either computer science or joint maths and computer science. Open to year in industry but not a deal breaker.

We have these unis on radar
Lancaster
York
Sheffield
Leeds
Birmingham
Liverpool
Nottingham

(Don't really want to stay in Manchester which is a shame as I think otherwise it would be about right!)

Can anyone in the know do some kind of ranking of these unis?
As far as I can tell Lancaster is much higher in the rankings than most people think. But is that just them saying so?

No they really are.

Shame about Manchester as it has a superb compsci department.

@Spirallingdownwards
Thanks - i think he would go and look at Manchester if it was definitely the best department within the alloted radius. Is Birmingham/Nottingham/Lancaster similar in terms of ranking?

I have tried to look online but it all seems very subjective.

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

Lots ranked around the same. Visit and see which ones they feel the vibe for!

They are all great unis in general terms (caveat - I know nothing about CS specifically).

I agree, visit and assess - these places will provide a very different experience, for example Lancaster is a campus uni not really near a city (great vibe tho and excellent pastoral); while Birmingham is a campus in the country's second biggest city and not far from the city (good train service too); Sheffield is a city uni which we found quite spread out but again a great place to live; Nottingham is a lovely campus (tho all on-campus accomm is catered if that might be an issue) a few miles from a vibrant city centre.

The course will be key too so do look closely at that. Is he year 13 now? You may be too late for open days (or may have gone to them!) but there's nothing to stop you visiting a city and having a wander around.

He is year 13 and we are doing most open days in the next couple of months. Thanks. So far we have only been to campus unis (Lancaster and York, preferred Lancaster).

what does he want to do with computer science?
what sort of job aspirations does he have?

I ask because many unis are offering degree courses in specialty areas that require computer science plus engineering, or plus biotechnology or plus cybercrime.

It may be worthwhile looking at what he wants to do with computers and going from there instead of selecting a general computer science degree.

He isn't sure. Maybe coding, maybe data science - but isn't sure enough about data science to commit to it at uni. He's doing com sci / com sci and maths with the aim of keeping options open.

Could your geography stretch to Warwick?

He hasn't done the additional maths stuff required by Warwick, so we sort of ruled it out.

Oh, shame.

Just had a look at Warwick and the student course satisfaction for computer science is really low, which is a worry too.

That surprises me. It's a really well respected course.

Newcastle? The computing building is lovely. And about two hours to Manchester on train.

https://www.theuniguide.co.uk/university-of-warwick-w20/courses/computer-science-meng-hon-2024-afe6f853fcc8

@Piggywaspushed take a look, am I missing something obvious? Entirely possible!

It's a bit beyond the ideal driving zone if I had to do an emergency dash. We would consider if it were exceptional but I think it's another in the similar zone to the closer options we already have. Thanks though.

Yes, those are shocking stats! Interesting.

I faintly wonder if the content is pitched really high.

Good Evening, OP. My son is a Comp Sci graduate, but not at any of the Unis you've mentioned (Unis he looked at were all in the South). When we were researching Unis, we went on the 'vibe' of the comp Sci department - he wanted something hands-on and practical rather than theoretical maths-heavy and research-focused. Any Comp Sci department emphasising maths was therefore out of the window. One of his must-haves was a year in industry, which proved invaluable. He'd advise any prospective Comp Sci student who wants to work in the computer industry to do this.

It could be that your son will be more interested in research and academia rather than hands-on - it would be good to find out about whether the courses on offer are practical or focus more on the theoretical aspects of computing, and try to gauge which would be more appealing.

Also, one of my son's friends graduated with a Comp Sci degree apprenticeship - the advantage of this is that it's fully funded (no student debt) and the student earns a wage from day one. At a glance, I notice that Birmingham offers this with Price Waterhouse Coopers. I can appreciate this route is not often considered, as many kids want the 'uni experience'.

Another thing to look for when considering Unis is which Companies they work in partnership with (hopefully a long list) and what happens to students after they graduate - Unis will have success stories, and if these are emphasised in the department presentations, that's also a good indication..

Choosing the right course is more important than worrying about rankings - all the Unis you've listed are good. All have a lot to offer as towns. It's more a case of getting a good feel for the Comp Sci department - do you find the lecturers inspirational during their talks? Are they enthusiastic? We went to several Comp Sci specific presentations in different Unis, and it was obvious which suited my son best on the strength of the presentations.

Hope this is helpful.

ds2 has been happy so far with the course at Nottingham. Downsides - very large cohort and quite a few of the lectures were online the first semester. Quite a lot of maths which he has found the most challenging of the modules so far but he didn't do further maths. Likes that many of the modules are assessed with a component of coursework rather than just an exam, module choice from second year and finds that the computer labs are a good way of asking for help when he needs it. Has already had some group work projects & will have more - a valuable experience but steep-learning curve in co-operation for him. The computer science buildings are on the Jubilee Campus rather than the main campus (is still walkable but also a university bus if they chose to live on the main campus). There is also a lot of privately run student accomodation near the Jubilee campus.

Hi, OP -

Your list is very good. Actually Birmingham ranks most highly for CS amongst the Schools you’ve mentioned, above Manchester, in the Complete University Guide though Manchester may or may not still have that three A star offer).

It’s interesting because for most STEM B’ham is very good but not necessarily a star. CS in recent years is however really fantastic. And the campus is gorgeous, even with its own rail station, making travel very easy.

Having said that, I agree that with such a good list it’s all about where DS feels happiest, as that is where he is likely to do best.

I went with DS to the Nottingham uni open day for CS and he was really put off by the CS being on the Jubilee campus. It isnt that far from the main campus but it seemed really out on a limb more like a business park than a uni.

By contrast we had no expectations of Birmingham but he loved it and put it as first choice (sadly didnt get the grades for it)

We felt the same about York - CS on East a bus ride away from where everything was happening. We are off to see Nottingham this weekend, shame it's another one with CS off the main site. DS is quite sociable and I think he'd rather be in the midst of stuff.

Are any of these courses exam only? We did like that about York - very few traditional closed book exams but a combination of coursework and open book 48 hour "exams".

I didn’t realise that about Nottingham. There might be accommodation options near the Jubilee campus that are not catered, which might be a benefit, but imho one big draw of Nottingham is being on the lovely campus, at least for your first year.

Lots of stuff at York is in East. Several of the colleges are there. I'd also dispute that you need to take a bus. It's all walkable!

Things happen at both campuses?

On the open day all the focus and excitement was at West. East was like a windswept wasteland with a few hardy souls wandering around. If it's actually more balanced than that they should possibly reflect that in the open day organization!