Uni suggestions - Joint Maths and Comp Sc Degree

[vaux777]

Hello,
DS would like to apply to University for a Joint Maths and Computer Science degree. Most probably an Msc. He's looking for a course with more Applied Maths modules. Is currently studying Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Computer Science. Predicted A,A, A* A.

He is not fussed about it being campus or city university. Preference is somewhere where both the maths and CS departments are strong and uni has good job prospects after he graduates.

I know that the league tables are not the only deciding factor, but looking at the individual subject rankings for Maths and CS for universities in Complete University guide league tables it is rather difficult to gauge the best university when it comes to a joint course as in some universities the computer science department ranks much higher than the Maths department and vice versa.

Would love to hear University suggestions for a Maths and CS joint course ( with more applied maths modules)?

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/higher_education/5163889-university-choices-for-a-joint-maths-and-computer-science-degree

There was a thread on the same subject a few months ago which might give you some ideas.

Imperial

Warwick- Discrete maths. DS has applied for joint CS and maths everywhere else but is really keen on this course at Warwick. They'll need to do the TMUA as.well , but Imperial requires it as well, and Cambridge CS

Oxford, imperial, Warwick

Warwick.

St Andrews

Both departments are good - located adjacent to each other, and being a smaller university are strong on interdisciplinary working and applications of subjects.

Went to an interesting talk about tracking of snow leopards that used a mix of biology, statistics and computer science at St Andrews.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Imperial, UCL seems to be like a lottery given the big intake of international students. Warwick too very competitive. Need to keep other options open too. Just starting to look .... Any thoughts on :

Birmingham- I know the CS dept is good, is maths department strong too?
Manchester -? how is the maths dept?
Sheffield, Southampton - always see it mentioned for CS, not sure about maths again.
Exeter-?

My son went to Glasgow as it was the only one (in Scotland anyway) that offered the joint degree as an integrated Masters as opposed to the BSc (Hons). Admittedly he hates it and is going elsewhere this year.

My knowledge of dept rankings is too out of date to be useful but I did Comp Sci and Maths at one of the universities on this thread. CS and Maths was (and still is) a great course. HOWEVER, the course content varies depending on the university, and also the split they will allow. For example while mine was officially "50:50", in reality after year 1 you could do a much as 70:30 either way, and it is worth checking whether the specific course content is what they want to focus on. Even how high it is ranked won't help much if your specific course won't let you study topics/fields you're particularly interested in! My course had no hardware modules at all for example, even though the other CS degrees offered did.

Maybe have a look at Durham. My daughter applied for straight Computer Science and has been offered joint computer science and maths. It looks quite similar to the Warwick discrete maths course. Quite a few who applied for Computer Science seem to have been offered it, so perhaps it is undersubscribed. I think it has only recently become an option to select it as a stand alone course. Previously( and you can still do it like this) you could only do it via a Natural Sciences pathway at Durham. This may be a better option if you have a choice, as that the means you can do joint in year 1 with the option to just specialise in one subject in year 2 if you want (at least that what it looks like, but it would be worth double checking).

My son applied this year to Bristol, Bath, Durham, Exeter and Southampton for maths & CS. He’s (probably) firming Durham then Exeter. Rejected from Bath, alternative offer from Bristol (data science) which he rejected. 3 x A star predicted. He’s doing Maths, FM & CS. I think his GCSEs probably let him down, his results were from 3 -9.

@3Muses will your daughter accept Durham’s alternative offer?

No, she really liked Durham but wants to do a straight CS degree. Also has offers from Southampton, Bath, Warwick, Cambridge and is going to firm Cambridge and I think insure Warwick.

Manchester is worth looking at. Bristol? Obviously Oxford, Imperial and Warwick. Is he more interested in a more theoretically biased, maths-based computer science course, given the desire for the joint honours? He might find there’s already plenty of maths in the Cambridge computer science degree.

Hi, OP -

I see no one has explicitly addressed your questions.

Is DS more into Maths or CS? Usually those doing Joint Hons like the synthesis - and this is a great one - but feel a stronger affinity for one field.

B’ham has great CS and very good Maths. Manchester has excellent Maths and very good CS. Sheffield is very good in both fields. I know less about Exeter, so I will leave that out. The first three are all wonderful choices academically. Each city has much to offer in different ways, and B’ham is a beautiful Victorian campus university. Sheffield is on the edge of the Peak District. They all have ample cultural opportunities, etc.

If CS is the driver, my ranking of the three is
B > M > S. If Maths is the driver, M > B > S. Maths may be stronger at Sheffield than at B’ham, but the CS at B’ham is outstanding so I would keep it this way round.

DS could join the online forum The Student Room and ask questions of students in the Maths and CS programmes at any university he is interested in. The National Survey of Student Satisfaction from the Office for Students might also be useful.

(I am a former STEM admissions tutor at a Russell Gp university)

Best wishes to DS

Thanks for all the replies. Yes although he wants to do the joint Maths and Computer course, His affinity is more towards Maths side so he would like to do more maths modules eg in statistics he says. More interested in applied Maths he says but would still like to do some computer science. He wants to do an Msc rather than a Bsc

Manchester unfortunately does not do an Msc in maths and computer science. But Birmingham, Bristol look good. May look into Lancaster too for insurance.

@poetryandwine - thanks for all the detailed suggestions.* *do you think with funding issues at Sheffield we should consider it or maybe consider somewhere like Lancaster ( he liked the course modules at Lancaster too). Have yet to visit the universities.

Thanks.

Really have a look at the Warwick discrete maths course. My DC has an offer from Imperial for computing and that was always his first choice, but he is now torn as he really loves maths and really likes the look of discrete maths as it is more maths based than CS. There are maths modules such as statistics on the course and it is available as an MEng as well as BSc.

Because of his score in the TMUA he also got a reduced offer A * A A with the Astar in maths. I think as well because of the course name it really doesn't get as many applicants as computer science so not as madly competitive The key thing is the TMUA score.

So many universities are in financial trouble, OP. I don’t think I would single out Sheffield.

Especially because many students love the place.

But Lancaster is a fantastic option! Top 10 in Maths research in the UK at the last assessment, strong investment in STEM Teaching and Learning recently and strong rankings and student satisfaction in both fields. IMO Lancaster and Glasgow are currently the hidden gems of UK HE.

I am not sure if PP is referring to the MORSE programme at Warwick? I have heard good things about it and I would encourage DS to investigate it via The Student Room

Op
Don't listen to mumsnet. Your son is smart, he can research degrees, and book open days. He should do a degree he will like at a university he likes

Which would you say was better for CS / Maths: Birmingham or Bath? DS has offers for both for CS only but wants to switch h to CS/Maths.

Hi, @Coldilocks -

Both will be excellent in different ways, so I think it depends on which subject he feels is driving his degree and perhaps on factors like which type of city and extracurricular activity he prefers.

If his main affinity is for CS, yes, B’ham is that special. He might hesitate only if he really dislikes large cities and/or thinks his hobbies and friendships will centre on sport. Bath wins on those counts, though I would think you could be as sporty as you like at B’ham.

B’ham has very good Maths, just as Bath has very good CS, but Bath wins there. The Maths students at Bath will be stronger and likely more interested in their subject. If Maths is DS’ affinity, I think he will find Bath a more sympathetic environment.

As always, I would encourage DS to join the online forum The Student Room where he can address the questions important to him to students in the degree programmes of these universities

It is a wonderful combination. Best wishes to him

Apologies OP, I am going to hijack this thread. @poetryandwine DS isn’t that sporty and has focussed on CS. It was only about a month ago that he mentioned Maths / CS. He is predicted 4 A* so he will be able to keep up with the maths students.

Please will you let me know how Birmingham is so special? I was impressed by the guy giving the presentation at the open/offer holder day but the quality of the student projects seemed a bit basic. Bath, by contrast, focussed on the international appeal of their student cohort and seemed in a different league. But that could just be the students they wheeled out on the day so you never know.

It’s a tough choice.

Hi, @Coldilocks -

Birmingham is unquestionably a very fine university, but I would say that in many STEM subjects it ranks as part of the general Russell Group cluster. (That is absolutely not a criticism, very far from it.)

Not so in Computer Science. It ranks 6th in the UK in the Complete University Guide, which is probably the most useful league table for undergraduates. The overall score of 94% puts it tied with Warwick and St Andrews. Its weak link is its entry requirements - they aren’t low but relative to other Top 10 Schools of CS they are low, and the score for this component is only 74%. Otherwise it would leapfrog St A’s and Warwick to fourth place in the CUG.

In particular the research component is scored at 94%, tied with Warwick and not far behind the (obvious) top three, and the student satisfaction score is very high (as student satisfaction scores go).

B’ham CS really is the full package and no, I am not on staff there.

DS can look up Schools of Computer Science in the Complete University Guide online to see more detail.

Best wishes

Thank you!

PS - @Coldilocks and others

DS (and other potential applicants) can join the online forum The Student Room to get more information from students on the degree programmes he is interested in.