The Student Room Group
Computer science has more mathematical modules.


Computer Science Module Examples

Loughborough

Spoiler



Computing Module Examples

Plymouth

Spoiler






Note: Many higher universities only offer computer science, less academic universities offer both/ computing only.
Reply 2
Original post by Oh my Ms. Coffey
Note: Many higher universities only offer computer science, less academic universities offer both/ computing only.


Thanks for your help.

Should I infer from this that Computer Science is more widely respected by employers?
Original post by Chucklefiend
Thanks for your help.

Should I infer from this that Computer Science is more widely respected by employers?


Yeah its more better, from what I can see you get a much more versatile selection of modules and the maths certainly cant be a bad thing. However computer science is not just programming.
Reply 4
Original post by Oh my Ms. Coffey


Note: Many higher universities only offer computer science, less academic universities offer both/ computing only.


Note: that while what is above is generally true you should look at the actual course to see what it's like e.g. Imperial's "Computing" course is one of the best CS courses in the coutry :wink:
(edited 13 years ago)
Reply 5
I would look at the entry grades/subjects as to how good the course if/ how well respected it is. Generally those courses offering the higher grades in maths/physics will be computer sciences and will be more respected
Reply 6
It depends a lot.
For instance, Imperial College has one of the most widely respected CS courses in the world, but they call it "Computing". I wouldn't read overly much into what they call it, although if the same university offers both CS and Computing, then generally CS will be more theoretical.
Original post by ElMoro
Note: that while what is above is generally true you should look at the actual course to see what it's like e.g. Imperial's "Computing" course is one of the best CS courses in the coutry :wink:


I was going to link Imperials but it was too contradictory, it has loads of maths in it.
Reply 8
As someone who has been on both sides of the fence (I started by doing "Computer Science" and transferred to a "Computing" course), I can say that a "Computing" course gives you more practical skills straight out of the door.

Practical skills are extremely important at sub-management level in the IT sector, and you'll likely push more of the correct buttons by being able to actually operate and maintain a DBMS as opposed to knowing the mathematics behind JOIN operations, for example. The latter is only important if you are actually building database systems, and there's only a small handful of companies doing that. Knowledge of AVL trees and the mathematics of AES is useless if you can't put it into practice and make it work.

As a result of my "Computing" course and the first half of my current MSc, I have covered and obtained knowledge of:

Programming in about 8 different languages

Cisco IOS (nobody I know from my old CompSci course has even seen that)

Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL Server (how they work, how to maintain them and the differences in the SQL syntax for each)

Thinking about the UX from the user's perspective

Knowledge of computer architecture

How to construct and maintain a secure networking infrastructure, albeit on a small and controlled scale

In depth knowledge of computer security and how to defend against real world threats

Digital forensics and how to conduct a forensically sound investigation of a suspect system

In-depth knowledge of computer networking and the associated protocols

Software development methodologies (I don't want to be a software engineer, but the skills and methods are transferable and generic)

The ability to write complex technical reports to a very high standard

How to conduct academically sound research in a constructive and organised fashion



From the two years of my CompSci degree, I got:

Death by Java

A load of poorly explained, high level theory regarding data structures which most working programmers don't care about... because .Net and Java will do it all for you :h:

Functional complexity - you can get the same information, explained more clearly, with 5 minutes of basic Googling

The basics of computer architecture

Formal Logic - I'm not joking when the lecturer teaching it was the only person in the department who understood it, most of the academic tutors were stabbing in the dark trying desperately to figure it out let alone us. Poor choice IMO and should have been replaced with something else

Everything explained through either code or maths - there was very little hands on learning and a chance to try these things out, and the assessed labs consisted of "Use Java to implement the theory you've been taught in lectures". Uninspiring and dull.



According to those I know who finished the course it didn't improve much beyond this, with the graduates trading on the ill-deserved prestige of the university as opposed to what they had learned in the course. Apparently the department I used to study in is now in turmoil, because graduate employers are turning round and saying "Your course is too theoretical, your graduates are useless to us" and there was always bitching and backstabbing going on even before I left back in 2007. The staff have hit the panic button yet are stubborn and refuse to change anything.

Spoiler



I prefer "Computing", but it's really horses for courses and you should choose the one you prefer. Both are more than respectable in the real world, but traditional CompSci may be more respected in academic circles. In my personal opinion, I feel far more employable after doing "Computing" and part of my MSc as opposed to what I would have got through a more traditional CompSci degree. I also enjoyed "Computing" infinitely more because it was less stolid, dull and much more up to date and exciting.

You'll all disagree, however.
(edited 13 years ago)
Original post by ch0llima

You'll all disagree, however.


Yep I disagree because it depends hugely on where you go.
Some courses are too theoretical, but the best are a mix of both theory and practical. Like most of the stuff you have mentioned about your Computing degree, I have covered in my CS degree (different languages, user experience, computer architecture, networking, software development etc etc).

Plus, especially in regard to languages, it really doesn't matter how many the uni teach you. A good degree will give you the skills to pick up most languages pretty easily.
(edited 13 years ago)
Reply 10
Original post by ch0llima
As someone who has been on both sides of the fence (I started by doing "Computer Science" and transferred to a "Computing" course), I can say that a "Computing" course gives you more practical skills straight out of the door.

Practical skills are extremely important at sub-management level in the IT sector, and you'll likely push more of the correct buttons by being able to actually operate and maintain a DBMS as opposed to knowing the mathematics behind JOIN operations, for example. The latter is only important if you are actually building database systems, and there's only a small handful of companies doing that. Knowledge of AVL trees and the mathematics of AES is useless if you can't put it into practice and make it work.

As a result of my "Computing" course and the first half of my current MSc, I have covered and obtained knowledge of:

Programming in about 8 different languages

Cisco IOS (nobody I know from my old CompSci course has even seen that)

Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL Server (how they work, how to maintain them and the differences in the SQL syntax for each)

Thinking about the UX from the user's perspective

Knowledge of computer architecture

How to construct and maintain a secure networking infrastructure, albeit on a small and controlled scale

In depth knowledge of computer security and how to defend against real world threats

Digital forensics and how to conduct a forensically sound investigation of a suspect system

In-depth knowledge of computer networking and the associated protocols

Software development methodologies (I don't want to be a software engineer, but the skills and methods are transferable and generic)

The ability to write complex technical reports to a very high standard

How to conduct academically sound research in a constructive and organised fashion



From the two years of my CompSci degree, I got:

Death by Java

A load of poorly explained, high level theory regarding data structures which most working programmers don't care about... because .Net and Java will do it all for you :h:

Functional complexity - you can get the same information, explained more clearly, with 5 minutes of basic Googling

The basics of computer architecture

Formal Logic - I'm not joking when the lecturer teaching it was the only person in the department who understood it, most of the academic tutors were stabbing in the dark trying desperately to figure it out let alone us. Poor choice IMO and should have been replaced with something else

Everything explained through either code or maths - there was very little hands on learning and a chance to try these things out, and the assessed labs consisted of "Use Java to implement the theory you've been taught in lectures". Uninspiring and dull.



According to those I know who finished the course it didn't improve much beyond this, with the graduates trading on the ill-deserved prestige of the university as opposed to what they had learned in the course. Apparently the department I used to study in is now in turmoil, because graduate employers are turning round and saying "Your course is too theoretical, your graduates are useless to us" and there was always bitching and backstabbing going on even before I left back in 2007. The staff have hit the panic button yet are stubborn and refuse to change anything.

Spoiler



I prefer "Computing", but it's really horses for courses and you should choose the one you prefer. Both are more than respectable in the real world, but traditional CompSci may be more respected in academic circles. In my personal opinion, I feel far more employable after doing "Computing" and part of my MSc as opposed to what I would have got through a more traditional CompSci degree. I also enjoyed "Computing" infinitely more because it was less stolid, dull and much more up to date and exciting.

You'll all disagree, however.


So I strumbled upon this thread... Okay if you must know I typed in "difference between computer science and computing" on Google. Anyways, I was just wondering whether you could still go into the gaming industry with a computing degree whether it being a undergrad or postgrad?

Oh please say "yes"... Otherwise I'll have to change my course to Games Design which I don't want. (Start uni this Sept at SHU if it helps)
Woooaaaaaah!!!

Always look at the course content before you decide. To add confusion, lots of people say that you shouldn't call Computer Science that, and that Computing Science is a much better term. It is the science of computation, not the science of computers necessarily.

What do you want to do in the games industry? Is it actual design, or do you want to be a programmer?

If you want to do programming, then you need a maths- and theory-heavy degree. The leading lights of the games industry are often quoted in the computing press as being unhappy with the computing graduates in Britain, because their courses concentrate too much on computers and real computer hardware - like the guy that studied Cisco stuff.

That is *not* what you need to become a good games programmer. You will need to understand matrices and transformations, computational complexity... You'll need to understand how to think in terms of algorithms and data structures and learn how recognise how these might benefit or disadvantage your model.

Real computer/computing science, that underpins so much of modern games, is a very mathematical thing and that's why good CS degrees concentrate so much on logic and maths. You learn techniques that are not just applicable in video games, but in many different subject areas. That's what gives you an excellent grounding in technical programming.

Anyone can learn to use C++, but if you don't have the maths, the logical thinking and so on, then you're not going to be a games programmer. All these things can be taught and learned and you don't have to be some kind of genius either.

If you want to do games, just forget about actual computers until you're most of the way through your degree. It's good to be into computers, because it *will* help in a CS degree, when it comes to physical representation of data, but knowing about networking hardware, and being able to do anything you want on your home PC will *not* help in learning to write games.

Hope I've explained this okay.
After seeing the comments on how computer science is more well appreciated by unis, i wanted to ask about the math in it, i have achieved a grade A in math but im not the greatest fan of it, how is the math in it anyone? Plz.
:confused:
I would like to know if I can transfer from BSC hons in computing to a computer science degree?
Original post by ch0llima
As someone who has been on both sides of the fence (I started by doing "Computer Science" and transferred to a "Computing" course), I can say that a "Computing" course gives you more practical skills straight out of the door.

Practical skills are extremely important at sub-management level in the IT sector, and you'll likely push more of the correct buttons by being able to actually operate and maintain a DBMS as opposed to knowing the mathematics behind JOIN operations, for example. The latter is only important if you are actually building database systems, and there's only a small handful of companies doing that. Knowledge of AVL trees and the mathematics of AES is useless if you can't put it into practice and make it work.

As a result of my "Computing" course and the first half of my current MSc, I have covered and obtained knowledge of:

Programming in about 8 different languages

Cisco IOS (nobody I know from my old CompSci course has even seen that)

Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL Server (how they work, how to maintain them and the differences in the SQL syntax for each)

Thinking about the UX from the user's perspective

Knowledge of computer architecture

How to construct and maintain a secure networking infrastructure, albeit on a small and controlled scale

In depth knowledge of computer security and how to defend against real world threats

Digital forensics and how to conduct a forensically sound investigation of a suspect system

In-depth knowledge of computer networking and the associated protocols

Software development methodologies (I don't want to be a software engineer, but the skills and methods are transferable and generic)

The ability to write complex technical reports to a very high standard

How to conduct academically sound research in a constructive and organised fashion


From the two years of my CompSci degree, I got:

Death by Java

A load of poorly explained, high level theory regarding data structures which most working programmers don't care about... because .Net and Java will do it all for you :h:

Functional complexity - you can get the same information, explained more clearly, with 5 minutes of basic Googling

The basics of computer architecture

Formal Logic - I'm not joking when the lecturer teaching it was the only person in the department who understood it, most of the academic tutors were stabbing in the dark trying desperately to figure it out let alone us. Poor choice IMO and should have been replaced with something else

Everything explained through either code or maths - there was very little hands on learning and a chance to try these things out, and the assessed labs consisted of "Use Java to implement the theory you've been taught in lectures". Uninspiring and dull.


According to those I know who finished the course it didn't improve much beyond this, with the graduates trading on the ill-deserved prestige of the university as opposed to what they had learned in the course. Apparently the department I used to study in is now in turmoil, because graduate employers are turning round and saying "Your course is too theoretical, your graduates are useless to us" and there was always bitching and backstabbing going on even before I left back in 2007. The staff have hit the panic button yet are stubborn and refuse to change anything.

Spoiler


I prefer "Computing", but it's really horses for courses and you should choose the one you prefer. Both are more than respectable in the real world, but traditional CompSci may be more respected in academic circles. In my personal opinion, I feel far more employable after doing "Computing" and part of my MSc as opposed to what I would have got through a more traditional CompSci degree. I also enjoyed "Computing" infinitely more because it was less stolid, dull and much more up to date and exciting.

You'll all disagree, however.


Hi, loved this post and I respect that this is a while ago but what UNI did yu go t for computing not your computer science course, as computing sounds good. If you want could you Pm me as I can't seem to do it for you.

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