Opinions on best place to study Computer Science?

What do you think are the best place to study computer science?

I particularly like the look of Imperial, Durham, Kings and Nottingham, any thoughts? :wink:

Also where are you planning on going and why?

Reply 1

acontium

15

I think it's all preference on the type of computer science you'd like to study so for mathematical content filled courses it's cambridge and warwick :smile:

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Reply 2

username738914

21

Original post by JW22

What do you think are the best place to study computer science?

I particularly like the look of Imperial, Durham, Kings and Nottingham, any thoughts? :wink:

Also where are you planning on going and why?

Nottingham!

They have an excellent reputation overall, the jubilee campus (where comp sci is located) looks edgy but modern.

The university park campus has pretty much all the amenities you'll need and is only a stone's throw from the city centre.

In terms of the course itself, the modules look varied, they have a lot of emphasis on logic/discrete maths in the first year with the option to include AI modules. The course I applied to has a year abroad included, which is always interesting.

Being honest though, Imperial would probably be the best for Computer Science then Notts.

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Reply 3

cambio wechsel

20

Original post by Princepieman

Nottingham! ...The university park campus has pretty much all the amenities you'll need and is only a stone's throw from the city centre.

Either you have the most tremendous throwing arm or we know different Nottingham Universities. I'd suppose that campus is 2 miles or more from the city centre.

Reply 4

username738914

21

Original post by cambio wechsel

Either you have the most tremendous throwing arm or we know different Nottingham Universities. I'd suppose that campus is 2 miles or more from the city centre.

2 miles is barely anything, I sometimes walk to my school and that's a good 5-6 miles away from my house.

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Reply 5

TVIO

12

I liked the look of the Cambridge course the most, so I'll (if I meet the offer) be going there. Imperial is a close second, and IDK after that. My personal favourite 3rd is UCL but I think that this could be different for others whereas Cambridge and Imperial definitely have the best CS depts.

Reply 6

cambio wechsel

20

Original post by Princepieman

2 miles is barely anything, I sometimes walk to my school and that's a good 5-6 miles away from my house.

Well I dare say. Still what makes Nottingham unusual among the civic universities is precisely that the university is not in the centre, as it is in e.g. Leeds, Bristol, Cardiff, or Manchester. So commending it above others on specifically the ground of ease of access to the city struck me as odd.

I'm a Nottingham grad and was never too much put out by the distance into town, mind.

Reply 7

Frank the Tankk

12

You can't really go wrong with any of those unis...I applied to both KCL and Notts myself with St Andrews and Edinburgh.

Reply 8

laeof

14

OP. It really depends on what you're after from a University. Decide on those and then decide on what the best university is, for yourself.

For me when I chose, research and being taught by the best people who know their stuff(ofc this doesn't always mean they are fab lectures) and being around the best students who were creative, innovative and passionate with a University that supported that mindset was the most important. Just so happens that Edinburgh are also the best in Informatics research in the UK(http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/informatics/about/research-excellence) which was one of the most deciding factors for me....however, this was what I was personally after. I've yet to really attend a University which compares, imo to Edinburgh, especially if one is interested in branching and tasting other domains of computer science; bioinformatics, neuroscience, cognitive science, AI, etc. Of course i'll be slightly biased, but I do have friends in other institutions across the country studying CS and other institutions I have visited.

But really for me, the students are what really did it, the student projects people made were completely insane and looking at other universities projects, many are fantastic...just not quite on the same scale. Even looking at the projects being offered to cambridge students I was really underwhelmed.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 9

TVIO

12

Original post by laeof

OP. It really depends on what you're after from a University. Decide on those and then decide on what the best university is, for yourself.

For me when I chose, research and being taught by the best people who know their stuff(ofc this doesn't always mean they are fab lectures) and being around the best students who were creative, innovative and passionate with a University that supported that mindset was the most important. Just so happens that Edinburgh are also the best in Informatics research in the UK(http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/informatics/about/research-excellence) which was one of the most deciding factors for me....however, this was what I was personally after. I've yet to really attend a University which compares, imo to Edinburgh, especially if one is interested in branching and tasting other domains of computer science; bioinformatics, neuroscience, cognitive science, AI, etc. Of course i'll be slightly biased, but I do have friends in other institutions across the country studying CS and other institutions I have visited.

But really for me, the students are what really did it, the student projects people made were completely insane and looking at other universities projects, many are fantastic...just not quite on the same scale. Even looking at the projects being offered to cambridge students I was really underwhelmed.

The cambridge course is very theoretical though, so it makes sense the projects were underwhelming. The imperial course is quite practical, and I was astounded by their projects when I went there.

Reply 10

laeof

14

Original post by TVIO

The cambridge course is very theoretical though, so it makes sense the projects were underwhelming. The imperial course is quite practical, and I was astounded by their projects when I went there.

Edinburgh's course is extremely theoretical.. So, I don't think that's the reason. Tbh, most of the projects I saw, except for the self-proposed ones just looked like lecturers were giving out projects to keep people busy and because they had too, not because you were actually helping lecturers with their work. You get bonus points here if you work is publishable material. Infact you can't get over 70-80% unless it is. Lots of projects got over 80% last year.

EDIT: Just to note i'm not saying cambridge or other universities projects are balls. It was a couple of years ago I browsed through the online list. We're quite forunate even with being theoretical that we get a lot more time off after the semester that most British universities because of where our exams fall. So, we do our exams before December and get a 3-5 weeks off at christmas to chill and work on side projects before the next semester. Then our summer exams finish in May, so we get 4 months off during the summer. And most students seem to stay in Edinburgh over the summer(which will still get full 24 hour access to labs) so it's good fun to have group hackathons or w.e with other students. Our practical skills, quite possibly come from self-teaching on the side.