Newcastle University Ask a Current Student Thread

You will definitely have enough time, no matter which course you do! I know people who have very intense courses (such as Medics and Biochem students) who are still very heavily involved in clubs and societies. It's very easy to make time for them, especially as most of them meet in the evenings, weekends and on Wednesday afternoons (when there are no lectures on anyway)

You will definitely have enough time, no matter which course you do! I know people who have very intense courses (such as Medics and Biochem students) who are still very heavily involved in clubs and societies. It's very easy to make time for them, especially as most of them meet in the evenings, weekends and on Wednesday afternoons (when there are no lectures on anyway)

How long after applying for Masters will I receive a response?

Hello,I'm starting a combined honours this September - English linguistic studies and Spanish and Latin American studies and I was wondering if you could give me a sample timetable for it.Thank you

Hey.
What is the best student bank for an international student?

When you swap accommodation with someone do you automatically get entered into new contracts or do you have to accept it? (Or can you reject the new offer)

Heya

Im looking to apply for the Partners scheme but my school has no idea how to do it and im a little confused by what the website is telling me to do. As i right to just put a "p" in the further information box when selecting it as a choice? also, what does my school need to do to help me though it
Thank you!

Anyone doing Computer Science at Newcastle? Whats it like? Considering I didn't do either Maths or Computing at College? (Although I do have coding skill from learning in my free time). Is there a lot of maths? Is it handleable? And how are the jobs which are available like? Good $$? Thanks in advance.

Hello, i am planing on studying biology at your university in 2017. Is Newcastle good for this subject? I am very interested in microbiology, pathology and biomedicine, do these topics come up in the BCs course?

Hi,

I sent your query on to one of our Computer Science students Matt and this was his response:

Anyone doing Computer Science at Newcastle?
Yes! I started in 2011 and graduated in 2014 but stayed on to do a PhD.

Whats it like?
Great. Honestly. The course content is absolutely fantastic, and by the end of 2nd year you're actually ready for industry (hence the option for industrial placement). During the first two years you'll learn all of the fundamental Computer Science that's used everywhere: Programming; Databases; Algorithms; Operating Systems; Network principles. The list goes on. It's really comprehensive. In 3rd year you get to choose your modules based off of whatever you fancy doing. There's specialisms in Games, Bio-Computing, Human-Computer Interaction, Networking, etc. You don't need to specialise and can choose from a variety of the modules butby that point you'll probably know what you like to do (and what you don't likedoing). Outside of the content, physically studying here was great. There's dedicated clusters and rooms for Comp Sci students so it's really rare that you're scrabbling to get a PC (and there's loads of plugs for laptops etc if you fancy bringing your own). A lot of the time, people spend their "free periods" in the clusters either on projects or taking a breather, so there's a really good atmosphere between everyone. Obviously you're busy; when you're studying a degree it's usually the toughest thing you've done up to that point. It never felt overwhelming though, as long as you put the hours in. The teaching is cracking too -- Newcastle is a research-lead Uni, which means all of the teaching is being done by the literal experts in their fields. This stays true of Comp Sci. Lectures are very well delivered (though everyone clicks withsome lecturers more than others). There's also a dedicated squad of "Demonstrators" who assist with any problems in practical classes.

Considering I didn't do either Maths or Computing at College?
Neither did I! You'll find that roughly half of the students don't have a maths background when they come here. I spent my A-levels explicitly avoiding maths. There's a module in Stage 1, in the first semester, which is designed to get everyone on the same page about the maths that is needed in Comp Sci. Don't worry. If I could get it then anyone can. If you've not been exposed to raw maths for a while then it's a bit scary just looking at it, but the lecturers go nice and slow and make sure you're up to speed. If you're genuinely struggling with some maths, then there's about a thousand ways to get help both from the School of Computing Science and the uni as a whole. Honestly though, you're doing the maths that's specific for Comp Sci and you'll have other modules on which teach programming and stuff: you'll be picking it up through those without realising as well and then by the end of the semester you'll realise that you can do some maths now.

(Although I do have coding skill from learning in my free time).
Good It shows you're interested. We build you up from the ground in terms ofProgramming and Coding, so maybe the first two or three lectures might coverstuff you've learned already. It is still important to pay attention to thesethough, and to keep and open mind about how code should be written.A lot of people who teach themselves to code often get into little habits andhacks that are fine in the small-scale, but are actually inefficient ordangerous when scaled up into large bits of software. A bit of experiencehelps, and you're off to a great start -- but I had some friends in Stage 1 whohad "coded" for years and refused to attend lectures because"they knew it", missed a trick and failed the Module due to badlywritten code. Not meant to scare you, but to encourage you to keep learning!

Is there a lot of maths? Is it handleable?
Yes and no. Like I said, there's a module in Stage 1, Semester 1 which explicitly teaches maths. After that, the maths tends to hide behind code. You need a bit of what's called Discrete Maths to make code work, but you'll be taught thatin the maths module, and you'll see it in action when writing code. Some modules are a bit more maths-intense than others, and I would recommend having a chat with lecturers if you're choosing modules in Stage 3 that you're afraid might be mathsy. Stuff like Cryptography or Computer Graphics get very mathsy very quickly, because how they work is basically raw maths dressed up a bit. By that time, though, you'll have been exposed to how a Computer Scientist think and will probably not be as scared of maths anymore. Only you know what you like. To answer your question directly: there's a bit of maths here and there,but it is more than handleable.

And how are the jobs which are available like? Good money?
The jobs are generally quite good. I said before that I'm a PhD student, but I messaged a few of my friends who went into industry to see what they're up to:Those are pretty standard entry-level jobs for a CS graduate to have (ie the start of a career), but the core skillset qualifies you to do absolutely loads. Taking crypto and games design will set you up for writing high-value software for the banking industry, and being able to model safety-critical systems might see you approving software for aircraft. You can do loads. Of course if you get to 3rd year and want to keep up with the learning, or actually work towards producing new knowledge,then there's the option for Postgraduate study either here with us or at another uni. Newcastle is rated #1 in the UK for Computing science research. So I would personally recommend sticking around if you're interested in a career in research. I'm probably the worst person to ask about jobs or money because I'm not overly money-focused. Do what you love and take the steps you need to get there. If you don't know what you want to do then that is more than ok. There is plenty of time, and people retrain at all stages of their life. If you really can't figure out what job who want to do, ask who you want to be and then choosethe path enables you to do that. I hope that helps, and if you've got any further questions then just fire them my way. I feel quite passionate about Comp Sci at Newcastle so I'll always reply. I'm also more than happy to take a few hours out if you're wanting to come and have a chat and see a bit of the Uni.


I hope Matt's advice helped! If you have any more questions please let us know

Isabella

Thank you both for that information, it was so helpful! Mind if I ask some more questions? I'd love to come by the university and check everything out but I live in Manchester, so I'm a bit far.

Matt, do you mind if I ask what subjects you did at college and what grades you got? Just so I could compare them to my current predicated grades. I see on the university website that they dont mind what subjects you've done but would like AAB/ABB grades. I'm currently predicted ABB (A for I.T, B for Psychology and Biology), do you think I would be able to get in with these grades and subjects?

Also, what did you chose to specialise in the end? And why did you chose to stay to do a PHD instead of going to get a job?

I'm currently still not sure on what to do at university, either IT for Business or Computer Science. To be honest, I'm much more interested in Computer Science, but the career which you can get after doing IT&Business is more appealing to me (IT Consultant) because the salary is high, and the whole 'company car, driving to clients, contract-based work' appeals to me, if you know what I mean? However, I'm really interested in Computer Science. For example, a friend of mine at college does Computing and she managed to code a programme which can hack into someones camera in just an hour on the bus. She is also coding some sort of a programme which can encrypt emails etc and it just sounds so interesting! Another friend of mine told me "learn coding, and you'll be able to do anything". So I'm really not sure which course to do at university.

When comparing courses entry requirements, Computer Sci is MUCH harder to get into, with universities demanding specific subjects and some universities wanting A*AA/AAA, however for IT&Business they dont mind which subjects you did at college and want AAB/ABB. But from the looks of it, the careers gained from IT&Bunisess are paid much more than Computer Sci, why is that? I understand that Computer Sci is hard, hence the demanding entry requirements, but what is that pay off in the end?

You said that one of your friends is a Software project manager, right? Is that a job you can get immediately after graduating, or something you have to get promoted to? As you can tell, I'm quite focused on money haha. :P

Thanks, Matt & Isabella.

Thank you both for that information, it was so helpful! Mind if I ask some more questions? I'd love to come by the university and check everything out but I live in Manchester, so I'm a bit far.

Matt, do you mind if I ask what subjects you did at college and what grades you got? Just so I could compare them to my current predicated grades. I see on the university website that they dont mind what subjects you've done but would like AAB/ABB grades. I'm currently predicted ABB (A for I.T, B for Psychology and Biology), do you think I would be able to get in with these grades and subjects?

Also, what did you chose to specialise in the end? And why did you chose to stay to do a PHD instead of going to get a job?

I'm currently still not sure on what to do at university, either IT for Business or Computer Science. To be honest, I'm much more interested in Computer Science, but the career which you can get after doing IT&Business is more appealing to me (IT Consultant) because the salary is high, and the whole 'company car, driving to clients, contract-based work' appeals to me, if you know what I mean? However, I'm really interested in Computer Science. For example, a friend of mine at college does Computing and she managed to code a programme which can hack into someones camera in just an hour on the bus. She is also coding some sort of a programme which can encrypt emails etc and it just sounds so interesting! Another friend of mine told me "learn coding, and you'll be able to do anything". So I'm really not sure which course to do at university.

When comparing courses entry requirements, Computer Sci is MUCH harder to get into, with universities demanding specific subjects and some universities wanting A*AA/AAA, however for IT&Business they dont mind which subjects you did at college and want AAB/ABB. But from the looks of it, the careers gained from IT&Bunisess are paid much more than Computer Sci, why is that? I understand that Computer Sci is hard, hence the demanding entry requirements, but what is that pay off in the end?

You said that one of your friends is a Software project manager, right? Is that a job you can get immediately after graduating, or something you have to get promoted to? As you can tell, I'm quite focused on money haha. :P

Thanks, Matt & Isabella.

Could you tell me your opinion on whether or not I have a chance on getting an offer with BBB/ABB predictions for Accounting and Finance?