Is there anyone who hasn't done a single maths class while studying CS?

cj104

11

Did you cope with the maths in the CS course well? Did you regret not taking maths?

Reply 1

username5383500

18

Original post by cj104

Did you cope with the maths in the CS course well? Did you regret not taking maths?

Not strictly the answer you're looking for. But I did well in my GCSE Maths and took it at A Level. The very first Maths class I had in uni CompSci they were teaching BIDMAS.

I'm obviously not saying all unis are like this. Plenty will require a strong Maths background, which is why some CompSci degrees put A Level Maths as a requirement. But it varies from course to course.

There's no hard and fast rule about Maths in CompSci. Some courses have heavy Maths elements, others will cover it briefly. Certain topics are very Maths heavy, others require very little. And whether someone copes depends on their own ability alongside the situation they are in. It's better to ask specific questions, for example about certain universities and topics, rather than broad questions.

Reply 2

cj104

OP

11

Original post by AcseI

Not strictly the answer you're looking for. But I did well in my GCSE Maths and took it at A Level. The very first Maths class I had in uni CompSci they were teaching BIDMAS.

I'm obviously not saying all unis are like this. Plenty will require a strong Maths background, which is why some CompSci degrees put A Level Maths as a requirement. But it varies from course to course.

There's no hard and fast rule about Maths in CompSci. Some courses have heavy Maths elements, others will cover it briefly. Certain topics are very Maths heavy, others require very little. And whether someone copes depends on their own ability alongside the situation they are in. It's better to ask specific questions, for example about certain universities and topics, rather than broad questions.

I think I phrased my question wrong. I meant taking maths classes in your university. It's not mandatory to take maths but some do recommend it because they say it helps. (I did do maths at alevels)

Reply 3

username5383500

18

Original post by cj104

I think I phrased my question wrong. I meant taking maths classes in your university. It's not mandatory to take maths but some do recommend it because they say it helps. (I did do maths at alevels)

Oh I see. Well at that point it depends if there's even an optional Maths module you can take. My uni had mandatory Maths classes as part of a programming module. We also had classes as part of modules that covered Maths topics when necessary, for example as part of cryptography. But we didn't have the option to actually take extra dedicated Maths classes.

This largely boils down to whether the option is available to you, and if it's going to be useful to you. In line with my previous post, some topics need it more than others. There's nothing inherently wrong with learning more, and if you think it'll be useful then pursue it. But as a general rule of thumb a topic won't be optional if you need it for a module. If it is optional, it's a "nice to know" more than a core topic.

Reply 4

heinz_fan

5

In a couple of days time I'm about to move to uni (as 1st year) and I know a bit about my course so I guess I can have a say. The uni which I'm going to requires an A* in Maths to do CS because CS does have a large mathematical side to it because CS is an extension of maths. Because of this, I will have mandatory maths modules to take. I know that at some uni's maths is not a prerequisite but I've noticed a lot of RG unis will require it because a good amount of the degree with be maths, however, I am unsure about other unis.

Apparently however, the maths in CS is easier than other mathematical courses because the maths involved in CS is supposed to be 'Set Theory'; which I currently understand to be about logic and probabilities. So all in all, if you have the option to take maths, I'd say do it.

Is there anyone who hasn't done a single maths class while studying CS?

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