Where should I apply in the UK for CS as an international student?

Hi everyone

I'm considering applying to unis in the UK to study Computer Science as an undergrad. Sadly my budget is tight so I'm not really looking at the top universities. I'd appreciate if you guys can send some suggestions!

I already finished my A Levels and I've got A*A*AA. So far I've chosen Aberystwyth & Warwick (hoping for a scholarship but idk).

My budget for tuition is 14-17k a year, preferably lower :/
Please suggest what other unis I should consider, and their pros/cons.

So it really depends what you want to do - but Warwick is really good for CS.

It also depends on what part of computer science you want to do. I'm applying to uni later this year and I want to do Cyber Security and these are the unis that seem to be good:
- Oxford Brookes
- Brunel
- Royal Holloway
- Cardiff Metropolitan
- Portsmouth

Thanks for that info. I am interested in data related areas of CS, such as data analysis and artificial intelligence. I know Edinburgh is very strong in that area, but they're too expensive for me. Do you know other unis which are good for that?

As a rule of thumb, any member of The Alan Turing Institute would be a good place to study data science or AI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing_Institute

The member universities are:

University of Birmingham
University of Bristol
University of Cambridge (founding member)
University of Edinburgh (founding member)
University of Exeter
University of Southampton
University of Oxford (founding member)
University College London (founding member)
University of Warwick (founding member)
Queen Mary University of London
University of Manchester
University of Leeds
University of Newcastle

This article is also worth a read:
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3412205/top-uk-universities-working-on-ai.html

As a rule of thumb, any member of The Alan Turing Institute would be a good place to study data science or AI:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing_Institute

The member universities are:

University of Birmingham
University of Bristol
University of Cambridge (founding member)
University of Edinburgh (founding member)
University of Exeter
University of Southampton
University of Oxford (founding member)
University College London (founding member)
University of Warwick (founding member)
Queen Mary University of London
University of Manchester
University of Leeds
University of Newcastle

This article is also worth a read:
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3412205/top-uk-universities-working-on-ai.ht

Thanks for that info. I am interested in data related areas of CS, such as data analysis and artificial intelligence. I know Edinburgh is very strong in that area, but they're too expensive for me. Do you know other unis which are good for that

Sorry, I don't know any in particular. Check out the unis I suggested before as well as what Void* said.

Where are you from?

Hi! Thank you for the insight.

Although I didn't know about ATI earlier, I do know about all these member unis and their reputation. I'm not considering them because of the costs unfortunately. I'm applying to Warwick though (they offer scholarships to internationals).

One outlier from the link you provided is Anglia Ruskin. I haven't heard of them before and their fees are very reasonable. Are they actually as good as the article says?

Ah, that's a pity - your grades are good but I don't think there's a university in your price range that requires anywhere near those grades (annoyingly, if you were a local student then your budget would easily cover any course!). I haven't heard of Anglia Ruskin being respected for AI besides that article and it isn't a well ranked university (but that doesn't mean their AI course isn't good - the curriculum looks decent). Have you considered other countries? There are some good CS universities in cheaper European countries like Czechia and Bulgaria (they often run degrees taught in English, or at least they do for Masters). Also, have you considered an online degree? Goldsmiths offer an online BSc in CS with a curriculum that looks good to me: https://www.coursera.org/degrees/bachelor-of-science-computer-science-london. You can study it full-time over 3 years (or part-time whilst working) and specialise in AI or data science.

Yeah. I know that local students have the tuition capped. Having done IGSCE & A levels, I figured applying to the UK would be a good idea. Plus I've got a bunch of friends there and my dad has been doing business with Brits for decades. But damn, overseas fees are super expensive.

I am also applying to some universities in Canada. They're more generous with scholarships and employment prospective seems good too. One of my top choice was actually Aalto or UofHelsinki in Finland actually. Their BSc programs seems excellent, but unfortunately they require SAT Subject Tests and I missed the last test date in my country. ://

Ah, yes, those are compelling reasons for choosing the UK. I know, they're ridiculous! Even the English fees for local students are too much imo and they were well outside my budget when I was an undergrad (I was only able to attend university because I live in Scotland and there are no tuition fees here for local students).

Yes, Canada is a beautiful country and has plenty of software jobs (as with the US, they also pay better than in the UK). Aalto and Helsinki are both good universities - I regularly see their names on research papers and I love the free MOOCs that Helsinki offer (https://www.mooc.fi/en). Ah, that's unfortunate :/

I don't suppose you're interested in games programming? I think you can afford the games courses at Abertay, Derby, Teesside, Staffordshire, and UWS (these universities offer some of the most respected games courses in the UK). Games are one of the most technically demanding pieces of software to create and the top games courses are as good as CS at a top 10 university imo (I speak from experience here having studied CGT at Abertay and now CS at Bath). You don't have to be a gamer (I'm not - I just like solving difficult technical problems) and I met some of the smartest and most talented programmers I know at Abertay. If you take a look at some curriculums then you'll notice there's a lot of CS fundamentals and maths involved, so moving into AI, data science, or any other technical role is entirely possible:

https://www.abertay.ac.uk/course-search/undergraduate/computer-games-technology/#What%20You'll%20Study
https://www.derby.ac.uk/undergraduate/computing-courses/computer-games-programming-bsc-hons/#what-you-will-study

I normally recommend top CS courses instead so as not to be pigeon-holed but in this case it could be a good solution to your funding problem. If reputation matters to you then you could always pursue a Masters at a higher-ranked university once you can afford it (or perhaps gain a scholarship if you ace your Bachelors). And you can also use the Masters to generalise your skillset or to specialise in a different area of CS.

Yeah, Finland's MOOCs are excellent. I've completed a couple of them, and will be doing two more soon. I'm genuinely hoping to pursue masters at Helsinki or Aalto. I personally like Aalto more but Helsinki has a t10 in the world rep in the field.

And thank you for the suggestion too. I'm honestly not very interested in games, and I'm more intrigued by real-life applications of programs. Plus I have no idea how I'll write a PS for it! (besides I'm close to being done with mine). Abertay and Tees seem to be quite decent unis though. Why shouldn't I apply for their Computing/CS programs instead?

Fair enough! To be specific, CGT at Abertay is about games technology (i.e. game engines and similar graphical applications rather than games per se). Serious games have real-world applications such as rehabilitation therapy and doctor training and game engines have a whole range of real-world applications such as visualisation for architects and engineers - I haven't actually worked on a game since I graduated!

Yeah, if you look past the league tables then Abertay and Teesside both have pretty solid CS departments (the main difference from higher-ranked universities is more of a vocational focus - i.e programming coursework in lieu of exams - and lecturers who have industry experience rather than just career academics). Abertay is renowned for games and ethical hacking so I feel like the computing course has always been kinda in the background, but the curriculum looks okay (a lot less maths than CGT but they do share quite a few modules in common). The Teesside BSc CS doesn't look too bad and they also offer a BSc AI that might be of interest.

Are you sure you want to study in the UK for undregrad given your situation?

You could consider doing an undergrad in your local country and then doing a masters at a very top UK uni. You should be able to afford the fees for the 1 year masters course and having a masters from one of the top unis may be better in terms of looking for jobs in the UK and internationally than going to one of the unis suggested above despite having done an undergrad degree at a local university.

Your grades are very good so you wouldn't struggle at a top uni either, and you are probably overqualified for the uk undergrad courses that fit your budget.

Sorry for the delay in replying but thanks again for the insight! Teesside's fees seem very reasonable, so I'm considering them. I'll do a bit more digging about Abertay's CGT though.

By the way, is the "more vocational focus" attributed to the higher ranked unis, or the other way around?

That's actually something I'm still debating about...

If I can make it into Warwick with a scholarship then I think it'd be worth it to attend. I mainly started this thread to fill in my other UCAS slots as "safeties".

As I mentioned earlier, I'll still be trying for Canadian unis though & I'm also considering some Asian one's too. My parents & I both want me to study abroad, so I'll go with the local uni route + masters in the UK if all else fails. I really like the UK (as a country) so I want to keep my options open there before making a decision about where to commit!