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MSc CompSci Conversion - Bristol vs St Andrews

I'm facing a decision on Bristol vs St Andrews (Imperial:waiting, Birmingham:rejected, UCL:yet to apply). I am leaning towards Bristol.

Any insight from someone who has studied at either university to postgrad level would be a massive help. Any insights on how UCL compares would also be helpful. I don't want to study in London again but my gut tells me that I shouldn't write it off because UCL have a strong department.

Here's what I have so far


Location:
Tired of London. Otherwise largely indifferent.

Reputation & Job Prospects:
Seems like Bristol edges this but not a massive concern for me unless reputation significantly impacted opportunities for further study ? (kind of leads on to the next point)

Research:
If I pursue further study, this might be important and it looks like Bristol is stronger than St Andrews. Also could affect end of year project,

Courses:
Bristol looks very software development heavy and I'm having trouble deciding whether that is a good thing or bad thing.
- Good - may help to get a job as a developer later if I don't do further study
- Bad - no options, I can't dive into an AI module. (which I really want to do! Currently doing Andrew Ng's Machine Learning course). St Andrews has lots of viable options.

Other info:
I am 26 and I graduated four years ago from LSE. I know some Python, some Matlab and will be learning bits of C messing with an Arduino and hopefully Flask or Django in the coming weeks. Also taking a single variable calculus course (never really nailed it first time round!).

Cheers!
(edited 8 years ago)

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Original post by Breadster™
I'm facing a decision on Bristol vs St Andrews (Imperial:waiting, Birmingham:rejected, UCL:yet to apply). I am leaning towards Bristol.

Any insight from someone who has studied at either university to postgrad level would be a massive help. Any insights on how UCL compares would also be helpful. I don't want to study in London again but my gut tells me that I shouldn't write it off because UCL have a strong department.

Here's what I have so far


Location:
Tired of London. Otherwise largely indifferent.

Reputation & Job Prospects:
Seems like Bristol edges this but not a massive concern for me unless reputation significantly impacted opportunities for further study ? (kind of leads on to the next point)

Research:
If I pursue further study, this might be important and it looks like Bristol is stronger than St Andrews. Also could affect end of year project,

Courses:
Bristol looks very software development heavy and I'm having trouble deciding whether that is a good thing or bad thing.
- Good - may help to get a job as a developer later if I don't do further study
- Bad - no options, I can't dive into an AI module. (which I really want to do! Currently doing Andrew Ng's Machine Learning course). St Andrews has lots of viable options.

Other info:
I am 26 and I graduated four years ago from LSE. I know some Python, some Matlab and will be learning bits of C messing with an Arduino and hopefully Flask or Django in the coming weeks. Also taking a single variable calculus course (never really nailed it first time round!).

Cheers!


Hey there,

From the sounds of your post, it seems like Bristol is a good option. You could always learn the AI stuff later, or in your own spare time - I know of Psychology students who have studied AI at PhD level without much prior formal education in AI.

Imperial is very good, so maybe wait for their response before deciding - I have heard that they work you very hard. They will also have an AI module available. Moreover, the Imperial course does specifically state that their course prepares you for further study in PhD, as it states: 'Applicants who want to add computing qualifications or to retrain as computing or IT professionals are the natural target for this programme, and the course is also a suitable preparation for PhD studies.'

I don't know much about UCL - all I would say is that I would be surprised if UCL has a stronger department than Imperial. Imperial is pretty much world renowned for Computing...

I'm sorry you're feeling tired of London. However, London is a large and varied place, so I also think that the London you might experience in South Kensington (if you went with Imperial) might be a tad different from elsewhere. That, or you could commute from the suburbs. Then again, I don't know where or what experiences you've had in London. The only thing I would say is that Bristol is also a major city, although a pretty one (in my view) and smaller than London. If you want a smaller town feel, then St Andrews maybe better...

Have you considered Bath? Their course also prepares for PhD studies, and it's a nice place, with good transport links to cities where there maybe good employment/study opportunities.

Can I ask - why did you get rejected from Birmingham? Were they looking for something different, or were they just more competitive?

Also - what did you study at LSE?

Good luck! :-)
(edited 8 years ago)
Thanks Juxtapose - answered your questions below in bold. Any postgrads with a view on my OP?

Original post by Juxtapose
Hey there,

From the sounds of your post, it seems like Bristol is a good option. You could always learn the AI stuff later, or in your own spare time - I know of Psychology students who have studied AI at PhD level without much prior formal education in AI. fair comment

Imperial is very good, so maybe wait for their response before deciding - I have heard that they work you very hard. They will also have an AI module available. Moreover, the Imperial course does specifically state that their course prepares you for further study in PhD, as it states: 'Applicants who want to add computing qualifications or to retrain as computing or IT professionals are the natural target for this programme, and the course is also a suitable preparation for PhD studies.'

I don't know much about UCL - all I would say is that I would be surprised if UCL has a stronger department than Imperial. Imperial is pretty much world renowned for Computing... thanks but I am assuming I will get rejected from Imperial as I was rejected last year so this thread is really about Bristol St Andrews & UCL

I'm sorry you're feeling tired of London. However, London is a large and varied place, so I also think that the London you might experience in South Kensington (if you went with Imperial) might be a tad different from elsewhere. That, or you could commute from the suburbs. Then again, I don't know where or what experiences you've had in London. The only thing I would say is that Bristol is also a major city, although a pretty one (in my view) and smaller than London. If you want a smaller town feel, then St Andrews maybe better... I've lived almost everywhere in London and I was there for eight years have a lot of friends there and know it well

Have you considered Bath? Their course also prepares for PhD studies, and it's a nice place, with good transport links to cities where there maybe good employment/study opportunities. Nope not interested in applying there to be honest

Can I ask - why did you get rejected from Birmingham? Were they looking for something different, or were they just more competitive? Not sure might be because one of my referees didn't submit for a month but they haven't told me why (I have asked)

Also - what did you study at LSE? Accounting and Finance

Good luck! :-)
(edited 8 years ago)
Hey guys - any more thoughts?
Original post by Breadster™
Hey guys - any more thoughts?


Hey - I wondered - have you visited St Andrews and Bristol? Sometimes the Open Day can help with a decision, as you'll get a sense of whether you like the place and/or if you will fit in etc.

Can I ask why Imperial rejected you last year? Or if Birmingham had got back to you about why they rejected?

From what I understand from people working the Industry, a lot of your success comes down to capability, commitment and enthusiasm - not necessarily where someone has got their degree from (although, it may help with getting a foot in the door initially). Saying that, both Bristol and St Andrews have good respectable reputations and departments. Also, your first degree is from an excellent institute too, which should stand you in good stead as well.

Good luck!
(edited 8 years ago)
Hey I haven't visited St Andrews but I did go to Bristol to represent my employer at a career's fair once and I liked it.

Imperial never confirmed why. Birmingham confirmed it was my undergrad transcript (2:1 but a lot of dispersion and a few shockers).

I agree that the university choice is likely to prove marginal for job prospects and maybe even for further study I've decided I'll apply to UCL anyway (working on the program I have to submit with it!) and then just see what happens.

Thanks! How are your applications going?
Original post by Breadster™
Hey I haven't visited St Andrews but I did go to Bristol to represent my employer at a career's fair once and I liked it.

Imperial never confirmed why. Birmingham confirmed it was my undergrad transcript (2:1 but a lot of dispersion and a few shockers).

I agree that the university choice is likely to prove marginal for job prospects and maybe even for further study I've decided I'll apply to UCL anyway (working on the program I have to submit with it!) and then just see what happens.

Thanks! How are your applications going?


Hey - I've replied by PM.
Reply 7
Original post by Breadster™

X


I'm facing a very similar situation! I due to complete my undergraduate in Economics & Management Science in June 2016 and hold offers from St Andrews, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Reputation wise St Andrews and Edinburgh seem to be much better so I am leaning towards one of those. I have also applied to Imperial and am also still waiting for a reply.

I'd like to have the option of further PhD study but can't seem to find much about that (or at least it's not specifically mentioned on the St Andrews site or Edinburgh side). I am also torn because Edinburgh's course is not a simple conversion course and I am unsure whether that course is the best fit for me. I could also not get hold of someone who might be able to answer a few simple questions which is a bit annoying... on the other hand I worry that a MSc in Computing and Information Technology might not be as highly regarded as a MSc in Computer Science.

Any opinions or help?

(Some background on myself. I've done a 1st year Computer Science course with Distinction as an Elective and thus know Java and its underlying principles fairly well. I am also doing a fair bit of Web stuff atm and am in the process of teaching myself some Python (Raspberry Pi stuff etc).)
Original post by alaska.
X


Hey there.

I didn't even know I could apply to the one at Edinburgh because it seems less of a conversion and geared more as an à la carte for people with a STEM background. Well done on getting an offer. I would choose Edinburgh over the other Scottish universities. Edinburgh has a brilliant reputation in CS. If you want to carry on at Edinburgh for further study it does great in research too.

The Edinburgh website doesn't seem to give a lot of detail on the course structure though so maybe try to speak to an admissions tutor if you're concerned about what kind of modules you might take. I made a spreadsheet for the St Andrews ones from a pdf I found on their website while preparing my cover letter (yes I am a massive nerd) - if you'd like me to send it to you just send me a message.

I would wait for Imperial before you accept anything because it is probably the best in Europe. If you got that offer you would need to figure out if London is for you (cost, lifestyle etc.)
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 9
Original post by Breadster™
Hey there.

I didn't even know I could apply to the one at Edinburgh because it seems less of a conversion and geared more as an à la carte for people with a STEM background. Well done on getting an offer. I would choose Edinburgh over the other Scottish universities. Edinburgh has a brilliant reputation in CS. If you want to carry on at Edinburgh for further study it does great in research too.

The Edinburgh website doesn't seem to give a lot of detail on the course structure though so maybe try to speak to an admissions tutor if you're concerned about what kind of modules you might take. I made a spreadsheet for the St Andrews ones from a pdf I found on their website while preparing my cover letter (yes I am a massive nerd) - if you'd like me to send it to you just send me a message.

I would wait for Imperial before you accept anything because it is probably the best in Europe. If you got that offer you would need to figure out if London is for you (cost, lifestyle etc.)


Hey! Thanks for the quick reply :smile:

I emailed Edinburgh about it because it also admits people from backgrounds such as Philosophy and Psychology and given that I did a CS elective for a full year I figured that I cannot have that much less experience than a Pyschology grad for example. I've made my course choices and module lists as well :biggrin: did that ages ago and compared the courses. It is very different from St Andrews though and a lot of the courses ask for crazy amount of maths ... not that I am scared of maths, I enjoy doing Econometrics in my course and some general maths, I am more concerned that it is pitched at a level too high for myself :biggrin: (but then again, why did they give me an offer then? :biggrin:) I was also not too fond on their assessment as most of their courses are 10 credits and then seem to be heavily exam based.

I've been in contact with the St Andrews course coordinator and they said that I might be able to join their more "pre-knowledge CS course" (due to knowing Java and stuff) and thus would have more options open, so it doesn't seem that that would be a strict Conversion course either.

Would you really rate Edinburgh that much higher than St Andrews? In the rankings, St Andrews seemed outstanding but then of course rankings aren't everything. I really struggle to find someone in Edinburgh that can talk to me about course choices etc as they don't have an applicant open day any more.

That's the thing - while I find the idea of living in London exciting, I don't see myself there. I wouldn't be able to live as much in the center as I do in Glasgow atm and I think the costs would just explode. I enjoy Scotland and its nature as a get away and then I have strong ties here.

I might pm you later just out of interest for the courses you have made up for the St A course :smile:
Original post by Juxtapose
Hey there,

From the sounds of your post, it seems like Bristol is a good option. You could always learn the AI stuff later, or in your own spare time - 1.I know of Psychology students who have studied AI at PhD level without much prior formal education in AI.

Imperial is very good, so maybe wait for their response before deciding - 2.I have heard that they work you very hard. They will also have an AI module available. Moreover, the Imperial course does specifically state that their course prepares you for further study in PhD, as it states: 'Applicants who want to add computing qualifications or to retrain as computing or IT professionals are the natural target for this programme, and the course is also a suitable preparation for PhD studies.'

I don't know much about UCL - all I would say is that I would be surprised if UCL has a stronger department than Imperial. Imperial is pretty much world renowned for Computing...

I'm sorry you're feeling tired of London. However, London is a large and varied place, so I also think that the London you might experience in South Kensington (if you went with Imperial) might be a tad different from elsewhere. That, or you could commute from the suburbs. Then again, I don't know where or what experiences you've had in London. The only thing I would say is that Bristol is also a major city, although a pretty one (in my view) and smaller than London. If you want a smaller town feel, then St Andrews maybe better...

Have you considered Bath? Their course also prepares for PhD studies, and it's a nice place, with good transport links to cities where there maybe good employment/study opportunities.

3. Can I ask - why did you get rejected from Birmingham? Were they looking for something different, or were they just more competitive?

Also - what did you study at LSE?

Good luck! :-)


1. They must be doing outdated stuff because modern AI techniques are pretty much 100% math. Old AI is has far less math if any at all.
2. Completely true. There are some users here who shared their stories and it is truly frightening.
3. Also surprised, most unis is not particularly competitive at postgrad level (apart from some courses).
Original post by alaska.
I'm facing a very similar situation! I due to complete my undergraduate in Economics & Management Science in June 2016 and hold offers from St Andrews, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Reputation wise St Andrews and Edinburgh seem to be much better so I am leaning towards one of those. I have also applied to Imperial and am also still waiting for a reply.

I'd like to have the option of further PhD study but can't seem to find much about that (or at least it's not specifically mentioned on the St Andrews site or Edinburgh side). I am also torn because Edinburgh's course is not a simple conversion course and I am unsure whether that course is the best fit for me. I could also not get hold of someone who might be able to answer a few simple questions which is a bit annoying... on the other hand1. I worry that a MSc in Computing and Information Technology might not be as highly regarded as a MSc in Computer Science.

Any opinions or help?

(Some background on myself. I've done a 1st year Computer Science course with Distinction as an Elective and thus 2.know Java and its underlying principles fairly well. I am also doing a fair bit of Web stuff atm and am in the process of teaching myself some Python (Raspberry Pi stuff etc).)


1. Your worries are reasonable. CS > IT. CS is all about the fundamentals and it is more general while IT is all about the applications of CS. There is probably no much difference in the way CS and Computing is perceived and in cases like Imperial's course, it won't matter. It all depends on your reason for doing the course, but as a rule of thumb, I would stay away from IT. :smile:

2. You mean that you know the three pillars of OOP and feel confident making a GUI application?
Original post by Breadster™
Hey there.

I didn't even know I could apply to the one at Edinburgh because it seems less of a conversion and geared more as an à la carte for people with a STEM background. Well done on getting an offer. I would choose Edinburgh over the other Scottish universities. Edinburgh has a brilliant reputation in CS. If you want to carry on at Edinburgh for further study it does great in research too.

The Edinburgh website doesn't seem to give a lot of detail on the course structure though so maybe try to speak to an admissions tutor if you're concerned about what kind of modules you might take. I made a spreadsheet for the St Andrews ones from a pdf I found on their website while preparing my cover letter (yes I am a massive nerd) - if you'd like me to send it to you just send me a message.

I would wait for Imperial before you accept anything because it is probably the best in Europe. If you got that offer you would need to figure out if London is for you (cost, lifestyle etc.)


Not sure about that, but the students there have some crazy stories to share. Just search in TSR.

Original post by alaska.
Hey! Thanks for the quick reply :smile:

I emailed Edinburgh about it because it also admits people from backgrounds such as Philosophy and Psychology and given that I did a CS elective for a full year I figured that I cannot have that much less experience than a Pyschology grad for example. I've made my course choices and module lists as well :biggrin: did that ages ago and compared the courses. It is very different from St Andrews though and 1.a lot of the courses ask for crazy amount of maths ... not that I am scared of maths, I enjoy doing Econometrics in my course and some general maths, I am more concerned that it is pitched at a level too high for myself :biggrin: (but then again, 2.why did they give me an offer then? :biggrin:) I was also not too fond on their assessment as most of their courses are 10 credits and then seem to be heavily exam based.

I've been in contact with the St Andrews course coordinator and they said that I might be able to join their more "pre-knowledge CS course" (due to knowing Java and stuff) and thus would have more options open, so it doesn't seem that that would be a strict Conversion course either.

Would you really rate Edinburgh that much higher than St Andrews? In the rankings, St Andrews seemed outstanding but then of course rankings aren't everything. I really struggle to find someone in Edinburgh that can talk to me about course choices etc as they don't have an applicant open day any more.

That's the thing - while I find the idea of living in London exciting, I don't see myself there. I wouldn't be able to live as much in the center as I do in Glasgow atm and I think the costs would just explode. I enjoy Scotland and its nature as a get away and then I have strong ties here.

I might pm you later just out of interest for the courses you have made up for the St A course :smile:


1. CS is math. In most courses, you should expect to learn some discrete math (graph theory and formal logic as minimum). Kinda surprised Imperial has it as optional rather than compulsory. If you are scared of math, you can still make it through but expect an apocalyptic flood of math if you touch anything finance/AI/graphics/CV related.
2. Maybe for the same reason, unis are more lax at postgrad level: there is way less demand for it so they need to to be less strict or they will lose money to the competition.
3. Edinburgh has the oldest AI department in the UK and their module selection is huge. All St Andrews has really going for it is that some royalty attended there. Plus, there is some highly depression and highly commented thread about how depressing St Andrews is (by a former St Andrews student).
Original post by Juichiro
1. Your worries are reasonable. CS > IT. CS is all about the fundamentals and it is more general while IT is all about the applications of CS. There is probably no much difference in the way CS and Computing is perceived and in cases like Imperial's course, it won't matter. It all depends on your reason for doing the course, but as a rule of thumb, I would stay away from IT. :smile:

2. You mean that you know the three pillars of OOP and feel confident making a GUI application?


Although I do not disagree with (1) it should be noted that there is scope to do that St Andrews degree with only CS modules and zero modules in IT - which is why I applied to it in the first place along with the cost and scenic factors.

I've also seen the one guy on this forum that rants about how backwards St. Andrews is in teaching computer science but I would mention: a) it's the only negative thing I've read online to that effect b) the small sample size makes it difficult to take seriously. I've heard otherwise from a current undergrad which is about as statistically significant as the one poster on this forum. c) the same person ended up doing a less rigorous course which makes me question the relevance and objectivity of his/her critcism for those intent on studying a traditional CS degree.

Full disclosure: I intend to accept Bristol so no obvious reason for me to defend St. Andrews. I also agree with everything else you've mentioned in your posts. Good points.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by Breadster™
Although I do not disagree with (1) it should be noted that there is scope to do that St Andrews degree with only CS modules and zero modules in IT - which is why I applied to it in the first place along with the cost and scenic factors.

2.I've also seen the one guy on this forum that rants about how backwards St. Andrews is in teaching computer science but I would mention: a) it's the only negative thing I've read online to that effect b) the small sample size makes it difficult to take seriously. I've heard otherwise from a current undergrad which is about as statistically significant as the one poster on this forum. c) the same person ended up doing a less rigorous course which makes me question the relevance and objectivity of his/her critcism for those intent on studying a traditional CS degree.

Full disclosure: I intend to accept Bristol so no obvious reason for me to defend St. Andrews. I also agree with everything else you've mentioned in your posts. Good points.


1. Fair enough but I was thinking about job applications. You will only have space for your course title (unless you plan to spent valuable CV space on listing your CS modules). So given a CS and an IT it might not be clear from the outset whether IT skilled you in let's say algorithms and data structures.
2. Oh, I didn't mean that one, I meant this one, this one is a more generic rant with 93 upvotes and several supporting comments below (the thread is really long). But yeah, best thing to do is to actually contact people doing the course you want.
Original post by Juichiro
1. Fair enough but I was thinking about job applications. You will only have space for your course title (unless you plan to spent valuable CV space on listing your CS modules). So given a CS and an IT it might not be clear from the outset whether IT skilled you in let's say algorithms and data structures.
2. Oh, I didn't mean that one, I meant this one, this one is a more generic rant with 93 upvotes and several supporting comments below (the thread is really long). But yeah, best thing to do is to actually contact people doing the course you want.


1) From experience (I was a banker for four years who routinely took part in hiring and interviewing recent grads and postgrads) people put too much emphasis on superficial details like this. 80/20 rule. If you're smart, focus on the right things and sell yourself on _facts_ the impact of aforementioned details will not be a limiting factor come job hunting time.
Personally I'm not doing this solely for career prospects, I'm doing it primarily for an education and possible further study in the field or I wouldn't have quit banking (I am unlikely to make the kind of salary I was on anytime soon on the tech scene).

It is probably more significant for someone serious about the field that the research quality and things the department are doing in coordination with government and industry at St. Andrews does not seem to be in the same ballpark as Oxbridge, Imperial, UCL and to a slightly lesser extent Bristol.

2) hah the first post was hilarious. I was not that surprised with what was said about the town's social life. The first two pages seem to be more of a frenetic social commentary than anything else. As someone with an undergrad from LSE and friends/family who did their undergrad at Imperial I can attest that the teaching for undergrads at those two places is delegated to postgrad students and can be quite awful too! In that regard at least it's worth noting the student staff ratio in computing at St Andrews is relatively low. :smile:
Original post by Juichiro
1. modern AI techniques are pretty much 100% math. Old AI is has far less math if any at all.


That is an interesting point. However, I did hear a talk, a while ago, by Marcus du Sautoy (Mathematics Professor at the University of Oxford) who said something about the jury being out on whether maths can 100% fully address AI issues. This is because the concept of intelligence and the process of understanding appears to be too complex, even for mathematics. Whilst once upon a time there was the received wisdom that Maths could solve everything, some issues with AI show that it may not be the case - that there maybe some things outside the realms of Mathematics...

AI is a fascinating area though!
Original post by Juxtapose
That is an interesting point. However, I did hear a talk, a while ago, by Marcus du Sautoy (Mathematics Professor at the University of Oxford) who said something about the jury being out on whether maths can 100% fully address AI issues. This is because the concept of intelligence and the process of understanding appears to be too complex, even for mathematics. Whilst once upon a time there was the received wisdom that Maths could solve everything, some issues with AI show that it may not be the case - that there maybe some things outside the realms of Mathematics...

AI is a fascinating area though!


If Maths cannot do it, it is unlikely that any other method within our reach can do it. Literally, all the breakthroughs in AI and all their most advanced capabilities lie in their mathematical algorithms.
Original post by Breadster™
1) 1.From experience (I was a banker for four years who routinely took part in hiring and interviewing recent grads and postgrads) people put too much emphasis on superficial details like this. 80/20 rule. If you're smart, focus on the right things and sell yourself on _facts_ the impact of aforementioned details will not be a limiting factor come job hunting time.
2. Personally I'm not doing this solely for career prospects, I'm doing it primarily for an education and possible further study in the field or I wouldn't have quit banking (I am unlikely to make the kind of salary I was on anytime soon on the tech scene).

It is probably more significant for someone serious about the field that the research quality and things the department are doing in coordination with government and industry at St. Andrews does not seem to be in the same ballpark as Oxbridge, Imperial, UCL and to a slightly lesser extent Bristol.

2) hah the first post was hilarious. I was not that surprised with what was said about the town's social life. The first two pages seem to be more of a frenetic social commentary than anything else. As someone with an undergrad from LSE and friends/family who did their undergrad at Imperial I can attest that the teaching for undergrads at those two places is delegated to postgrad students and can be quite awful too! In that regard at least it's worth noting the student staff ratio in computing at St Andrews is relatively low. :smile:

1. Unfortunately, being smart itself requires being smart. In other words, no one who is not smart decides to be smart. Also, knowing what the right things are is a challenge and not obvious at all. Different people will give you different opinions on the matter. But the selling thing is spot-on, as long as you don't take it to the extreme (aka implying things that are not factually true). IMO, being goal-focused is valuable too.

2. Cool. Personally, I wouldn't go to university solely for the education. You have world-class lecturers at a fraction of a uni degree if education is the goal and not a piece of a paper that employers put so much value on. Indeed, you are not going to make a banking salary but you will also not have banking stress. I have heard some crazy stories of Investment Banking grads working insane hours.
Reply 19
Original post by Juichiro
1. Your worries are reasonable. CS > IT. CS is all about the fundamentals and it is more general while IT is all about the applications of CS. There is probably no much difference in the way CS and Computing is perceived and in cases like Imperial's course, it won't matter. It all depends on your reason for doing the course, but as a rule of thumb, I would stay away from IT. :smile:

2. You mean that you know the three pillars of OOP and feel confident making a GUI application?


Heeey - thank you very much for your honest reply! Regarding 1. - Yes, I have feared that would be the case. However, I should say that I visited St Andrews on Wednesday and depending on which modules I take I can join the Software Engineering or HCI course if I want, so I would probably not enroll in the MSc Computing and IT which gives me a bit more credibility. Those MScs are proper MScs as well, so no simply speaking conversion courses. I was under the impression that St Andrews was very good for Computer Science, however you guys seem to not really agree on that?

2. Yes, I am indeed. However, I thought it is four pillars? I've learnt that Abstraction is another pillar ... but maybe that is already outdated? I wouldn't say I can comfortably build one, but I can yeah. Just haven't done it in a while.

Original post by Juichiro
Not sure about that, but the students there have some crazy stories to share. Just search in TSR.


1. CS is math. In most courses, you should expect to learn some discrete math (graph theory and formal logic as minimum). Kinda surprised Imperial has it as optional rather than compulsory. If you are scared of math, you can still make it through but expect an apocalyptic flood of math if you touch anything finance/AI/graphics/CV related.
2. Maybe for the same reason, unis are more lax at postgrad level: there is way less demand for it so they need to to be less strict or they will lose money to the competition.
3. Edinburgh has the oldest AI department in the UK and their module selection is huge. All St Andrews has really going for it is that some royalty attended there. Plus, there is some highly depression and highly commented thread about how depressing St Andrews is (by a former St Andrews student).


I would not want to go into the direction of AI anyway, I am more interested in Software Engineering and HCI so I'd be more interested in the Computer Systems Specialism at Edinburgh University rather than AI. I know that that sort of stuff is probably a bit beyond me. Yeah the module list is almost scary though - however I am meeting with a member of staff this Wednesday and get a bit of a tour of the buildings and facilities so hopefully that should clear things up a little again :smile: and hopefully they can tell me if I am capable of doing the course by putting a lot of work in!

I am not too concerned about where I am going in terms of location as I want the course best suited to me and my needs and a good department with some support in place. I have visited St Andrews a few times and can safely see myself there for a year, however probably not for a 4 year undergraduate :biggrin: I talked to some people on the open day who particularly liked the familiarity there, I guess it is what suits you best as a person.

On an aside, given all the info you provided above - can you recommend a good starter book for some of the mathematical theory?

Thanks a lot in advance :smile:
(edited 8 years ago)

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