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Rank these universities for computer science

How would you rank the following universities for a Computer Science MSc conversion?

Intuitively, I would have thought it would go:

Imperial > UCL > Bristol > Edinburgh

Would you rank them differently, and if so, why?
Original post by WonderApe
How would you rank the following universities for a Computer Science MSc conversion?

Intuitively, I would have thought it would go:

Imperial > UCL > Bristol > Edinburgh

Would you rank them differently, and if so, why?


Hmmm - rank them according to what criteria? - Employment prospects? Research? Social life? City? Reputation? Course?

They are all well regarded institutes for Computer Science. So, if it was me, it would come down to what their courses offered and which one was best for my long term plans (i.e. it's a personal choice/preference). For instance, I wouldn't choose Bristol because they don't offer an Artificial Intelligence module and that is a module I definitely want to do on my MSc.

If I had to rank them in terms of reputation (worth noting here that reputation differs from person-to-person, so it's not reliable), then I would rank:

Edinburgh > Imperial > UCL > Bristol.

I've put Edinburgh first because (out of the four) they appear to be the best for AI, have a strong overall CompSci department and, as a bonus, Edinburgh is a beautiful and friendly city!
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 2
Original post by Juxtapose
Hmmm - rank them according to what criteria? - Employment prospects? Research? Social life? City? Reputation? Course?

They are all well regarded institutes for Computer Science. So, if it was me, it would come down to what their courses offered and which one was best for my long term plans (i.e. it's a personal choice/preference). For instance, I wouldn't choose Bristol because they don't offer an Artificial Intelligence module and that is a module I definitely want to do on my MSc.

If I had to rank them in terms of reputation (worth noting here that reputation differs from person-to-person, so it's not reliable), then I would rank:

Edinburgh > Imperial > UCL > Bristol.

I've put Edinburgh first because (out of the four) they appear to be the best for AI, have a strong overall CompSci department and, as a bonus, Edinburgh is a beautiful and friendly city!


This.


Posted from TSR Mobile
I'd say
Imperial > UCL / Edinburgh > Bristol

Imperial is simply top notch all around.
Edinburgh is good for AI and UCL is also very good.

For me Bristol is the weakest of the 4 but I don't think it's by any mean a bad place to study at.

You should also judge the content of the course.

The Msc CompSci in Edinburgh, it's not a conversion...
(edited 7 years ago)
Ranking is for numpties. Its something school leavers obsess about and main stream employers actually give very little thought to. If you had an MSc from any of those Unis it would look good on your CV, and no employer is going to interview you just because you went to Bristol Uni or wherever. Life isnt like that.

As above, you need to look at the COURSE info and think about which optional units are available, what interests you, and which units you'd choose if you went there. Where can you afford to live, cost of fees, distance from home, where you might enjoy living. All this stuff if far more important than silly marketing nonsense like 'rankings' or vague nebulous concepts like 'reputation'.
(edited 7 years ago)

Spoiler

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Bristol looks more like a more "software engineering" course teaching C and Java and Web Technologies. UCL offers a whole module dedicated to designing an app for a real client and an optional Software Engineering module vs Bristol's single module "Software Engineering & Group Project"

UCL seems to be more of your typical "Computer Science" course. UCL offers a whole course on Algorithms which is essential, which Bristol does not.
UCL offers a wide variety of optional and interesting modules which Bristol doesnt.


It would be interesting to compare the depth of what they actually teach onthe Bristol course with the UCL one.

Spoiler


Imperial seems to offer in the Autumn term a fairly similar programme to UCL. Imperial teaches C++ and UCL teaches Java. Imperial has a module on Logic & AI, UCL has the Systems Infrastructure module.

For the second term, Imperial and UCL both have a variety of options which one may choose from. Algorithms at UCL is compulsory, strangely at Imperial it isn't.
Imperial seems to have a greater and more advanced variety of optional modules than UCL.
Original post by Incongruous

Spoiler

Spoiler



Bristol looks more like a more "software engineering" course teaching C and Java and Web Technologies. UCL offers a whole module dedicated to designing an app for a real client and an optional Software Engineering module vs Bristol's single module "Software Engineering & Group Project"

UCL seems to be more of your typical "Computer Science" course. UCL offers a whole course on Algorithms which is essential, which Bristol does not.
UCL offers a wide variety of optional and interesting modules which Bristol doesnt.


It would be interesting to compare the depth of what they actually teach onthe Bristol course with the UCL one.

Spoiler


Imperial seems to offer in the Autumn term a fairly similar programme to UCL. Imperial teaches C++ and UCL teaches Java. Imperial has a module on Logic & AI, UCL has the Systems Infrastructure module.

For the second term, Imperial and UCL both have a variety of options which one may choose from. Algorithms at UCL is compulsory, strangely at Imperial it isn't.
Imperial seems to have a greater and more advanced variety of optional modules than UCL.


This is a great post! I've sent you a PM, as I don't want to hi-jack this thread with my question/curiosity! :smile:
Reply 7
Some great responses here. I really meant with regard to reputation/job prospects. I hadn't considered prioritising course content, so thanks for reminding of what's actually important.

I do think, however, that if it came down to UCL or Imperial, it would make little sense to choose the former - given that the universities are fairly nearby each other, with similar couse content, but Imperial's reputation exceeding UCL's for CS.

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