Where should I study AI/Machine Learning?

I'm in year 12 and i'm considering which university to go to to study CS. I'm looking for the CS course best for learning ai and machine learning.
Any thoughts?

Reply 1

Baleroc

Original post by superharrydude09

I'm in year 12 and i'm considering which university to go to to study CS. I'm looking for the CS course best for learning ai and machine learning.
Any thoughts?

You didn't specify your subjects or predicted grades.

As a minimum, you need mathematics A-level. Preferably, you need Further Math and Physics. Physics is needed for multi-agent systems and kinematics and other aspects of AI. Without Further Math, you would be limiting yourself severely, and it'd be unlikely to get the "best" course. I would say Math + Further Math is almost mandatory, with Physics being strongly recommeded.

If you want the "best" CS course, it'd either be Computer Science with Mathematics or a Mathematics degree, with a university offering modules in ML, and other AI options in the third year. I would not recommend doing a CS degree without a major component of math involved, as AI and ML primarily involves mathematics. If you wanted a really good course, you'd first need to get at least A*AA or higher to achieve that as most math heavy courses will only attract the highest levels of candidates.

Hope that helps, but to help further in deciding the best course for you, you would need to specify predicted grades from teachers and subjects.

Also, did you have any universities in mind that you were considering? Do they have to be local, or can they be anywhere in the UK?

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 2

superharrydude09

For my GCSE grades:
Maths - 9
Computer Science - 9
Physics - 9
Chemistry - 9
Biology - 9
Engineering - 9
Religious Education - 9
English Lit/Lang - 8/8
Spanish - 7

And for A Levels, I’ve only begun year 12, and I’ve finished all of Maths/Further Maths, and I do Physics and Computer Science A Levels alongside those. I expect to get all A*s. Of course, grades aren’t enough to get into the top unis/oxbridge, but I believe I have a solid chance.

Reply 3

Baleroc

Original post by superharrydude09

You can't go wrong with studying a Computer Science with Mathematics degree at Oxbridge.

It's difficult to justify the "best" as every university is good in its own way.

I think the top universities for AI and ML include:
- Oxbridge
- Edinburgh (e.g. https://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/undergraduate/degrees/index.php?action=programme&code=G700)
- University College London (UCL) (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/undergraduate/degrees/computer-science-bsc or https://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/undergraduate/degrees/computer-science-meng)
- Imperial (e.g. https://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/ug/courses/computing-department/meng-computing-artificial-intelligence/ or https://www.imperial.ac.uk/study/ug/courses/computing-department/mathematics-computer-science/)

Imperial's course is an integrated master's degree course. If you don't want a master's, then doing the standard math + computing degree has the same modules without the integrated master's degree. Though, if you are getting in AI, I would recommend a master's degree as well.

Difficult to rank them as which one is the "best", so I think any of those 4 universities are a good start to research and find out more. The reason why it's difficult is because each uni offers different modules in AI, and based on what type of AI you're looking for (e.g computer vision, natural language processing, etc), affects which uni is better.

Most likely, though, if you want to get into AI and ML, you'll have to do a master's degree on top of a normal bachelor's degree.

If it was me personally, I would study a standard Math + Computing degree for the first 3 years at either Oxbridge or Imperial then look at either doing a master's degree at UCL, Oxbridge or Imperial that focuses on AI and ML. If I got rejected from Oxbridge or Imperial, I would apply for an undergraduate BSc in Computer Science at UCL as a safe third option.

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 4

superharrydude09

When you say standard Math+Computing, do you mean two undergraduate degrees, or is it a joint honours, like the oxford one?

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 5

Baleroc

Original post by superharrydude09

When you say standard Math+Computing, do you mean two undergraduate degrees?

No, Math with Computing is a joint-degree, with 50% math, 50% computing. It is one degree.

Reply 6

superharrydude09

Ok, thanks, this was helpful!

Reply 7

Baleroc

Original post by superharrydude09

When you say standard Math+Computing, do you mean two undergraduate degrees?

The reason I recommend a Math + Computing degree over a pure computer science degree is because a standard computer sciecne usually include lots of modules that aren't relevant to AI or ML, like Software Engineering and Human-Computer Interaction.

A math + computing degree is more intense, rigorous with a higher workload, and is one of the most difficult degrees to complete at university, from what I've heard. So it'll certainly be extremely challenging. However, if you managed to complete one, you'd easily be able to do AI and ML as a master's degree at any university.

Most degrees you study won't really cover any AI until year 3. So I'd recommend doing a master's degree after your undergraduate degree, as they heavily cover all the AI/ML topics that you want. The first three years of a math + computing degree is just to give you the background and problem solving development you need to be successful in an AI/ML career.