Study fundamental computer science theory and learn practical skills for solving real world problems with the added benefit of a year in industry.
Year of entry: 2019
G401
Y50
4 years full-time
£9,250 per year (2018/19)
£21,330 per year (2019/20)
Get to know us better and find out what studying and living in York is really like.
Book nowWe teach Computer Science as a broad subject. You will study systems at different levels of abstraction, including digital hardware architectures, low level programming, operating systems, compilers and high level languages. We ensure balance between fundamental computer science theory and practical skills for solving real world problems. You will also benefit from spending a year out in industry, furthering your knowledge, networking and getting real-life experience of the field.
You will see computer science as both an engineering discipline, concerned with building complex software systems, and a scientific discipline, making new discoveries through the world-leading research being undertaken in the Department. You will learn to understand users and how to design interactive systems centred on their needs. You will recognise the power of data, how to manage and exploit it and how to build intelligent systems that learn from data.
We have fantastic links with industry, and this allows us to give you exposure to the latest developments in the real world, as well as in our research. You may work on projects that have been specified by companies such as IBM or BT, who will then take any solutions and could use them within their business.
Our Industrial Advisory Board helps to steer our courses to make sure that what we teach is up-to-date and relevant to today's workplace. This means that when the time comes for you to get a job, you will be able to adapt quickly in the workplace, due to our principled and relevant teaching.
The content of the course is the same for the BSc as well as the BEng, and you get to decide which qualification you leave with when you successfully complete the course - meaning if you are going into an environment where one of the qualifications might be more valued, you can opt to choose that one.
This course is accredited by BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered IT Professional.
This course is accredited by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) on behalf of the Engineering Council for the purposes of fully meeting the academic requirement for registration as an Incorporated Engineer and partially meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer.
Find out more about what this professional accreditation means.
Following the 2014 Research Excellent Framework, our research was assessed 7th overall in the UK, 5th for impact and 6th for environment by THE (Times Higher Education).
Our staff are at the cutting edge of their fields and we maintain strong links with industry.
All students will study our core topics in computer science, which we have designed to be consistent with the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) curriculum guidelines. These core topics provide the fundamental knowledge that all computer science graduates should possess, and the foundation to study more flexibly in the third year. The core topics are structured into 8 streams:
You’ll take 120 credits per year as part of this course.
The first term will focus on the Theory and Software streams enabling you to establish a solid foundation regardless of your previous experience of programming and computing.
The second and third term will introduce three further streams, Systems and Devices, Data and Human Computer Interaction.
Then list modules.
Examples of specific modules you will undertake in this year include:
In addition to the above you will also need to complete our online Academic Integrity module.
This module covers some of the essential skills and knowledge which will help you to study independently and produce work of a high academic standard which is vital for success at York.
This module will:
Year Two of the course will build upon the solid foundations you will have laid down in Year One. You’ll undertake a selection of core modules from streams 1-5 which will extend your learning and allow you to reach deeper into areas of computer science. In addition, two further streams will be introduced: you will begin to study Intelligent Systems and undertake a group Engineering project. This deeper study will allow you to develop your interests which you will then begin to focus on in Year Three.
You will spend this year out in industry if you successfully obtain a placement. You will be supported in achieving this by our dedicated Industrial Placement Coordinator, who is there to help you with your CV, give you interview tips, arrange interviews on campus, and visit you on placement to ensure everything is going well. We have excellent relationships with a strong portfolio of companies from large multinationals such as IBM and Airbus UK, to smaller companies such as YorkTest and Informed Solutions.
Your year in industry gives you a chance to use what you have learned during your degree. As well as being paid a good salary, students who take a year in industry generally achieve better grades, develop a broader range of skills and are more attractive to future employers. Some students even find a job with their placement company before they graduate.
In Year Three you will really get under the skin of the specialist areas which interest you. You’ll undertake a core module from the Systems and Devices stream, a project preparation module and undertake a substantial individual project. This project will give you the opportunity to focus on a specific topic and work closely with an academic supervisor.
Please note, modules may change to reflect the latest academic thinking and expertise of our staff.
Every course at York has been designed to provide clear and ambitious learning outcomes. These learning outcomes give you an understanding of what you will be able to do at the end of the course. We develop each course by designing modules that grow your abilities towards the learning outcomes and help you to explain what you can offer to employers. Find out more about our approach to teaching and learning.
The fees and funding figures below are based on data from 2018 entry. If you take a year abroad or year in industry you'll pay a reduced rate of fees for that year.
| UK/EU | International |
|---|---|
| £9,250 | £21,330 |
There are unlikely to be any mandatory additional costs associated with the course, although you may want to set aside £200 for optional photocopying and personal stationery over the duration of the course.
UK/EU or international fees? The level of fee that you will be asked to pay depends on whether you're classed as a UK, EU or international student.
For more information about tuition fees, any reduced fees for study abroad and work placement years, scholarships, tuition fee loans, maintenance loans and living costs see undergraduate fees and funding.
We offer a number of scholarships to help cover tuition fees and living costs.
We have a number scholarship opportunities available for students in 2018/19, including three IBM scholarships.
You can use our living costs guide to help plan your budget. It covers additional costs that are not included in your tuition fee such as expenses for accommodation and study materials.
“Students from all backgrounds achieve consistently outstanding outcomes”
The TEF Panel, Office for Students, June 2018
Our Gold Teaching Excellence Framework award demonstrates our commitment to the delivery of consistently outstanding teaching and learning for our students.
You’ll work with world‐leading academics who’ll challenge you to think independently and excel in all that you do. Our approach to teaching will provide you with the knowledge, opportunities, and support you need to grow and succeed in a global workplace. Find out more about our approach to teaching and learning.
A typical week will involve about 15-20 hours of scheduled teaching time. Our courses are based on a series of one-hour lectures with associated laboratory sessions, programming classes and tutorials.
Throughout the course, you will have a personal supervisor responsible for guiding your studies. In addition to any timetabled sessions, you will meet with your supervisor regularly, and you can also go to them at any time should you have any issues, academic or personal. There are problem classes to help you put learning from lectures into practice and one-to-one weekly project supervisions in your final year.
You will also undertake learning outside of the scheduled timetable. This can be through working in the labs, which are accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, or through reading recommended materials or working through problems. Consequently, you'll need to be self-motivated, self-disciplined and willing to learn outside regular classes.
As you progress through the course you will develop your skills to become a more independent learner. You'll also spend time working on your individual research project later on in the course, in addition to timetabled activity; you will be allocated a project supervisor, with whom you will have regular meetings in addition to timetabled sessions. You can go to your supervisor for support and advice regarding your project.
As a guide, students on this course typically spend their time as follows:
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures and seminars | 420 hours | 348 hours | 0 hours | 216 hours |
| Placement | 0 hours | 0 hours | 1200 hours | 0 hours |
The figures above are based on data from 2016/17.
The rest of your time on the course will be spent on independent study. This may include preparation for lectures and seminars, follow-up work, wider reading, practice completion of assessment tasks, or revision.
Everyone learns at a different rate, so the number of hours will vary from person to person. In UK higher education the expectation is that full-time students will spend 1200 hours a year learning.
Built to the highest specifications, the Department is packed with cutting-edge facilities housed in a modern, self-contained building.
The Department houses four software and two hardware laboratories which you will be able to use depending on the topic of your third year project. These facilities are professional grade and used by our research teams so, depending on your interests, you'll get first hand exposure to these environments.
Our Interaction Labs provide excellent facilities for research and teaching in human-computer interaction. The Interaction Labs consist of an Accessibility and Usability Lab and a Games Research Lab, both of which are stocked with the latest technologies.
Our Real Time Systems Lab is the main research and development facility for the Real Time Systems research group. Inside the laboratory is a range of high-performance computers, custom hardware like FPGAs, robots, and various industrial machinery.
The Computer Vision group have a darkroom laboratory which enables us to conduct experiments in controlled illumination conditions and a second laboratory which includes a commercial 3D scanner.
Our Robotics Laboratory is a purpose-built laboratory used for various robotics research projects and teaching. Within it, there is a dedicated student working area, with workstations and electronics bench equipment, alongside the main 80m2 robotics arena. The arena features a 5.5m high ceiling allowing drone experiments to take place as well as ground-based robots. Special tracking systems are installed to allow positional data of the robots to be extracted. There is also a workshop area with CAD, soldering and 3D printing facilities.
Find out more about our facilities, including a video tour showing our labs, teaching and research spaces.
The Department of Computer Science is based on Campus East. The majority of your teaching will take place in the department, with additional teaching taking place at other locations on Campus East.
Our beautiful green campus offers a student-friendly setting in which to live and study, within easy reach of the action in the city centre. It's easy to get around campus - everything is within walking or pedalling distance, or you can always use the fast and frequent bus service.
We use a variety of assessment techniques throughout your course. This allows you to practice different techniques, from report writing and presentations to closed exams. It also means you are not disadvantaged by being assessed in any one way.
Here's a few examples:
We provide exam review sessions, where you can come and see your marked assessment and ask an academic member of staff any questions about the way it has been marked. We also provide you with electronic feedback, which is given alongside the marks you receive. We also have a Board of Examiners, to which any student can apply if they wish to take queries about their assessments further.
We also ask our students for feedback on the course and assessments at the end of each year. This helps to improve and modify what we do to help meet the needs of our students.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written exams | 56% | 64% | 0% | 33% |
| Coursework | 11% | 31% | 100% | 67% |
| Practical exams | 33% | 5% | 0% | 0% |
The figures above are based on data from 2016/17.
The move towards a digital economy creates demand for computer scientists and software engineers across a broad section of employers, so the skills you develop here will make you attractive to many organisations. Most of our graduates go into the field of IT/Computing, followed by Financial Services, some undertake further study (eg PhD) and others go straight into industry (for example working for IBM, BAE Systems etc).
Many of our graduates are employed by software and electronics industries, but the continuing expansion of the use of computers in commercial and financial operations means that you will be able to find employment in other industries - and here your sharpened numeracy and analytical skills will have prepared you well.
Read some profiles of our past students and find out how their degree from York helps them to do jobs in organisations as diverse as Mars Inc and Cancer Research UK. Other companies that York graduates have gone on to work for include BAE Systems, Morgan Stanley, G Research, Thales, the Civil Service, M&G Investments, Ubisoft, Rapita Systems, Sky, BT, Raspberry Pi, IBM, JP Morgan, Hut Group and Automaton Games.
Computer Science graduates can expect to earn nearly £40,000 after five years in employment (Longitudinal Education Outcomes Dataset).
At York, you will gain a broad understanding of all of the essential scientific principles, engineering techniques and practices in Computer Science. This allows you to be flexible and adapt quickly in any field that you wish to go into. More specifically, we can identify four main skill areas as follows:
| Qualification | Typical offer |
|---|---|
| A levels | AAB - ABB including an A level in Mathematics at grade B or above. |
| GCSEs | We recommend the new OCR or AQA GCSEs in Computer Science/Computing, so that you can gain a grounding in the principles of Computing, though this is also not an admissions requirement to any of our degrees. We look for applicants who have a good range of subjects at GCSE, including English Language at grade 4 (C) or above. We also require a qualification in a physical science; for example, a GCSE at grade 4 (C) or above in Physics or Double Science. |
| Access to Higher Education Diploma | Access courses are offered by local further education (FE) colleges, and most can be completed in one year, or over two years on a part-time or evening-only basis. You will need to make sure that the particular Access course you are considering is appropriate, and syllabuses must contain a significant portion of mathematics that can be considered equivalent to an A-level in Mathematics. Please email cs-ug-admissions@york.ac.uk with the details of the Access course you are taking and we can advise if it provides a suitable preparation for our courses. Applications will be considered on an individual basis. |
| BTEC | DDD - DDM plus at least a grade B in A level or equivalent qualification in Mathematics. We also consider applicants with a combination of other BTEC Level 3 qualifications and A levels but this must include A level Mathematics. Please email the Department at cs-ug-admissions@york.ac.uk to discuss your combination of qualifications and our grade requirements. |
| Cambridge Pre-U | Pass with D3/D3/M2 - D3/M2/M2 in principal subjects including Mathematics. |
| International Baccalaureate | Overall grade of 35 - 34 points, with a grade 6 in Mathematics at Higher Level. |
| Irish leaving Certificate | H2,H2,H2,H2,H3,H3 - H2,H2,H3,H3,H3,H3 in Higher Level, including H1 or H2 in Mathematics. |
| Scottish Highers / Advanced Highers | Scottish Highers / Advanced Highers: AB in Advanced Highers, including Mathematics, plus AAAAB - AAABB at Higher Level. |
| Other qualifications |
We welcome applications offering a mix of Open University (OU), A level, and other appropriate qualifications. Applicants can use appropriate OU courses to fulfil some or all of our A level subject requirements. The 30 credit courses Essential Mathematics 1 (MST124) and Essential Mathematics 2 (MST125) can be taken to replace our Maths A level requirement. You must take both courses and achieve at least 85% (Distinction) in both. Please note that we require Mathematics as your main qualification: from the OU (as above) or as an A level, or equivalent. |
Mature students: We welcome applications from mature candidates and will assess any application on its own merits. However, we still expect you to have an appropriate background in Mathematics. We recommend that you contact us for an informal discussion before you apply.
If your first language is not English, and you have not been taught predominantly in English, you will need to offer a suitable qualification in English language.
Find out more about our English Language requirements
To apply to York, you will need to complete an online application via UCAS (the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service).
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