BSc/BEng Honours in Computer Science (G400/G401)

Computer Science is concerned with the understanding, design, implementation and use of computing systems ranging in complexity from the components of a single processor to computer networks as vast as the World Wide Web. It encompasses both hardware and software, and embodies a wide variety of practical techniques supported by a strong foundation of theoretical understanding.

There is an enormous range of choice for specialisation, and for including "outside" subjects from across the University.

At Edinburgh, Computer Science is treated as a subset of the wider discipline of Informatics, which also covers Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Science and Software Engineering.

The Computer Science programme is structured to develop well-rounded graduates with a high level of knowledge and skills across Computer Science.

What is special about the Edinburgh degree programme

The School of Informatics at Edinburgh is the UK's best computer science department and as one of our graduates you will be well-regarded by both industry and academia. The School of Informatics is known for both its strength in many areas of computer science, especially theoretical topics, and for the varied project work built into its degree programmes. Students undertake a wide variety of practical exercises and major projects, which reinforce and build on lecture material. Communication skills, initiative, professionalism and the ability to work with others are developed as integral parts of the learning process.

Professional Recognition

Graduates fulfil the educational requirements for Membership of the British Computer Society, which is a professional qualification carrying with it both prestige and responsibilities. To achieve the status of Engineering Council Chartered Engineer (CEng) you will have to complete a 'matching section' equivalent to an additional year of education, which may be industry based.

These days pockets ar bulging with all sorts of portable devices from mobile phones to CD players, not to mention that some of us carrying around very heavy laptops. Have you ever dreamed of getting rid of these? This may well be possible in the future thanks to specknets. Specks are miniature computing devices the size of a few cubic millimetres and have sensing, processing and wireless networking capabilities as well as their own renewable energy source. Thousands of specks, scattered or sprayed on the person or surfaces, will collaborate as programmable computational networks called specknets and the use of specknets for computing is called speckled computing.

Researchers are investigating how the specknet behaves when applied to a tangible object or a person. Andrew Ellis investigates the behaviour of a specknet when applied to a spinning disc as part of his final year project.