Computer Science at Durham University

This degree balances fundamental knowledge and practical application in order to provide you with both specialised and transferable skills that are greatly valued in the marketplace. The course emphasises from the start both programming and mathematical skills that allow in the later years engagement through your 'Individual Project' with cutting-edge research being done in the department.

Year 1

You will take five computer science modules, which cover programming, the characteristics of computers and computing systems, and the mathematical foundations of the subject. You will also be introduced to the concept and philosophy of computational thinking and explore cutting-edge technological applications of recent research.

Once you complete the first year you will have had a thorough introduction to the fundamentals of computer science and to the principles, practices and methodologies that make computer science unique as a scientific subject. You will also have had a glimpse at aspects of computer science research that have enabled major technological advances in society.

Compulsory modules:

• Programming
• Computational Thinking
• Algorithms and Data Structures
• Computer Systems
• Mathematics for Computer Science.

Year 2

You will study six modules covering a core set of topics. One module Software Engineering involves a team software development project and enables you to usually work with external organisations and gain practical software development experience.

Other compulsory topics include, for example, aspects of artificial intelligence including bias, machine learning, data science, cybersecurity, computer networks, parallel and distributed computing, concurrency, data structures, algorithms and complexity, image processing, different programming paradigms, systems programming, security, human-computer interaction and computer graphics.

The topics taken in the second year will prepare you with an excellent grounding in a wide range of fundamental subjects within computer science, ready for subsequent specialisation in your final third year. By the end of the second year, you should be in a position to make informed judgments as to which particular aspects of the subject you might wish to focus on.