Requiredsubjects:MathsRecommendedsubjects:FurtherMathsHelpfulsubjects:Notapplicable
Interviewed:17%Successful:5%Intake:43*3-yearaverage2021-23
Pleasenotethattheremaybenodataavailableifthenumberofcourseparticipantsisverysmall.
Computerscienceisaboutunderstandingcomputersystemsandnetworksatadeeplevel.
Computersandtheprogramstheyrunareamongthemostcomplexproductsevercreated;designingandusingthemeffectivelypresentsimmensechallenges.Facingthesechallengesistheaimofcomputerscienceasapracticaldiscipline,andthisleadstosomefundamentalquestions:
Thetheoriesthatarenowemergingtoanswerthesekindsofquestionscanbeimmediatelyappliedtodesignnewcomputers,programs,networksandsystemsthataretransformingscience,business,cultureandallotheraspectsoflife.
Thecourseconcentratesoncreatinglinksbetweentheoryandpractice.Itcoversawidevarietyofsoftwareandhardwaretechnologiesandtheirapplications.
Wearelookingforstudentswithstrongmathematicalability.Youwilldeveloptheseskillstoreasonrigorouslyaboutthebehavioursofprogramsandcomputersystems.
Youwillalsogainpracticalproblem-solvingandprogramdesignskills;themajorityofsubjectswithinthecoursearelinkedwithpracticalworkinourwell-equippedlaboratory.
'Ilovemanythingsaboutmycourse.Ilovethefactthatit’shard,thatit’sverytheoreticalandthatwegetalotofpracticalwork.Evenwhentheworkisalittlechallengingyou’reneverlostbecausetherearesomanypeoplearoundtohelpyou.Thetutorsreallysupportyouateverystepandthismotivatesyoutodowell.
TherearesomanywonderfulthingsthatI’velearntthatIneverknewexistedbefore.Therearedefinitelymomentswhen,sittinginfrontofaproblemsheet,yourealisethatyou’reattherightplace.ComputerScienceiseverythingIhadhopedfor.'
Kamil
Pleaseselect'seecoursedata'toviewthefullUnistatsdataforComputerScience.
ComputerScience
Duringthefirstpartofthecourse,yourworkwillbedividedbetweenabouttenlecturesandtwotutorialseachweek,inadditiontoabouttwopracticalsessions.
Intutorialsyouwilldiscussideasindepthwithanexperiencedcomputerscientist,usuallywithjustoneortwootherstudents.
Youwillbeexpectedtospendaconsiderableamountoftimedevelopingyourownunderstandingofthetopicscoveredinlectures,answeringquestionsdesignedtocheckyourunderstanding,andpreparingfortutorials.
Asthecourseprogresses,youwillalsobegintoworkinsmallclassesofuptotenpeopleonmorespecialisedtopics.Classsizesmayvarydependingontheoptionsyouchoose.Therewouldusuallybearound8-15students,thoughclassesforsomeofthemorepopularpapersmaybelarger.
Inthesecondyearyouwilltakepartinagroupdesignpractical,whichmaybesponsoredbyindustry.
InYears3and4aboutathirdofyourtimeisspentworkingonyourchosenindividualproject.
Mosttutorials,classes,andlecturesaredeliveredbyexpertsintheirfield,whohaveyearsofexperienceinteachingandresearch.Someteachingmayalsobedeliveredbypostdoctoralresearchersorpostgraduatestudentswhoarestudyingatdoctorallevel.
ComputerSciencecanbestudiedforthreeyears(BA)orfouryears,leadingtoanawardofMasterofComputerScience(MCompSci).
Thefourthyearallowsthestudyofadvancedtopicsandanin-depthresearchproject.Studentsdonotneedtochoosebetweenthethree-yearandfour-yearoptionswhenapplyingtothecourse.Allstudentsapplyforthefour-yearcourse,andthendecidebytheendoftheirthirdyearwhethertheywishtocontinuetothefourthyear.Inordertoproceedintothefourthyear(partC),studentswillneedtoachievea2:1orhigherclassificationattheendoftheirthirdyear.
Fourexampapers
Eightexampapers.
GroupDesignPracticalisassessedbyademonstrationandpresentation.
Sixexampapersplusprojectreport,oreightexampapers
Fivetake-homeexamsorwrittenpapersplusprojectreport
*Tobeconfirmed
Qualification
Requirement
A-levels:
A*AAincludingatleastanAinMathematics,withtheA*inMathematics,FurtherMathematicsorComputerScience.
ThosetakingFurtherMathematicsA-levelorAS-levelarerequiredtoachieveatleastGradeA.
AdvancedHighers:
InternationalBaccalaureate(IB):
BTEC:
Anyotherequivalentqualification:
Whereverpossible,yourgradesareconsideredinthecontextinwhichtheyhavebeenachieved.
FurtherMathematicsA-levelishighlyrecommended.*ThosetakingFurtherMathematicsA-levelorAS-levelarerequiredtoachieveatleastGradeA.
*IfyourschooloffersFurtherMathsA-Levelweexpectyoutohavetakenit.However,weunderstandthatnotallschoolsofferFurtherMaths,andsowedoconsiderapplicationsfrompeoplewithasingleMathsA-level.
Pleasenotefrom2021-24,95%ofA-levelstudentswhowereofferedplacesforComputerSciencecourses(includingjointcourses)tookFurtherMathstoA-level.
IfapracticalcomponentformspartofanyofyourscienceA‐levelsusedtomeetyouroffer,weexpectyoutopassit.
Thefollowinginformationgivesspecificdetailsforstudentsapplyingforthiscourse.
Youdonotneedtosubmitanywrittenworkwhenyouapplyforthiscourse.
Welookforprovenmathematicaltalent,theabilitytothinkandworkindependently,thecapacitytoabsorbandusenewideas,andenthusiasm.WeusethesecriteriaalongsidetheMathematicsAdmissionsTest(MAT)resultstodecidewhomtointerview.
Atinterview,weexplorehowyoutackleunfamiliarproblemsandrespondtonewideas;wearemoreinterestedinhowyouapproachproblem-solvingthanthesolution.Wedon’trequireanypreviousformalqualificationincomputing,butwedoexpectarealinterestinthesubject.
Commonrolesforgraduatesincludecomputerprogrammer,softwaredesignerandengineer,financialanalystandscientificresearcher.
Wedon'twantanyonewhohastheacademicabilitytogetaplacetostudyheretobeheldbackbytheirfinancialcircumstances.Tomeetthataim,OxfordoffersoneofthemostgenerousfinancialsupportpackagesavailableforUKstudentsandthismaybesupplementedbysupportfromyourcollege.
Home
AtuitionfeeloanisavailablefromtheUKgovernmenttocovercoursefeesinfullforHome(UK,IrishnationalsandothereligiblestudentswithUKcitizens'rights-seebelow*)studentsundertakingtheirfirstundergraduatedegree**,soyoudon’tneedtopayyourcoursefeesupfront.
In2025OxfordisofferingoneofthemostgenerousbursarypackagesofanyUKuniversitytoHomestudentswithafamilyincomeofaround￡50,000orless,withadditionalopportunitiesavailabletoUKstudentsfromhouseholdswithincomesof￡32,500orless.TheUKgovernmentalsoprovideslivingcostssupporttoHomestudentsfromtheUKandthosewithsettledstatuswhomeettheresidencerequirements.
*Forcoursesstartingonorafter1August2021,theUKgovernmenthasconfirmedthatEU,otherEEA,andSwissNationalswillbeeligibleforstudentfinancefromtheUKgovernmentiftheyhaveUKcitizens’rights(i.e.iftheyhavepre-settledorsettledstatus,oriftheyareanIrishcitizencoveredbytheCommonTravelAreaarrangement).Thesupportyoucanaccessfromthegovernmentwilldependonyourresidencystatus.
Islands(ChannelIslandsandIsleofMan)
IslandsstudentsareentitledtodifferentsupporttothatofstudentsfromtherestoftheUK.
Pleasereferthelinksbelowforinformationonthesupporttoyouavailablefromyourfundingagency:
Overseas
**Ifyouhavestudiedatundergraduatelevelbeforeandcompletedyourcourse,youwillbeclassedasanEquivalentorLowerQualificationstudent(ELQ)andwon’tbeeligibletoreceivegovernmentorOxfordfunding
Therearenocompulsorycostsforthiscoursebeyondthefeesshownaboveandyourlivingcosts.
CollegetutorialsarecentraltoteachingatOxford.Typically,theytakeplaceinyourcollegeandareledbyyouracademictutor(s)whoteachaswellasdotheirownresearch.Studentswillalsoreceiveteachinginavarietyofotherways,dependingonthecourse.Thiswillincludelecturesandclasses,andmayincludelaboratoryworkandfieldwork.However,tutorialsofferalevelofpersonalisedattentionfromacademicexpertsunavailableatmostuniversities.
Duringtutorials(normallylastinganhour),collegesubjecttutorswillgiveyouandoneortwotutorialpartnersfeedbackonpreparedworkandcoveratopicindepth.Theotherstudent(s)inyourtutorialswillbedoingthesamecourseasyou.Suchregularandrigorousacademicdiscussiondevelopsandfacilitateslearninginawaythatisn’tpossiblethroughlecturesalone.Tutorialsalsoallowforcloseprogressmonitoringsotutorscanquicklyprovideadditionalsupportifnecessary.
OurcollegesareattheheartofOxford’sreputationasoneofthebestuniversitiesintheworld.
Our2025undergraduateOpenDayswillbeheldon2and3Julyand19September.
Followusonsocialmediatogetthemostup-to-dateapplicationinformationthroughouttheyear,andtohearfromourstudents.