Computer Science tutorials

The computer science department at Oxford is one of the longest established such departments in the country, having been set up in 1957. It is now the base for world-class research into core computer science, as well as computational biology, quantum computing, computational linguistics, information systems, software verification and software engineering. It has an award for encouraging gender diversity in science. Research and teaching happen in the lively Science Area, close to Wycliffe Hall and to the University Parks. Faculty, research staff, and students can socialise in one of the nearby University cafes.

 

Computer science at Oxford focuses on the principles behind current computing technology, not the technology itself, and so demands a very high level of competence in the relevant areas of mathematics. Students should have studied computer science and/or relevant areas of mathematics at their home universities for at least two years.

Teaching

Teaching will happen in a mix of University lectures, which play a key part in computer science teaching, and/or departmental classes and/or tutorials (one to one meetings with a specialist tutor) and/or practical classes organised in the department. The mix will depend on the subjects chosen and will be designed to give students the best tuition organised in a way which most closely mirrors the experience of matriculated Oxford undergraduates. Students will prepare work for classes and tutorials, typically in the form of problem sheets. Students will not write essays (papers) for their computer science tutorials. Undergraduates are welcome to join the department’s research seminars and industry seminars, given by faculty and scientists from industry respectively. Full lecture notes and other supporting materials are available on the University’s virtual learning platform to which students will have full access once they are in Oxford.

Visiting Students may not undertake project work or an internship or practicum.

Choosing tutorials

Because lectures, classes, and practicals are offered by the Computer science department in specific Oxford terms, SCIO strongly recommends that its students opt for a course which is taught in the department in the term in which they want to come. If this is not possible SCIO can try to arrange tutorials in the subject when it is not being taught in the department, but students will be less well integrated into the department and have correspondingly fewer opportunities to meet and work with other Oxford students.

Tutorial options marked * are taught only in Trinity Term (April to June) and so Visiting Students opting for those tutorials will never be able to join departmental lectures, classes, and practicals. Again, SCIO can try to arrange tutorials if a student needs to take such tutorials but would strongly recommend other tutorials.

Name of tutorialTaught in Michaelmas Term (Fall semester)Taught in Hilary term (Spring semester)

Advanced security

Yes

Algorithms

Yes

Automata, logic, and games

Yes

Categorical quantum mechanics

Yes

Categories, proofs, and processes

Yes

Compilers

Yes

Computational complexity

Yes

Computational game theory

Yes

Computational learning theory

Yes

Computer architecture

Yes

Computer graphics

Yes

Computer networks*

Computer security

Yes

Computer-aided formal verification

Yes

Computers in society

Yes

Concurrency*

Concurrent algorithms and data structures

Yes

Concurrent programming

Yes

Continuous mathematics

Yes

Database systems implementation

Yes

Databases

Yes

Design and analysis of algorithms

Yes

Digital systems

Yes

Discrete mathematics

Yes

Foundations of computer science

Yes

Functional programming

Yes

Geometric modelling

Yes

Group design practical

Yes

Imperative programming part 3 *

Imperative programming parts 1 and 2

Yes

Introduction to formal proof *

Knowledge representation and reasoning

Yes

Lambda calculus and types

Yes

Linear algebra

Yes

Logic and proof *

Machine learning

Yes

Models of computation

Yes

Physically based rendering

Yes

Principles of programming languages

Yes

Probabilistic model checking

Yes

Probability and computing

Yes

Quantum computer science

Yes

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