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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 tutorial	Taught 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

Computer Science tutorials

Teaching

Choosing tutorials

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