Computer Science at Hull University
Hull as a university is a nice size, neither too large nor too small, with a good mix of arts and science - about fifty-fifty. (Of course this can be depressing when all your artist friends, who only have two lectures a week, are out having a good time and you are stuck in your room writing software) Its position is nice too, not in the centre of a town where you are crossing main roads between lectures, or in a field in the middle of nowhere.
We have always billed ourselves as the friendly university, perhaps this is a bit overdone now, but it remains as true as ever. Our department is also a decent size, large enough to have a good range of research interests but not so big that you disappear into a morass of hundreds of students. In addition, we take great pride in the way that we do care about our students; an easy thing to promise but a hard thing to deliver.
Courses at Hull
We do many flavours of computing, based around a three year BSc course:
Computer Science is our "bread and butter" course which includes all the hardware, software and mathematical aspects of the subject. There is a four year version of this course which includes a sandwich year in industry or abroad.
Computer Software Development emphasises the way in which software products are actually produced. There is a four year version of this course which includes a sandwich year in industry or abroad. This course aims to product students who are genuinely useful in industry directly after graduation and so includes coverage of the professional practitioner aspects of the subject.
Computer and Business Informatics looks at the application of computers in the field of information processing.
Computer Science with Games Development looks at the techniques used to create computer based entertainment, including topics relating to the creation of realistic graphics, the management of sound and other media and the use of artificial intelligence to create realistic opponents. It is a demanding course which has been created in conjunction with the games programming industry.
Information Technology Management for Business is not necessarily about producing hotshot computer programmers, but rather people who can deploy and apply computers in a business environment. To achieve success in this field you need a range of abilities including negotiation, project management, risk assessment and communication skills.
Computer Systems Engineering includes coverage of the hardware aspects of the computer as well as the software issues. It is offered jointly with the Engineering department.
Full details of the each of the courses are given in our departmental brochure. If there is anything which you would like clarified you can get in touch with us here.
In addition to 3 year BSc/BEng qualifications in the above subjects, we also offer four year courses leading to MEng in Computer Science, Computer Science with Games Development, and Computer Software Development. These routes include some higher level study and genuine commercial experience in the final year. Alternatively, more traditional 4-year 'sandwich' courses are available in which an industrial experience year is taken between the second and third years of on-campus study.
Modules and Semesters
We are fully modular, In some subjects this makes the course highly flexible, and means you can virtually “grow your own degree”. In Computer Science things are more tricky. Our established courses are accredited. This means that a professional body, in our case the British Computer Society, takes regular looks at the course content and rules on whether or not we have a “proper” degree.
If we let our students take “Ukrainian Flower Arranging” as an option, the BCS would tell us that we were no longer teaching computing! This limits the latitude available when you are choosing modules, although we are as flexible as possible - within the limits set. You can browse the entire university module catalogue to find out exactly what our courses contain.
Semesters. The academic year is divided into two semesters; the first starts in late September, and the second finishes in early June, with vacations at Christmas and Easter. Each semester consists of a 12-week teaching and revision period following by a period of assessment.
Practical Work
We expect our students to spend a lot of time designing and creating systems. This is where the theory of our courses is put into practice and you get the chance to prove that the things we tell you in lectures are actually worth bothering with! In the early part of the course the practical work is very directed; you are given a well-defined task to perform.
Later on the emphasis changes and we start to give you problems which have no "correct" solution, just different sets of compromises. Sometimes we even ask you to find out what the problem is! On occasion we send a whole bunch of students off to do a particular job, at which point they learn the interesting business of working in a group.
The "pièce de resistance" is the final year project. You spend a big chunk of your final year working on your project, which could have a research or industrial basis. The final word on practical work must go the person who wrote the following:
* Theory is when you know everything, but nothing works
* Practice is when everything works, but no-one knows why....
The Staff in Computer Science
We staff are here to tell you all about our favourite subject, Computer Science. It is a subject which we find quite frighteningly interesting, and we sort of expect you to find it a bit interesting too.
Each of us has his or her particular view of the subject, and by listening to all of us you should end up with a well rounded set of knowledge. Remember that because we find our pet subject interesting, we are very happy to talk about it, and so never be afraid to ask questions. If you don't understand the answer say so, this keeps us on our toes!
Another good trick is to ask the same question to a couple of different staff members and see if the answers agree.... Note that, just because we find computer science interesting does not mean that all other interests are excluded; amongst the members of staff in this faculty you can find an accomplished actor, published poet, dog breeder, classic car restorer, amateur entomologist and part time jet pilot. (Note that these are not all the same person!)
