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2015

ComputerScience

The birthplace ofcomputer science: theworld’s first stored-program computer wascreated at Manchester,and the first school ofComputer Science inthe country wasestablished here

The facts

Ranked first in thecountry forresearch power incomputer science

Strong industrycontacts ensurecutting-edgecourse content

2 Computer ScienceUndergraduate brochure 2015

One of the largestschools ofcomputer science,giving you accessto a wide range ofspecialisms

Contents

Introducing Manchester

Computer Scienceat Manchester

Course details

Find out more online

Contact us

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3Computer Sciencewww.manchester.ac.uk/cs

It is with great pleasure that Iwelcome you to the 2015 edition ofour undergraduate brochure. Inside,you will find full details of the coursesand teaching that make ComputerScience at Manchester one of thetop Schools in the country.

Jim Miles

Head of School,Computer Science

Our cityAlways moving forward

Manchester lives on the edge of tomorrow,ever a step ahead in science, industry, media,sport and the arts. The Mancuniancharacter—exemplified by the city’s centralrole in the industrial revolution—strives forexcellence and originality in all walks of life.

This is a city of many accents, having becomea cosmopolitan magnet for students andprofessionals eager to experience its can-doattitude, independent spirit and culturalwealth.

Never content to live on past glories,Manchester has a passion for progress. Joinus at the heart of Britain’s most popularstudent city.

Introducing

Manchester

Our UniversityMaking things happen

Influential, forward-thinking and down-to-earth, we’ll give you an amazing universityexperience rooted in a rich academicheritage. We turn enthusiasm intoachievement and ground-breaking theoryinto innovative practice.

We accomplish feats of global significance,from splitting the atom, to giving the worldgraphene—the two-dimensional wondermaterial that is one atom thick, but 200times stronger than steel.

With more Nobel laureates on our staff thanany other UK university, and strong links toindustry and public services, we vitalise ourundergraduate courses with pioneeringresearch.

Learn more about us:www.manchester.ac.uk


Your experienceMore than just a degree

With resources from the hi-tech 24/7 learningenvironment of our Alan Gilbert LearningCommons, to the countless personaldevelopment opportunities and specialist supportservices we offer, we will empower you to beyour best.

Outstanding sport facilities, nearly 300 studentsocieties, supported community volunteering,study abroad pathways, career developmentprogrammes, mentoring and much more allenable you to grow and develop outside of thelecture hall, giving you a well-rounded universityexperience that prepares you for life aftergraduation.

The only thing you won’t experience is boredom.

Hear from some of our students:www.manchester.ac.uk/ug/profiles

Your careerOn a course to success

We are consistently one of the UK’s most targeteduniversities by employers, thanks to courses andcareers services designed with your employabilityin mind.

Our problem-based approach to learning inspiresyou to think critically, creatively and independently.Volunteering, personal development programmesand interdisciplinary learning could also give you abroader perspective and shape the sociallyresponsible leaders of tomorrow.

We have the UK’s best careers service, providing awealth of advice and skills-developmentopportunities, and connecting you with employersto put you on a path to career success.


Computer ScienceUndergraduate brochure 2015

Computer Science

at Manchester

I really like the course; one of the bestaspects is the balance it strikes betweentheoretical Computer Science andpractical Computer Science, both ofwhich are fundamental tounderstanding the subject

Daniel KerryComputer Science with Industrial Experience

Teaching, learning and assessmentAt Manchester, we aim to provide a uniqueexperience that gives you the chance to follow youracademic curiosity and explore a fascinating subject.

We want you to develop a strong understanding ofthe underlying principles of computer science, whilstdeveloping practical computing skills and acquiringthe appropriate learning, communication and team-working skills that are essential for success in anyfuture career.

You will meet your personal tutor within days of yourarrival, and then on a weekly basis throughout theyear. The School has a large number of staffmembers so our staff to student ratio is very low at1:12, which means we can offer a more a personalexperience to our students even though the Schoolitself is quite large.

The emphasis throughout is on independent learning,however a significant amount of your work will beproject-based teamwork, tackling real problems. Thisstarts right at the beginning of your studies with thefirst-year team project.

First-year team project

All our students undertake a team project in their firstyear. This project is designed to help you develop theindependent and team-working skills that areessential for any successful student. The final projectdeliverable is a database-driven website for anapplication entirely chosen by the group. Examples ofprevious years' projects include: Sudokuphy, an onlineSu Doku game website; CloudBeats, a sharing musicplatform; and MyPiggyBank, a virtual student savingsaccount.

Final-year project

A major activity in the final year of all our courses isthe project. This is an individual piece of work, ofteninvolving the construction of a significant piece ofsoftware or hardware. You will be assigned apersonal supervisor for this project, and you will haveweekly project meetings together.


Life in the school

Final Year project examples

Matchmaking CV Skills Using OWL Ontologies

Imagine what an employer has to cope withwhen hundreds of CVs flood across their desk -how do they pick out the people that match theskill-set they need? Different phrasings areoften used—“I am an excellent communicator”versus “I am experienced in public speaking” iseasy enough to read. But what about technicalphrases in Computer Science such as “I amexperienced in Java SWING development”versus “I have studied JAVA GUI designextensively”? Both mean virtually the samething (the design and programming of userinterfaces) but only a human knows that - or dothey? An OWL ontology is a method ofstructuring human knowledge so it can be usedto search through large bodies of dataautomatically. In this project an OWL ontologywas designed for CV skillsets, allowing the userto search through CVs and rank them just asweb pages are ranked on Google. Theapproach followed standard employerrecruitment procedures, and can easily rankhundreds or thousands of candidate CVs fortheir job suitability.

Gesture Recognition using Microsoft’s Kinect

How can you change the TV channel with ashrug of your shoulders? Modern TVs are juststarting to recognise gestures, such as a waveof the hand to change the channel - but thegestures are fixed, pre-programmed per TV.Our student decided this was not enough.Instead she used “machine learning”techniques to automatically learn newpersonalised gestures from the user. No existingretail device has this capability, yet she managedto build it during a five-month final year project.

Find out more about first year and final yearprojects on our website:

www.cs.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/

experience/student-projects

Study resources and facilitiesAs you would expect from leaders in the field, weoffer some of the most up to date facilities in theworld, including collaborative working labs completewith specialist computing and audio visual equipmentto support group working. We also provide Java andC++ development environments (IDEs) for softwaredevelopment, and commercial electronic systemdesign tools and development boards in our specialistcomputer engineering laboratories.

To find out more, visit our website:www.cs.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/services-and-student-facilities


Computer Science at Manchester

Student-led activities - student societies

Our Computer Science Society (CSSoc) is astudent-run group set up to encouragesocialising within the School and interactionwith other Schools within the University. CSSocworks with sponsors from the School’s IndustryClub to organise a great variety of eventsthroughout the year, beginning with WelcomeWeek social activities, and culminating with theannual summer ball.

Manchester Ultimate Programming (1-UP) andThe Coding Dojo are student activities whichfocus on programming and problem-solving.Students organise hackathons and staff-studentcompetitions to pit their wits against each otherwith some friendly rivalry. The Coding Dojo hashad national and international success this year,with our students reaching the NorthwesternEuropean Regional Contest final in Holland.

Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS)

We have a very active scheme in which secondand third year students support students in theirfirst and second years. In this PASS scheme,older students meet weekly with groups of lessexperienced students to assist them with anycourse problems and help them adjust touniversity life. This is a great opportunity for youto learn from those who have had a very recentexperience of the sort of problems that youmight face. Evaluations have shown this schemeto make a real difference to the performanceand confidence of first and second yearstudents. PASS leaders also found that they toohad improved confidence and transferable skillsto enhance their CV.

Student blogging

To find out what life is really like at the Schoolof Computer Science, why not lift the lid andvisit our online students’ blog page?

Being a student at the University ofManchester is a great experience, butUniversity is not just about studying. I believeit’s about enjoying the experience with themost interesting people you have ever met.

Edoardo Moreni 2nd year MEng Computer Science

To find out more about Edoardo’ experiencesand to read other students’ stories, visit theirblog pages:

http://studentblog.cs.man.ac.uk

Career opportunities

There are significant employment opportunities in thetraditional IT industry, but our Computer Sciencegraduates are in demand from a very broad range ofemployers, as they come to depend increasingly oncomputer-based products, services and ways ofworking. Opportunities exist in fields as diverse asfinance, films and games, pharmaceuticals,healthcare, consumer products and public services—virtually all areas of business and society. Increasingly,employers are seeking graduates with a high level ofcomputing skills and the ability to apply these ininnovative ways to solve the problems facing theirorganisations.

Employers—from large multinational firms, to smalllocal organisations—actively target our students,recognising that Manchester Computer Sciencegraduates are equipped with the skills they need.Organisations across the spectrum recognise that thegrounding our students receive in analytical thinking,problem solving and team working enables them toexcel in a whole host of positions, including manythat are not traditionally associated with computinggraduates.

Industrial placementsParticipation in higher education has risendramatically over the last ten years and students areincreasingly looking for ways to differentiatethemselves in the graduate jobs market. An excellentway of doing this is by opting for an industrialplacement as part of your degree. This involvesundertaking a one-year work placement in industrybetween the second and third years of your study atManchester.

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The benefit of a degree in Computer Sciencefrom Manchester is that you become soemployable.

Sarah KingComputer Science and Mathematics withIndustrial Experience

My industrial year as a software engineer at IBMhas given me the opportunity to put theknowledge I gained at university into practice.It’s one thing to follow a programming exerciseand another to design, structure and developyour own code! This knowledge has beenfurthered through my assigned projects. I havelearnt new technical skills from scratch, such asAJAX, Android Development and IBM specificsoftware.

I genuinely believe the School has prepared mefor my future career. It’s given me all thetechnical and soft skills I need, the support tofind a graduate job and the opportunities to fillin any blanks on my CV with clubs and eventsinside and outside the School.

Laura Howarth-KirkeBSc Computer Science with IndustrialExperience (2013 graduate, now working for theBBC within their ‘Future Media’ graduate scheme).

Computer Sciencewww.manchester.ac.uk/cs

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Course details

Computer ScienceBSc 3yrs UCAS Code G400MEng 4yrs UCAS Code G401

Computer Science with IndustrialExperienceBSc 4yrs UCAS Code G405MEng 5yrs UCAS Code I100

Software Engineering BSc 3yrs UCAS Code GG6KMEng 4yrs UCAS Code GG64

Software Engineering with IndustrialExperience BSc 4yrs UCAS Code G603MEng 5yrs UCAS Code I300

Artificial Intelligence BSc 3yrs UCAS Code G700MEng 4yrs UCAS Code G702

Artificial Intelligence with IndustrialExperience BSc 4yrs UCAS Code G701MEng 5yrs UCAS Code G703

Computer Science

Computer Systems Engineering BEng 3yrs UCAS Code HH66

MEng 4yrs UCAS Code GH4P

Computer Systems Engineering withIndustrial Experience BEng 4yrs UCAS Code HHQ6MEng 5yrs UCAS Code H650

Computer Science (Human ComputerInteraction)BSc 3 yrs UCAS Code I140MEng 4yrs UCAS Code I142

Computer Science (Human ComputerInteraction) with Industrial ExperienceBSc 4yrs UCAS Code I141MEng 5yrs UCAS Code I143

Computer Science with Business andManagement BSc 3yrs UCAS Code G4N2

Computer Science with Business andManagement with Industrial Experience BSc 4yrs UCAS Code GNK1

Computer Science and MathematicsBSc 3yrs UCAS Code GG14

Computer Science and Mathematics withIndustrial Experience BSc 4yrs UCAS Code GG41


Typical offerA-level A*AA-AAA(Please note that all courses require A-level Mathematics or equivalent, with theexception of Computer Science (HumanComputer Interaction) which requires twoscience and/or mathematics subjectsstudied at A level or equivalent)

IB 38-35

For full details of our entryrequirements, visit: www.manchester.ac.uk/ugcourses

Choosing your courseComputer Science course

All of our courses combine the study of corecomputer science principles with the development ofa high level of practical skills. You will also develop arange of non-technical skills that are important in anyworking environment. Among these are the ability toanalyse problems and propose and evaluatesolutions, to work effectively as part of a team and toplan a significant-sized project, managing conflictingdemands on your time.

Our Computer Science courses provide broadcoverage of computational principles, techniques andapplications—and, after the first year, offerconsiderable choice, enabling you to specialise inareas of particular interest.

Our interdisciplinary and joint courses combine corematerial from different disciplines, equippinggraduates for jobs that require rich skill sets and crosstraditional topic boundaries.

You can study our courses in the following variants:

• Three-year BSc—the fastest route to graduation

• Four-year BSc with Industrial Experience—providesan industrial placement within your course

• Four-year MEng—designed to fulfil the highestprofessional requirements and challenge the ablestof students

• Five-year MEng with Industrial Experience,combines the four-year MEng with an additionalindustrial placement year in the third year

Most of our courses are accredited by the majorprofessional bodies—the British Computer Society(BCS) and the Institution of Engineering andTechnology (IET).

Successful completion of our MEng courses givesexemption from the Engineering Council professionalexaminations, the first step towards becoming achartered engineer.

You can find the precise accreditation status for eachcourse on our School website:www.cs.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses

Flexible options for changing courses

Undergraduate teaching is modular, with core courseunits shared by the different courses. This meansthat, with some exceptions, it is possible to changebetween courses up to the end of your first year, and(grades permitting) transfer to the MEng or IndustrialExperience variant of your course.

Computer Science

By developing new applications in science,engineering and business, computer science ischanging people’s lives. Our Computer Sciencecourse combines the study of software andhardware, and information and communicationtechnologies, to provide you with the skills neededfor a challenging and evolving career. The course isthe most flexible that we offer and allows you toadapt your studies to reflect your developing, possiblychanging, interests. Core topics include object-oriented (Java) and imperative (C) programmingparadigms, software development techniques,databases and computer architecture. You can mixthese with general computing subjects such asgraphics, networking and computer vision. You canalso combine them with the themes that support oneor more of the specialised courses in softwareengineering, artificial intelligence and computersystems engineering.

Software Engineering

Software systems are at the heart of all successfulmodern businesses. These systems are complex andlong-lived, and must be robust and adaptable. Bystudying software design and production techniqueson our course, you will be equipped with the skillsneeded to follow a career specifying and developingsuch systems.

Software engineering techniques consider the wholelifecycle of an application, from its specification anddesign, through its implementation and testing, to itsmaintenance and adaptation. Central to thesetechniques is the use of specifications and models,which support analysis of solutions for correctnessand the generation of skeleton implementation code.

Current achievements include image and voicerecognition, and NASA’s Mars Rovers.


Course details

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Course detailsCourse details

Artificial Intelligence

One of the challenges in computing is to makecomputers think, or be intelligent, so that they cansolve new problems, or cope with the unknown.

By combining the study of AI and traditionalcomputing techniques with an understanding frompsychology of how humans learn, these course unitsprepare you for a career applying computing inchallenging applications. AI-specific topics include thekey techniques of machine learning, which are builtupon knowledge representation and reasoning. Ourcourse gives you the opportunity to study thesetechniques in the context of general computing, andtheir application in areas such as computer vision,natural language processing and robotics

Computer Systems Engineering

Sophisticated electronic systems permeate all aspectsof life - including MP3 players, games consoles,mobile phones, vehicle control systems and radar. Allof these are embedded systems, which typicallycontain one or more microprocessors, memory, acommunications capability, and application-specifichardware and software. We need a wide range ofknowledge and skills to support their development,including digital electronics, software engineering,computer architecture and digital signal processing.

This course involves the study of subjects crucial tothe design and implementation of embeddedsystems, and the opportunity for involvement inleading-edge research and development projects,often sponsored by industry. All graduates will haveskills in both software and hardware developmentand will be capable of contributing effectively to thedevelopment of embedded system.

Computer Science (Human ComputerInteraction)

Human Computer Interaction (HCI) is radicallychanging the way in which we experience our world,optimising the interaction between computer systemsand their human users. HCI is truly interdisciplinary, atthe intersection of computer science, behaviouralsciences and social science. Here at Manchester weequip you with the skills needed to contribute to thisexciting and rapidly evolving field. We provide youwith the highest level of education in understandingand improving future generations of user interfacesand interactions. Our course attempts to delve muchdeeper than other HCI related courses, in that key

course units are delivered by specialists in their field,from neurophysiology to advanced social networkanalysis, from complex software engineering andapplication development to qualitative researchdesign and methods.

Computer Science (67%) with Business andManagement (33%)

Delivered in collaboration with Manchester BusinessSchool, this course takes a different approach to therelationship between computing and business.Instead of addressing the issues of systemsdevelopment within a business context, itcomplements the study of computer systemsdevelopment with the study of the underlyingprinciples and practices of business andmanagement.

These business aspects will give you an appreciationof the whole business environment, frommanagement and marketing, through the financialaspects and human resource management, to thedevelopment of technology for application to newproducts, processes and services. We combine thesewith core computer science topics in programming,software development and database management,and give you the opportunity to study topics fromspecialised areas, such as distributed computing andartificial intelligence.

Computer Science (50%) and Mathematics(50%)

Mathematics and Computer Science have alwaysbeen closely related, each providing support andsuggesting new problems to the other. This jointhonours course enables you to acquire a usefulcombination of mathematical and computer scienceknowledge and skills.Topics studied develop yourknowledge and understanding of importantmathematical ideas, including the concepts ofrigorous argument, formal proof and the power ofabstract formulation of problems. These arecombined with core computer science topics onprogramming and software engineering, togetherwith a study of the mathematical principlesunderpinning the foundations of computing.

More detailed information about our courses, andcourse units can be found on our website:www.cs.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses

Computer Sciencewww.manchester.ac.uk/cs

AccommodationDiscover your new home: www.manchester.ac.uk/accommodation

Admissions and applicationsEverything you need to apply:www.manchester.ac.uk/ug/howtoapply

Alan Gilbert Learning CommonsTake a look around our 24/7, independent learning space:www.manchester.ac.uk/library/learningcommons

CareersTake control of your career:www.manchester.ac.uk/careers

IT ServicesOnline learning, computer access, IT support andmore: www.manchester.ac.uk/itservices

LibraryWe have one of the UK’s largest and best-resourced university libraries:www.manchester.ac.uk/library

MapsFind your way around our campus, city andaccommodation: www.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/travel/maps

ProspectusDownload or order a copy of our prospectus:www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/prospectus

ChildcareBalancing your studies with your caringresponsibilities: www.manchester.ac.uk/childcare

Disability supportTalk to us about any support you need: www.manchester.ac.uk/dso

Funding and financeGet to grips with fees, loans, scholarships andmore: www.manchester.ac.uk/studentfinance

CareersTake control of your career:www.manchester.ac.uk/careers

International studentsLet us help you prepare for your time here:www.manchester.ac.uk/internationa

SportGet active with our clubs, leagues, classes andfacilities: www.manchester.ac.uk/sport

SupportLet us help with any academic, personal, financialand administrative issues: my.manchester.ac.uk/guest

Students’ UnionImmerse yourself in societies, events, campaignsand more: manchesterstudentsunion.com

VideosLearn more about us on our YouTube channel:www.youtube.com/user/universitymanchester

Find outmore online


Contact details

Disclaimer

This brochure is prepared well in advance ofthe academic year to which it relates.Consequently, details of courses may varywith staff changes. The University thereforereserves the right to make such alterationsto courses as are found to be necessary. Ifthe University makes an offer of a place, it isessential that you are aware of the currentterms on which the offer is based. If you arein any doubt, please feel free to ask forconfirmation of the precise position for theyear in question, before you accept the offer.

For further information about the courses,or about qualifications, please contact:

AddressAdmissions OfficerSchool of Computer ScienceThe University of ManchesterOxford RoadManchesterM13 9PLUnited Kingdom

tel +44 (0)161 275 6124email [email protected]

For the most up-to-date courseinformation, please visit our website:www.manchester.ac.uk/cs




Royal Charter Number RC000797

School of Computer ScienceThe University of ManchesterOxford RoadManchesterM13 9PLUnited Kingdom

tel +44 (0)161 275 6124email [email protected]/cs

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