BSc Computer Science

Title:

Applications of Computer Science

Code:

CS1AC16

Convenor:

PROF Richard Mitchell

Summary:

This module introduces popular applications associated with computers, including artificial intelligence, robotics, virtual reality, computer vision and data analytics.

Assessment Method:

Exam 70%, Set exercise 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Fundamentals of Computer Science

Code:

CS1FC16

Convenor:

DR Hong Wei

Summary:

This module introduces the essential concept of computer systems in the autumn term, and the foundations of data structures and algorithms in the spring term.

Assessment Method:

Exam 70%, Report 20%, Class test 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Mathematics and Computation

Code:

CS1MA20

Convenor:

DR Patrick Ilg

Summary:

An introduction to mathematics which is relevant to computer science, including linear algebra, probability and statistics. The focus of the module is more on understanding the concepts and considering how they can be implemented on a computer, than in pure mathematics.

Assessment Method:

Exam 30%, Set exercise 70%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Programming in C/C++

Code:

CS1PC20

Convenor:

DR Pat Parslow

Summary:

This module introduces students to procedural and object-oriented programming principles and programming languages in C and C++.

Assessment Method:

Exam 30%, Practical 70%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Software Engineering: Fundamentals and Professional Development

Code:

CS1SE20

Convenor:

DR Lily Sun

Summary:

This module introduces students to the concepts, practice and management in software engineering and the professional development to support it. It addresses the lifecycle activities associated with developing software as part of a system as well as the management activities required to ensure that the software is developed on time, within budget and is fit for purpose. The module also incorporates case studies and examples to show the application of the concepts and principles to real-world systems.

A learning approach is adopted which reflects software engineering theory and practice. Students   are given course material to read/view prior to the lectures, and are required to produce a number of assessments in teams.

Assessment Method:

Exam 30%, Set exercise 70%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

HCI and Web Applications

Code:

CS1HW22

Convenor:

DR Muhammad Arifur Rahman

Summary:

This module introduces both the theory and practice of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) between computers and humans, in particular adopting experience of interactive design for web- based architectures and systems, and using HCI heuristic principles for evaluating user interface in terms of information visualisation. The HCI methodology can be used to guide a development process for web-based applications that enhances useability of the web application.  

Assessment Method:

Exam 30%, Set exercise 70%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Student Enterprise

Code:

MM1F10

Convenor:

DR Lebene Soga

Summary:

This is a dynamic module introducing students to key concepts of business start-up. Students work in a team to identify and develop a new business opportunity, and then seek to test their idea through ‘lean start-up’ experiments. Students will be introduced to key concepts of entrepreneurial management including design thinking, business model creation, entrepreneurial finance and marketing. This is a highly interactive and practical module, with a focus on experiential learning.

Assessment Method:

Project 60%, Class test 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Probability and Statistics

Code:

ST1PS

Convenor:

DR Karen Poulter

Summary:

This module provides an introduction to probability and probability distributions, and to fundamental techniques for statistical inference, and for the analysis of data from observational studies, with a focus on regression and hypothesis testing.

Assessment Method:

Exam 70%, Oral 5%, Set exercise 10%, Report 15%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Algorithms and Operating Systems

Code:

CS2AO17

Convenor:

PROF Xia Hong

Summary:

Algorithms and Operating Systems are fundamental concepts in Computer Science discipline. The module gives an introduction to fundamental algorithm design strategies that are common to many concrete applications. It also provides a general understanding of the structure and the main functionalities of modern operating systems.

Assessment Method:

Exam 70%, Set exercise 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Computer Architecture and Networking

Code:

CS2CA17

Convenor:

DR Hong Wei

Summary:

This module introduces Computer Networking in the autumn term and Computer Architecture, based on RISC/MIPS architecture, in the spring term.

Assessment Method:

Exam 70%, Set exercise 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Compilers

Code:

CS2CO16

Convenor:

DR Martin Lester

Summary:

This module presents the theory and practice of compilers, including how to write a compiler and introductory computation theory. A compiler turns source code written by a human into machine code executable by a computer. Thus knowing how a compiler works allows one to understand the connection between programming and computer architecture. The module also considers broader issues in programming language design and implementation.

Assessment Method:

Exam 70%, Set exercise 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Databases and Information Security

Code:

CS2DI17

Convenor:

DR Martin Lester

Summary:

The module consists of two parts.

The first part covers major threats and risks that affect the security of a network and the systems that rely on it (network security), and the major threats to data in both structured and unstructured form (data security).

The second part,  covers Databases. An introduction to the basics of relational database design, Structured Query Language (SQL) and some selected advanced database topics.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Set exercise 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Programming in Java

Code:

CS2PJ20

Convenor:

PROF Richard Mitchell

Summary:

This module introduces to students the fundamentals of programming using Java and its usage in developing real world applications. It will be delivered in two parts and will comprise of in-person lectures and practical sessions to provide students with hands-on experience of writing Java programs using integrated development environment tools. The first part will focus on the syntax, semantics and idioms of Java programming language and in the second part focus will be on introducing concepts of Android programming using Java.

Assessment Method:

Set exercise 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Programming in Python for Data Science

Code:

CS2PP22

Convenor:

DR Lily Sun

Summary:

The module introduces students to the Python programming language and the Python data science library ecosystem through application of programming fundamentals, data processing, and machine learning techniques.  Data manipulation and statistical data science methods are also covered.

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Software System Design with UML

Code:

CS2SS20

Convenor:

DR Lily Sun

Summary:

This module delivers the Unified Modelling Language (UML) methodology and its selected techniques which aid to articulate system users’ needs and then transform the needs on to software application solutions. Students will be engaged in an interactive learning environment in that they develop professional application design knowledge and skills.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Set exercise 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Programming in Python for Data Science

Code:

CS2PP22

Convenor:

DR Lily Sun

Summary:

The module introduces students to the Python programming language and the Python data science library ecosystem through application of programming fundamentals, data processing, and machine learning techniques.  Data manipulation and statistical data science methods are also covered.

Assessment Method:

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Software Engineering: Quality and Testing

Code:

CS2QT19

Convenor:

DR Pat Parslow

Summary:

Exploring software testing in the context of overall quality and competing commercial pressures, the module develops the knowledge and skills required for planning and executing comprehensive testing, including static and dynamic approaches, and methods of automation.

Assessment Method:

Exam 70%, Assignment 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Service-Oriented System Applications

Code:

CS2SA16

Convenor:

DR Lily Sun

Summary:

The module aims to adopt service-oriented concepts and principles for developing and integrating software applications and technology. This approach represents business operations in “business services” and breaks down a software application into common repeatable “application services” and “technology services”. Using this approach, enterprises can configure and reconfigure these sets of services for conceptualising service-oriented systems applications which are aligned with business structure and goals. In order to represent the architectural requirements, the enterprise architecture and ArchiMate can be employed for modelling service-oriented systems applications.

Assessment Method:

Set exercise 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Individual Project

Code:

CS3IP16

Convenor:

DR Luis Patino

Summary:

In this module, students work individually on their final year project, which is worth 40 credits (out of 120 credits). The student must pass this module in order to be awarded an honors degree as this is a BCS requirement.

This module also encourages students to develop a set of professional skills, such as problem-solving;  creativity; critical thinking; hypothesis generation and testing; literacy; action planning and decision making; self-reflection; negotiation and persuasion; organisation and time management; professional communication (with supervisors and peers); initiative and self-motivation; software design and development; effective use of commercial software; end-user awareness; presentation skills; and technical report writing for technical and non-technical audiences.

Assessment Method:

Oral 35%, Project 5%, Report 60%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Social, Legal and Ethical Aspects of Computing

Code:

CS3SC17

Convenor:

DR Pat Parslow

Summary:

This module provides students with a sound grounding in a range of social, legal, ethical and professional (SLEP) issues that might arise in their possible roles as working in technology related disciplines.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 70%, Set exercise 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Artificial Intelligence

Code:

CS3AI18

Convenor:

DR Muhammad Shahzad

Summary:

The main goal of this module is to familiarise students with fundamental methods in Artificial Intelligence such as supervised, unsupervised, reinforcement and deep learning. The students will learn how to apply these methods to real-life problems.

The module aims to provide students with theoretical and practical knowledge of Artificial Intelligence from various techniques and applications.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Project 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Blockchain Computing

Code:

CS3BC20

Convenor:

PROF Atta Badii

Summary:

The advent of Blockchain technologies as a confluence of distributed systems for transferring value, asymmetric encryption and consensus seeking algorithms has evolved through a trend from web2.0, web3.0, and crowdsourcing promising computing for decentralisation and democratisation of transaction processing. 

The increasing number of potential application domains being considered for the take-up and scale-up of this technology makes a compelling case for the provision of this course.   This is to ensure that our Computer Science graduates’ awareness of latest technological developments and their employability prospects are enhanced through gaining a sufficiently deep understanding of this emerging technology.
  
This modules will deliver a theoretical and practical implementation level understanding of the various layers of the Blockchain technology stack including asymmetric encryption, mining (Proof-of-Work), Proof-of-Stake  consensus algorithms, Blockchain validation and integration as well as the potential Ethical, Legal and Societal issues arising from failure to incorporate the appropriate security-privacy safeguards.

Assessment Method:

Exam 70%, Set exercise 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Distributed Systems and Parallel Computing

Code:

CS3DP19

Convenor:

DR Christopher Maynard

Summary:

This module introduces concepts, principles, tools, techniques and algorithms for distributed systems and parallel computing, and examines the deployment of relevant applications in Cloud, big data analytics, and massive-parallel environment. In this context, this module covers the topic ranging from hardware and software architectures and algorithms in the development of distributed systems, MapReduce program paradigm and Hadoop ecosystems, and in-memory and stream computing tools such as Spark, Storm, and Flink; to parallel programming paradigms for relevant hardware and software applications, such as OpenMP and MPI, and massive parallelism provided by GPUs. Talks from academia and industry will be incorporated in teaching for value adding in learning.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Set exercise 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Data Science Algorithms and Tools

Code:

CS3DS19

Convenor:

DR Carmen Lam

Summary:

Automated data collection and mature database technology lead to tremendous amounts of data stored in databases, data warehouses and other information repositories. In this context, automated data analysis and data modelling tools and algorithms (Data Mining) are becoming essential components to any information system. Application areas of these techniques include scientific computing, intelligent business, direct marketing, customer relationship management, market segmentation, store shelf management, data warehouse management, fraud detection in e-commerce and in credit card transactions, etc.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Set exercise 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Data Integration and Visualisation

Code:

CS3DV20

Convenor:

DR Lily Sun

Summary:

This module focuses on key aspects of data integration and data visualisation, covering concepts, principles, techniques and tools for the effective analysis of data. Students will learn techniques for processing various types of data for information visualisation. The students will be encouraged to test their technical abilities for data integration and develop their creative skills in visualising data to support data-driven decision making.

Assessment Method:

Exam 30%, Set exercise 70%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Image Analysis

Code:

CS3IA16

Convenor:

DR Hong Wei

Summary:

 The module delivers a set of topics involved in image analysis, such as image enhancement, image compression, image segmentation, and colour image processing. Relevant techniques are introduced in lectures and practised in assigned lab-based coursework. 

Assessment Method:

Exam 30%, Set exercise 70%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Text Mining and Natural Language Processing

Code:

CS3TM20

Convenor:

PROF Xia Hong

Summary:

This module introduces both the theory and practice of Text Mining and Natural Language Processing (NLP).

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Set exercise 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Visual Intelligence

Code:

CS3VI18

Convenor:

PROF James Ferryman

Summary:

This module covers the topics of visual perception and computer vision.

Assessment Method:

Exam 70%, Set exercise 30%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Virtual Reality

Code:

CS3VR16

Convenor:

PROF Richard Mitchell

Summary:

To describe virtual reality in terms of the scientific issues, application areas and strengths and weaknesses of the technology. To provide experience of various devices and software. To provide hands-on experience of various devices and software.

This module also encourages students to develop a set of professional skills, such as creativity (of virtual world), group work, scripting and effective use of commercial software.

Assessment Method:

Exam 30%, Set exercise 70%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Summer Placement

Code:

MA3SPL

Convenor:

MRS Claire Newbold

Summary:

This module gives students an opportunity to do a work placement or an internship with a work based employer broadly related to the general sphere of their degree studies. Based on the work experience gained, the student will deliver a self-reflective report following feedback from their employer and link their new and or enhanced skills to University of Reading graduate attributes. Students will present at a student and employer networking event in October 2023 and to academic staff during week 6 of Autumn term in a more formal setting using slides and projector.

Assessment Method:

Oral 40%, Report 60%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.