Search : Index : Faculty of Science

Faculty of Science

Computer Science

1. Subject choices
    1.1. 100-level
    1.2. 200-level
    1.3. 300-level
    1.4. Bachelor of Science (Honours) and other 400-level options
2. Suggested subjects
    2.1. 100-level subjects
    2.2. 200-level subjects
    2.3. 300-level subjects

Subject Lists
Computer Science subjects

The study of Computer Science to 100- or 200-level provides students with sufficient skills to use computers effectively as a tool in other disciplines. The study of Computer Science to 300-level provides students with sufficient knowledge of computing principles and sufficient experience of computing practice to commence work as computing professionals, or, with sufficiently good results, to undertake the Honours year. The Honours year provides a further year of professional development for students planning industry-based careers and also serves as a foundation for students considering research careers.

A Bachelor of Computer Science (BCS) degree is available through the Faculty of Engineering. See the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science entry of the Handbook for details.

1. Subject choices

Students enrolled in the BSc single degree course planning to study Computer Science subjects should read The 50-point rule entry.

1.1. 100-level

Coordinator: Dr L. Kitchen

The Department of Computer Science offers three 100-level subjects. Students who intend to proceed to 200-level Computer Science must take both the subjects 433-141 Computing Fundamentals A and 433-142 Computing Fundamentals B before proceeding to 200-level studies in Computer Science.

A student who is not planning to proceed to later year studies in Computer Science, and seeks an introduction to programming, can choose to take either 433-141 or 433-171 Introduction to Programming for Engineers and Scientists. Neither subject assumes you have previous programming experience and both subjects place a strong emphasis on practical work. Project work in 433-141 involves the use of the programming language Haskell, a modern functional language which has powerful facilities for expressing programming ideas, and which is an excellent language for introducing many important concepts in programming. Project work in 433-171 is carried out in the language C, which is a widely used language in scientific and engineering applications.

The subject 433-171 covers a lot of material which is included in the subject 433-142, so it is not possible to gain credit for completing 433-142 after gaining credit for 433-171, and vice versa. Similarly, it is not possible to gain credit for the Information Systems subject 615-145 Concepts in Software Development 1 after gaining credit for 433-142, and vice versa.

A student who completes only 433-171 can take a very limited amount of 200-level Computer Science study. A student who completes 433-171 and then wishes to take further substantial studies in Computer Science can subsequently complete 433-141 Computing Fundamentals A. After own study of bridging material included in 433-142 but not in 433-171, and with the approval of the First Year Coordinator, a student who has completed 433-171 and 433-141 may progress to subjects requiring 433-142 as a prerequisite.

Students intending to proceed with 300-level studies in Computer Science are encouraged to complete the subject 431-102 Introduction to Digital Electronics and Microprocessors. The 12.5 point subject 431-102 must be taken as non-science points. Also note that students intending to proceed to BSc(Hons) in Computer Science are required to complete at least 25 points of 100-level Mathematics or Statistics.

1.2. 200-level

Coordinator: Dr Z. Somogyi

The Department of Computer Science offers the following 200-level subjects: 433-252, 433-253, 433-254, 433-255, and 433-257. The 6.25 point subject 433-257 must be taken as non-science points. Students who have completed both 433-141 and 433-142, and two semesters of standard or advanced level first year mathematics, are eligible to take all of these subjects. Students who have completed only 433-171 are eligible to take 433-252 and 433-255.

Students who have completed 433-141 and 433-142, and who are intending to take some 200-level studies in Computer Science but not to continue with 300-level studies in Computer Science, are advised to enrol in either or both of the subjects 433-252 Software Development Principles and Tools, and 433-253 Algorithms and Data Structures. 433-252 should be taken prior to, or concurrently with 433-253.

Students who have completed 433-171, and who wish to take some 200-level studies in Computer Science, are advised to enrol in either or both of the subjects 433-252 Software Engineering Principles and Tools, and 433-255 Models of Computation.

Students intending to proceed with 300-level studies in Computer Science are required to complete the subjects: 433-252 Software Development Principles and Tools, 433-253 Algorithms and Data Structures and 433-254 Software Design. These students are strongly encouraged to complete the subjects 433-255 Models of Computation and 431-102 Introduction to Digital Electronics and Microprocessors. The 12.5 point subject 431-102 must be taken as non-science points.

Students intending to proceed to BSc(Hons) in Computer Science are required to complete the subjects: 433-252 Software Engineering Principles and Tools, 433-253 Algorithms and Data Structures, 433-254 Software Design and 433-255 Models of Computation. These students are strongly encouraged to complete the subjects 433-257 Frontiers of Computer Science and 431-102 Introduction to Digital Electronics and Microprocessors. The 6.25 point subject 433-257 and the 12.5 point subject 431-102 must be taken as non-science points.

1.3. 300-level

Coordinator: Assoc. Prof. C. Liu

The Department of Computer Science offers the following 300-level subjects: 433-303, 433-313, 433-330, 433-332, 433-340, 433-341, 433-343, 433-351, 433-353, 433-361, 433-371, 433-380, 433-398 and 433-399. Note that 433-343, 433-398 and 433-399 must be taken as non-science points.

Students intending to proceed to 400-level Computer Science should note the minimum requirements for acceptance to BSc(Hons) listed below. These requirements include passes in at least 50 points of 300-level Computer Science.

1.4. Bachelor of Science (Honours) and other 400-level options

Coordinator: Dr P. Stuckey

Students who wish to consolidate their knowledge of computer science and who have achieved an honours grade average in their third year studies should consider completing the BSc(Hons) year. This involves two components, 433-401 Computer Science Research Project (37.5 points) and 433-402 Computer Science Advanced Coursework (62.5 points). Completion of the honours year serves both as a preparation for postgraduate studies and an opportunity to strengthen practical skills before seeking industry employment. To be eligible for entry to the BSc(Hons) degree in Computer science students must:

Have completed 50 points of 300-level Computer Science.
Have passed the subject 433-255 Models of Computation.
Have passed at least 25 points of 100-level Mathematics or Statistics.
Have a Faculty Honour Score of at least 65.

Note:

1. While 50 points of 300-level study in Computer science is the minimum for entry to BSc(Hons), students should note that the 400-level honours subjects offered by the Department have individual prerequisites that may not be satisfied by some combinations of 50 300-level points. Students wishing to retain a wide range of options at the 400-level are advised to select at least four of 433-303 Artificial Intelligence, 433-330 Theory of Computation, 433-332 Operating Systems, 433-341 Software Engineering Process and Practice, 433-351 Database Systems, 433-361 Programming Language Implementation, and 433-380 Graphics and Image Processing as part of their third-year program of study.

2. Students should also note that study of Mathematics or Statistics at the second year level is strongly recommended.

An alternative year of fourth year study is available to students interested in specialising in Software Engineering studies. The Postgraduate Diploma in Software Engineering is a one year full time course with a practical orientation designed to extend a student's knowledge of modern software engineering tools and methodologies. To be eligible for this course a student must have completed, at a high level of achievement, the subjects 433-255 Models of Computation, 433-340 Software Engineering Project and 433-341 Software Engineering Process and Practice. Details of this course and the full entry requirements are available through the Faculty of Engineering or the Department of Computer Science.

For information about the Faculty and departmental entry requirements for Honours, please refer to Bachelor of Science (Honours) and Bachelor of Information Systems (Honours) These requirements should be considered when planning your course.

2. Suggested subjects

A typical sequence of study for a BSc student intending to major in Computer Science comprises:

2.1. 100-level subjects

Computer Science 433-141 and 433-142
Two 100-level subjects in Mathematics and Statistics
431-102 Introduction to Digital Electronics and Microprocessors
Other 100-level subjects

2.2. 200-level subjects

Computer Science 433-252, 433-253, 433-254, 433-255
Two 200-level subjects in Mathematics and Statistics
Other 200-level subjects

2.3. 300-level subjects

Four of the Computer Science subjects 433-303, 433-313, 433-330, 433-332, 433-340 (which counts as two subjects), 433-341, 433-343, 433-351, 433-353, 433-361, 433-371 and 433-380