Welcome to the website for the Department of Computer Science at the University of Bristol.
This page will provide links to the unit pages for all units in the department who have chosen to create a website, as well as the unit catalogue page that contains the official information on topics like credit points and assessments.
Some units have chosen to host their information on the university's Blackboard content management system. These are marked with (*) and, depending on the set-up, might only work if you are already logged in to Blackboard and only if you are registered on the unit. You can log in to blackboard at ole.bris.ac.uk.
All these units are worth 20CP (credit points) each. The unit code numbering is not meant to make any sense, apart from the first digit being the year of study.
| Code | Title | Teaching Block | Unit page | Catalogue Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COMS10014 | Mathematics for Computer Science A | TB1 | unit page | catalogue |
| COMS10015 | Computer Architecture | TB1 | unit page | catalogue |
| COMS10016 | Imperative and Functional Programming | TB1 | blackboard page (*) | catalogue |
| COMS10012 | Software Tools | TB2 | unit page | catalogue |
| COMS10013 | Mathematics for Computer Science B | TB2 | catalogue | |
| COMS10017 | Object-Oriented Programming and Algorithms I | TB2 | catalogue |
TB4 means that a unit runs across the entire academic year.
| Code | Title | Teaching Block | Credits | Unit page | Catalogue Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COMS20006 | Software Engineering Project | TB4 | 20 | blackboard page (*) | catalogue |
| COMS20007 | Programming Languages and Computation | TB1 | 20 | unit page | catalogue |
| COMS20008 | Computer Systems A | TB1 | 20 | unit page | catalogue |
| COMS20009 | Interaction and Society | TB2 | 20 | catalogue | |
| COMS20010 | Algorithms II | TB1 | 10 | Blackboard page (*) | catalogue |
| COMS20011 | Data-Driven Computer Science | TB2 | 10 | catalogue | |
| COMS20012 | Computer Systems B | TB2 | 20 | unit page | catalogue |
Single honours computer science students pick four units, of which two are assessed in term (coursework) and two are assessed in January. As a result, each unit has three codes, one for the teaching unit (where the unit material will be) and one each for the in-term and January assessments. Some units only exist in one of the two assessment forms, these have only two codes.
The in-term assessments are 20 credit points each, and the January ones 10 credit points each.
Students who are not single honours CS should check with their programme director for details, but typically they can only take the 10 credit versions of units, with a January assessment.
| Title | Teaching | In-term | January | Unit page | Catalogue Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Algorithms | COMS30042 | - | COMS30041 | unit page | catalogue |
| Artificial Intelligence | COMS30014 | COMS30012 | COMS30013 | blackboard page (*) | catalogue |
| Computational Neuroscience | COMS30017 | COMS30015 | COMS30016 | unit page | catalogue |
| Computer Graphics | COMS30020 | COMS30019 | COMS30018 | blackboard page (*) | catalogue |
| Cryptology | COMS30023 | COMS30022 | COMS30021 | blackboard page (*) | catalogue |
| Design Verification | COMS30026 | COMS30025 | COMS30024 | unit page | catalogue |
| Image Processing and Computer Vision | COMS30030 | COMS30031 | COMS30032 | blackboard page (*) | catalogue |
| Machine Learning | COMS30035 | COMS30034 | COMS30033 | unit page | catalogue |
| Security Behaviours | COMS30038 | COMS30037 | COMS30036 | blackboard page (*) | catalogue |
| Types and Lambda Calculus | COMS30040 | - | COMS30039 | unit page | catalogue |
MEng and MSci CS students take four of the following units in year 4. The rules are the same as for year 3: two units assessed by 20CP coursework in-term, two units assessed in January at 10CP each. Some units only offer a January assessment option.
| Title | Teaching | In-term | January | Unit page | Catalogue Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Cryptology | COMSM0042 | COMSM0041 | COMSM0040 | blackboard page (*) | catalogue |
| Advanced Topics in Programming Languages | COMSM0067 | - | COMSM0066 | blackboard page (*) | catalogue |
| Advanced Topics in Theoretical Computer Science | COMSM0068 | - | COMSM0069 | unit page | catalogue |
| Applied Deep Learning | COMSM0045 | COMSM0044 | COMSM0043 | unit page | catalogue |
| Cloud Computing and Big Data | COMSM0072 | COMSM0070 | COMSM0071 | blackboard page (*) | catalogue |
| Information Processing and the Brain | COMSM0075 | COMSM0074 | COMSM0073 | unit page | catalogue |
| Internet Economics and Financial Technology | COMSM0046 | COMSM0048 | COMSM0047 | blackboard page (*) | catalogue |
| Systems and Software Security | COMSM0049 | COMSM0051 | COMSM0050 | unit page | catalogue |
In this teaching block, students take one 40CP project:
| Year | Code | Title | Unit page | Catalogue page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 3, BSc | COMS30045 | Individual Project | catalogue | |
| Year 3, MEng | COMS30043 | Team Project | catalogue | |
| Year 4, MEng | COMSM0052 | Individual Project | catalogue |
There is one exception - students on the MEng can switch to the MSci at the end of second year to take three 20CP mini-project units instead of one mini-project and the team project in year 3. However you are advised to talk to a tutor before making this decision as it has implications, for example you may not be able to leave with a BSc after three years as you do not have a 40CP project "for honours".
These units are all 20CP and assessed by coursework, also known as mini-project units. Each student takes one of these in year 3 and MEng students take another unit in year 4. The exception are MSci students who take three units in Year 3 and one more in Year 4.
Students must enrol on the teaching unit and on the correct assessment unit for their year, as the Year 3 assessment is not the same as the Year 4 one. You also cannot take the Year 4 assessment of a unit that you've already done in Year 3.
| Unit title | Teaching | Year 3 | Year 4 | Unit page | Catalogue page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Computer Architecture | COMS30046 | COMS30047 | COMSM0053 | catalogue | |
| Applied Cryptology | COMS30048 | COMS30049 | COMSM0054 | unit page | catalogue |
| Applied Data Science | COMS30050 | COMS30051 | COMSM0055 | catalogue | |
| CGI | COMS30058 | COMS30059 | COMSM0076 | catalogue | |
| High Performance Computing | COMS30053 | COMS30052 | COMSM0057 | catalogue | |
| Interaction Design | COMS30060 | COMS30061 | COMSM0083 | catalogue |
Exception: Year 4 MEng students may also take EMATM0053 "Robotics Systems (Undergraduate)", offered by Engineering Mathematics.
On the conversion course, you will take the following units:
| Code | Title | Page | Catalogue Page |
|---|---|---|---|
| COMSM0084 | Introduction to Computer Science | catalogue | |
| COMSM1201 | Programming in C | catalogue | |
| COMSM1302 | Overview of Computer Architecture | catalogue | |
| COMSM0085 | Overview of Software Tools | catalogue | |
| COMSM0086 | Object-Oriented Programming with Java | catalogue | |
| COMSM1401 | Software Engineering and Group Project | catalogue | |
| COMSM3201 | Project | catalogue |