Overview
Computer Science at Aldermere is rigorous and practical. You learn to reason about programs as well as write them, and you build real systems in team projects from the first year.
A joint degree with Philosophy is also available, sharing the core computing papers with logic and the philosophy of mind.
- 4Team projects over three years
- 1:12Tutor to student in practical classes
- 2Hackathons run by students each year
Course structure
The outline below shows a typical path through the course. Options change a little each year as tutors join and research moves on.
Year 1
- Functional Programming
- Discrete Mathematics
- Digital Systems
- Algorithms I
Year 2
- Operating Systems
- Databases
- Algorithms II
- Software Engineering team project
Year 3
- Machine Learning
- Security
- Compilers
- Individual project
How you will learn
You will have two tutorials a week with one or two other students, where you discuss the essay or problem set you wrote that week with a tutor. Lectures, seminars of ten to twelve students and practical classes fill the rest of the week. Each student has a personal tutor for the whole degree.
Assessment
Examinations, programming assignments and project reports. The final-year project is examined by a demonstration and a written report.
Entry requirements
- A levels: A*A*A, including Mathematics
- International Baccalaureate: 40 points, with 7 in Higher Level Mathematics
- The Mathematics Admissions Test in October
We make contextual offers, typically one grade lower, to applicants from schools that send few students to university. If your qualifications are not listed, the admissions office will tell you what we would expect.
Fees and funding
Tuition for 2027-28 is $38,400 a year, including college membership. Under the Aldermere Promise, students from families earning under $85,000 a year pay no tuition, and partial awards continue up to $150,000. Every undergraduate also receives a $2,000 grant each year for books, travel and equipment.
Careers
Graduates of this programme go on to a wide range of careers. Recent destinations include:
- Software engineering
- Data science and AI
- Security
- Research
- Finance and technology
- Founding a company
We proved our code was correct before we ran it. It felt slow in the first term and like a superpower by the third year.
Priya Raman Final year
Questions
Can I change programme after I arrive?
Yes, at the end of the first year, if there is space on the programme you want to move to and your tutors agree. Around one student in twenty does.
Is there an interview?
Yes. Shortlisted applicants have a conversation of about twenty-five minutes with two tutors in December, in person or online. It is about how you think, not what you have memorised.
