Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most exciting and rapidly developing aspects of 21st century technology. It pervades our everyday lives, in image and voice recognition software, data security, intelligent web searching, drones, driverless vehicles, computer games, space exploration and cutting-edge medical advances, and its potential is vast. This is the perfect time to get involved. Our specialist three-year programme will give you all the knowledge, skills and practical experience you need to pursue a career at the cutting edge of AI and help to turn technological innovations into meaningful solutions that transform the way we live.

You will learn from leading researchers in the field, covering courses such as machine learning, intelligent agents, bioinformatics, information security and computational finance, and benefit from access to our internationally renowned Computer Learning Research Centre. All this will be underpinned by a solid grounding in the fundamentals of computing and all the essentials of application development, from programming to software engineering, databases to web development, computer graphics to robotics. From the outset you will be experimenting with programming games, robots, Gadgeteer kits, Subversion, JUnit testing, Scrum-based Agile software and more, in our well-equipped laboratories. Alongside core modules in all three years, you will have the flexibility to choose between a range of optional courses, according to your interests.

We are a highly respected, research-focused department with a friendly approach and award-winning teaching. We offer a summer work placement programme and a dedicated personal adviser to guide you through your studies. You will also be welcome to join our Computing Society, a thriving community of more than 400 computer enthusiasts from across the College. We are one of only seven departments in the UK to hold the Athena SWAN bronze award for our commitment to increasing female participation in computer science. You will graduate with a wide range of technical skills in computing and AI, as well as valuable transferrable skills such as team working, communication, time management and self-motivation, ready to apply to the world of work.

A state-of-the-art Big Data cluster comprising 32 processors, 32 Terabytes of disk storage, GPU and RDMA networking allows you to work on real case studies.

We develop both fundamental theory and practical algorithms that feed into the analytics methods and techniques that are in use today.

Our research involves cognitive and autonomous agents, automated planning, scheduling and domain-independent search control, and applications in surveillance operations, disaster response missions, and space operations.

We collaborate with Microsoft Research, IBM Research, NEC Labs Europe, Facebook, Google, and NASA, which informs our teaching.

Course Modules

Core Modules

Year 1

• Object Oriented Programming I

• Object Oriented Programming II

• Programming laboratory

• Internet Services

• Mathematical Structures

• Machine Fundamentals

• Mathematical Methods for Computer Science

• Software Design

• Academic Integrity

Year 2

• Software Engineering

• Team Project

• Operating Systems

• Databases

• Algorithms and Complexity

• Introduction to Information Security

• Symbolic Artificial Intelligence

• Multi-dimensional Data Processing

Year 3

• Full Unit Project

Optional Modules

Below is a taster of some of the exciting optional modules that students on the course could choose from during this academic year. Please be aware these do change over time, and optional modules may be withdrawn or new ones added.

Year 1

• All modules are core

Year 2

• All modules are core

Year 3

• Computational Finance

• Intelligent Agents and Multi-agent Systems

• Machine Learning

• Applications of Cryptography

• Critical Infrastructure Security

• Digital Forensics

• Malicious Software

• Smart Cards, RFIDs and Embedded Systems Security

• IT Project Management

• Software Language Engineering

• Compilers and Code Generation

• Computational Optimisation

• Functional Programming and Applications

• Deep Learning

• Security Management

• Software Verification

• Advanced Algorithms & Complexity

https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studying-here/undergraduate/computer-science/computer-science-artificial-intelligence/

We firmly believe that how we teach you is at least as important as what we teach, and we know the importance of giving you the time and space to experiment and put theory into practice. We encourage you to use your creativity, both in project teams and independently, and to have fun while you learn. We use a variety of teaching methods, including lectures, small-group tutorials, supervised computer lab classes and problem-solving sessions. You will also be expected to complete guided independent study and group work. Our programming and software engineering teaching is very hands on, allowing you to learn at your own pace, whatever your previous level of experience. You will also attend laboratory classes that give you the chance to develop real applications with imagination and creativity from the outset.

We are proud of our award-winning teaching. Professor Dave Cohen won a College Excellence Teaching Prize for the re-design of our second-year software engineering courses, and he was shortlisted for a Times Higher Education Award for Most Innovative Teacher of the Year. The British Computer Society (BCS) has distinguished our software engineering teaching as an exemplar of 'best practice' in computer science education.

Assessment is through a mixture of examinations and coursework. Most course units have a written examination taken at the end of the year in which they are taught, but around half of your final award will come from assessed coursework, which could include project reports (including your individual project in year 3), essays, oral presentations and software submissions.