Computer science touches every area of the global economy and is set to become increasingly important as China and other countries around the world enter a new era of advanced manufacturing and more significant innovation across their economies. Computer scientists are in great demand as countries aim to maximise their resources, while at the same time, minimising environmental harm.
Our courses are designed to produce high-quality graduates who show independent thought, flexibility and maturity, who command a sound technical knowledge of the broad aspects of computer science.
Our degrees
Computer science changes at an incredible speed and we regularly review what and how we teach. Our courses are taught by people carrying out world-class research, whose interests cover all aspects of computer science.
This research feeds directly into our curriculum, which provides a robust set of core topics and a wide choice of options in both fundamental and applied computing. See the undergraduate courses and postgraduate opportunities we offer on here.
Study
The university is committed to providing high-quality teaching and a well-equipped and supportive learning environment. Laboratory sessions, computer-aided learning tools, web-based teaching materials and small-group tutorials support traditional lecture courses.
Project work, both individual and in groups, is a crucial feature of all our courses. As well as deepening your technical knowledge, you will develop self- and group-management skills that will be invaluable in the workplace.
Research excellence
Our academics pursue innovative research in areas such as automated scheduling, intelligent computing, mixed reality, interactive media, image processing and foundations of programming.
In the latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), 100% of the Department’s research was deemed to be of international standard, and the Department was ranked 8th in the UK for research quality. Excellence in research feeds into the programmes available to you here.
Career prospects
Our courses are designed to produce high-quality graduates who show independent thought, flexibility and maturity, who command a sound technical knowledge of the broad aspects of computer science.
Professional recognition
Our BSc Computer Science course has been accredited by the British Computer Society (BCS), and an exemption is granted from parts one and two of the BCS examination.
Undergraduates courses
A computer science degree from the University of Nottingham will ensure you are perfectly placed to understand how to program modern computers of various kinds, including high-performance computing, personal computers, smartphones, games consoles, robotics and embedded systems. You will also be equipped to design and implement the systems of the future — whether these are traditional software systems or intelligent software/hardware systems that are widely used in various fields.
The undergraduate degrees that we offer are:
Postgraduate study
Postgraduate Taught Programmes
Research degrees
The Department of Computer Science offers PhD and MPhil research degrees. Both should be viewed as preparation for careers in research and development.
Main research areas and supervisors
Our postgraduate program covers a wide range of research topics, including, but not limited to:
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Theoretical Computing and Reasoning (Dr Anthony Graham Bellotti, Dr Heshan Du, Dr Yuan Yao, Dr Jianfeng Ren, Professor Dave Towey)
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Computational Intelligence and Optimization (Professor Ruibin Bai, Dr Jiawei Li, Dr Ning Xue, Dr Huan Jin, Dr Tianxiang Cui)
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Computer Vision (Dr Ying Weng, Prof, Linlin Shen, Dr Qian Zhang, Dr Daokun Zhang, Dr Jianfeng Ren, Professor Sean He, Dr Fiseha Berhanu Tesema, Professor Jiang Liu)
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Natural Language Processing (Professor Ruibin Bai, Dr Zheng Lu, Dr Jianfeng Ren, Professor Sean He)
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Data Mining & Machine Learning (Professor Ruibin Bai, Dr Zheng Lu, Dr Qian Zhang, Dr Wooi Ping Cheah, Dr Daokun Zhang)
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Software Engineering and Software Testing (Professor Dave Towey, Dr Matthew Pike, Dr Boon Giin Lee)
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Fuzzy Logic (Dr Qiao Lin, Dr Jiawei Li)
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Fintech (Dr Anthony Graham Bellott, Dr Tianxiang Cui)
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Smart Hospital & Health Informatics (Professor Ruibin Bai, Dr Zheng Lu, Dr Ying Weng, Professor Sean He, Dr Fazl Ullah Khan, Professor Jiang Liu, Dr Boon Giin Lee, Dr Pushpendu Kar)
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Smart Transportation & Logistics (Professor Ruibin Bai, Dr Qian Zhang, Dr Jiawei Li, Dr Ning Xue, Dr Pushpendu Kar, Dr Tianxiang Cui, Professor Sean He)
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Human-Computer Interaction and Extended Reality (Dr Boon Giin Lee, Dr Matthew Pike, Professor Dave Towey)
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Smart Home/City and Internet of Things (Dr Pushpendu Kar, Dr Fazl Ullah Khan, Dr Heshan Du, Dr Heng Yu)
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Security and Privacy (Dr Fazl Ullah Khan, Dr Pushpendu Kar, Dr Tianxiang Cui, Professor Sean He)
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Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (Dr Qiao Lin, Dr Fazl Ullah Khan, Dr Daokun Zhang)
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Smart Sensing and Embedded System (Dr Boon Giin Lee, Dr Heng Yu)
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Edge AI, Circuits and Systems (Dr Heng Yu)
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Autonomous Agents and Multi-agent Systems (Dr Yuan Yao)
The people listing links to staff personal web pages that give further details of the research they support.
Those interested in pursuing postgraduate research within our Department should contact potential supervisors by email. It is essential that your email to a potential supervisor is specific to their research area and explains why you would like to work with them. It should also include a short CV.
In addition to the formal requirements for PhD studies you need to obtain the support of a member of the Department who would be prepared to consider your PhD application.
Entry requirements
Applicants for PhD should ideally have a first-class degree but need at least an upper second-class degree (2:1) or equivalent.
Those whose first language is not English are asked to fulfil the following English language requirements:
- IELTS 6.0 (no less than 5.5 in any element)
- TOEFL iBT 79 (minimum 17 in writing and listening, 18 in reading and 20 in speaking)
- CELE pre-sessional course final assessment of “Pass.”
Applying
Once your applications have gained the support of a relevant member of the Department, the next step is to download and complete the application form.
Please include the following information:
- CV
- A detailed transcript of BSc and or MSc studies
- An electronic copy of BSc and or MSc dissertation
- Research proposal, relevant to potential supervisor’s research area, written in your own words
- English language qualification (if applicable and available)
- Two references (can follow in due course)
Scholarship applications
There is a wide range of scholarships available. More details can be found from the Graduate School Webpages. Please discuss any scholarship application with your potential supervisor first, and apply well in advance of the scholarship applications.