BSc Computer Science

rockerdude15

I was considering doing BIS but then just studied more up about computer science and just need a bit more information about it.
BIS seems very well organised and very well thought and there is a good student teacher relationship.
I was wondering is there the same relationship between the student and teacher in BIS?
Also, in BIS you are divided into smaller groups which makes learning a lot easier especially with harder topics like programming, how are the classes divided up in CS?
Also I read on the computer science website for UCC that the hours around 40 per week (which is a lot), would you get the opportunity to get a part time job and would the hours go up or down after first year (CS and software entrepreneurship in particular)?
Lastly, what proficiency maths would you need to do this course? (I got 71% in the pre (Ordinary maths) but I amen't counting it for points and I'm going to be studying more to improve)

maughantourig

In CS, your programming labs would have about forty people in full attendance, (which never happens after the first month of college).

The work load for CS is light in first year. The 40 hours is recommended, but nobody in their right mind does it. It gets tougher from second year onwards, but so does almost every course.

The software entrepreneurship stream seems to be an exception from what i hear. Easy workload.

In third year, you are required to go on work placement for 6/12 months.

You don't need to be brilliant at maths, but it helps if you like it. You should probably stay away from any kind of programming if you hate maths.

rockerdude15

maughantourig wrote: »

In CS, your programming labs would have about forty people in full attendance, (which never happens after the first month of college).

The work load for CS is light in first year. The 40 hours is recommended, but nobody in their right mind does it. It gets tougher from second year onwards, but so does almost every course.

The software entrepreneurship stream seems to be an exception from what i hear. Easy workload.

In third year, you are required to go on work placement for 6/12 months.

You don't need to be brilliant at maths, but it helps if you like it. You should probably stay away from any kind of programming if you hate maths.

What would the difference be between be cs and software development in Cit?
I heard programming is a lot more about logic then maths and in the programming I did there was just logic but I know there is boolean algebra involved in other areas of cs.

maughantourig

As it happens a close friend of mine is studying software development

There is quite a lot of overlap between the two courses. The CIT students do receive far more support than us however. They get more help with their assignments and have far more contact hours than we do.

The downside is that with programming you really need to spend hours doing it yourself. I suspect that the standard of programming in software development isn't as high.

To give an example, we studied php in first year and we started studying java in 2nd year. In CIT, they started java in first year, but by Christmas in 2nd year, we had already 'overtaken' the CIT students in course content despite their 12 month head start.

Both courses study topics such as networking, databases, logic, computer architecture and more. Neither course leaves any topics out as far as I can see, but the one in UCC seems to be more intensive.

Having said that, the workload in UCC is manageable. Most of your assignments are in code and are submitted online

rockerdude15

maughantourig wrote: »

As it happens a close friend of mine is studying software development

There is quite a lot of overlap between the two courses. The CIT students do receive far more support than us however. They get more help with their assignments and have far more contact hours than we do.

The downside is that with programming you really need to spend hours doing it yourself. I suspect that the standard of programming in software development isn't as high.

To give an example, we studied php in first year and we started studying java in 2nd year. In CIT, they started java in first year, but by Christmas in 2nd year, we had already 'overtaken' the CIT students in course content despite their 12 month head start.

Both courses study topics such as networking, databases, logic, computer architecture and more. Neither course leaves any topics out as far as I can see, but the one in UCC seems to be more intensive.

Having said that, the workload in UCC is manageable. Most of your assignments are in code and are submitted online

Thanks.
Yeah I was a little worried about the drop out rate is ucc, is there reasons why that is?
How helpful are the lectureres on the course in ucc would you know?

maughantourig

The drop out rate used to be around 50% or something a few years ago until they changed up the first year of the course. You'll be doing python instead of php by the way. The drop out rate for my year was very small. My year actually got bigger in second year due to the amount of people repeating :pac:

Some of the staff are fantastic, some are ok, and a few are absolutely ****e. It's the same as any Uni in Ireland. Most are happy to answer any questions you ask in lectures or by email

rockerdude15

maughantourig wrote: »

The drop out rate used to be around 50% or something a few years ago until they changed up the first year of the course. You'll be doing python instead of php by the way. The drop out rate for my year was very small. My year actually got bigger in second year due to the amount of people repeating :pac:

Some of the staff are fantastic, some are ok, and a few are absolutely ****e. It's the same as any Uni in Ireland. Most are happy to answer any questions you ask in lectures or by email

Thanks, also do you need an apple mac laptop as objective c is the programming language is thought and could you learn to programme on android platform? ( like software development in Cit)

rockerdude15

Bump

deRanged

You don't need a mac laptop, or even any laptop. The labs are good, and the building has good opening hours so you have a lot of access to the labs.

You can learn android programming too, officially or unofficially.

rockerdude15

deRanged wrote: »

You don't need a mac laptop, or even any laptop. The labs are good, and the building has good opening hours so you have a lot of access to the labs.

You can learn android programming too, officially or unofficially.

Would the course be that much different from Bis if you want to become an app developer/software engineer or web developer?

deRanged

The main difference to BIS is the business aspect in BIS. If you want to stay focused on the tech side, then I'd say stick to comp sci.

Look up the courses in the book of modules, and you'll see what you would cover in each course. Then you can decide if you think you want to learn those things.

They're both good courses, as is the one in CIT. You have to try to find the best one for you.

Have you been to the open days? If not, get yourself along to one. Don't be listening to the spin though, it's not all about going to America for your placement. There's more to your future career than that. Try to learn as much from actual students as you can.