Is UCD Computer Science a bad course?

6thYear

I was planning to do computer science in UCD because I liked it the most on the open day but people in my class told me not to put it down on my CAO because they were told it's supposed to be a bad course and they mark it harder. I looked online and I think its 85% to get a first class and 70% to get a second class.

Does this mean that the same percent would be a first class in DCU or Trinity and a second class in UCD? Are their modules too easy or why is this a thing?

I hope someone can help and if it's true maybe give me advice on whether DCU or Trinity is better for getting a job in programming?

Andru93

6thYear wrote: »

I was planning to do computer science in UCD because I liked it the most on the open day but people in my class told me not to put it down on my CAO because they were told it's supposed to be a bad course and they mark it harder. I looked online and I think its 85% to get a first class and 70% to get a second class.

Does this mean that the same percent would be a first class in DCU or Trinity and a second class in UCD? Are their modules too easy or why is this a thing?

I hope someone can help and if it's true maybe give me advice on whether DCU or Trinity is better for getting a job in programming?

Didn't do CS personally but a First in UCD is 3.68 GPA which is around an average of 72%. While 2.1 is a Gpa of 3.08 to 3.68 which is an average between 58% & 72%.

All that changes between the unviersities is how the communicate the results, UCD do it by letter grades, while other unversities do it by GPA or Degree Level.
The only modules that have a different criteria sometimes are maths moduels as they are either right or wrong very little grey area.


More info here https://www.ucd.ie/registry/assessment/staff_info/modular%20grades%20explained%20staff.pdf

6thYear

I saw that grading scheme but I'm specifically talking about the grading for UCD Computer Science which seems to be extremely different...

I guess it would be between a B+ and an A- to get a first which is somewhere around 85% for Computer science? I found their grading scheme on their website (Here: cs.ucd.ie/Grading/).

I'm wondering if it's marked harder because the content on the course is easier than every other university?

Andru93

6thYear wrote: »

I saw that grading scheme but I'm specifically talking about th
e grading for UCD Computer Science which seems to be extremely different...

I guess it would be between a B+ and an A- to get a first which is somewhere around 85% for Computer science? I found their grading scheme on their website (Here: cs.ucd.ie/Grading/).

I'm wondering if it's marked harder because the content on the course is easier than every other university?

Thats the Maths Grading Scheme I was talking out, i doubt it appiles to all modules though.

Talking to a CS Friend in the school looks like they've changed the grading a little in the last year, how much this new scheme applies too remains to be seen.

pumpkin4life

wrong thread lol

kronnn

They grade things like maths and CS modules differently, not harder. In most courses they use ~76% for an A+, because usually you are grading something that can never be said is totally right or wrong, (writing essays on topics for example). In maths and some CS modules you will be asked questions where there are 100% right answers and 100% wrong answers, so they adjust the grading accordingly. I'm fairly sure they only use the 95% for an A+ grading scheme in modules/assignments that fit into that reasoning.
I don't do CS in UCD, but I have taken some maths/CS modules and I can say that they didn't feel any harder than other modules at that level.

GarIT

Many employers in the largest companies have hiring policies such as hire graduates with 70%+ from UCD and 80%+ from everywhere else.

UCD's CS course is believed to be the best in the country. Trinity is one of the most prestigious Universities in the country which does stand for something but it's Computer Science department is believed to be the worst of the university's. DCU is known to be good for people who want to be a software engineer but terrible if you want to go into hardware.

JonB

I did Computer Science in UCD.

It's grand. It's a bit heavy on theory for my liking. But at the same time, a Computer Science course should be based more on theory. From speaking with a few people over at DIT their course sounds much better from a practical point of view.

So what I can tell which may not be accurate, is that in general most of the universities that teach Computer Science would be more based on the theory. The IT's seem to be more around Software Development and getting you a job.

The problem is no one can really compare colleges and respective courses. Since we only do the degree in a single institution.

I never had a problem with grading in UCD. I'm not sure if it's the same now. But when I did the degree only the final year counts towards your degree (other years you just had to pass). Which in my opinion made it much easier as the project I found to be easy enough marks.

At the end of the day, I don't really think it matters too much what college you go to as the majority will be fine. After you get your first job it makes no difference. I see the degree as just a way to get in the door for your first job interview. After that, it's not about how well you did on your degree but your experience and possibly what projects you worked on in your free time (if any).

I think it's up to yourself to make the most of the course. I see too many people blame the course as a problem purely because it's an easier target than admitting to themselves that they're lazy.

mnbv

At present yes for the same percent you would get a first in any other institution in Ireland and a second in UCD in CS. Modules being too easy are apparently one of the reasons it was brought in, however the modules this is mentioned in are few and far between compared to the amount of modules it's been applied to. Ideally it is meant to be only in place in easily-quantifiable modules with a heavy emphasis on right/wrong work however this is not the case.

From my experience there is not much difference between the cs courses when it comes to hiring, realistically going into the workforce there'll still be a big amount of learning to do no matter where you come from.

If CS is of interest to you maybe revisit the idea of UCD again later in the year at a change of mind point to see if the grading scheme is still in place. If it is it's fair enough to consider other places but if it has been removed UCD is a great place to go for CS.

ironclaw

I did Eng in UCD but spent a lot of my time in CS as we had some cross over into our modules for Electronic Engineering. I won't lie, some of the more advance CS modules are hard but I felt they were always marked fairly and you had good opportunity to earn marks in continuous assessment or small projects.

I think you are putting far too much emphasis on your final grade out of college. Honestly, if you are on a first ir 2.1, its pretty much equal in the eyes of an employer at graduate level. The only place a first will make a large difference straight out of college is if you want to progress to a PhD. After your first job, they won't give a sausage whats on the cert you picked up in O'Reilly Hall. Employers know that nearly everyone coming out of a particular course has a strength and weakness, and they tailor their employee mix based on this. Every graduate I meet can do the basics e.g. SQL, Java, C etc. But the folks that do the best are those that have experiences outside of their core area e.g. An internship where they build something, a company they formed in their basement that went bust but they learned a huge deal, or are great with others as they lead some societies etc. Concentrate on making yourself unique outside your core area and you'll land a job in a snap.

Your degree gets you an interview, it doesn't get you a job.

Finally, choose the Uni you like. Don't go to Trinity because your Dad went there and don't go to UCC because its 'the best craic' Go to a Uni that you like, you can easily get to or live by and has a vibe that settles with you. Don't be that person that chose a course because it was 'the best' but you hated every last second of it.

6thYear

mnbv wrote: »

At present yes for the same percent you would get a first in any other institution in Ireland and a second in UCD in CS. Modules being too easy are apparently one of the reasons it was brought in, however the modules this is mentioned in are few and far between compared to the amount of modules it's been applied to. Ideally it is meant to be only in place in easily-quantifiable modules with a heavy emphasis on right/wrong work however this is not the case.

From my experience there is not much difference between the cs courses when it comes to hiring, realistically going into the workforce there'll still be a big amount of learning to do no matter where you come from.

If CS is of interest to you maybe revisit the idea of UCD again later in the year at a change of mind point to see if the grading scheme is still in place. If it is it's fair enough to consider other places but if it has been removed UCD is a great place to go for CS.

Thanks mnbv! Great to hear from a current student and that has really helped me

6thYear

ironclaw wrote: »

I did Eng in UCD but spent a lot of my time in CS as we had some cross over into our modules for Electronic Engineering. I won't lie, some of the more advance CS modules are hard but I felt they were always marked fairly and you had good opportunity to earn marks in continuous assessment or small projects.

I think you are putting far too much emphasis on your final grade out of college. Honestly, if you are on a first ir 2.1, its pretty much equal in the eyes of an employer at graduate level. The only place a first will make a large difference straight out of college is if you want to progress to a PhD. After your first job, they won't give a sausage whats on the cert you picked up in O'Reilly Hall. Employers know that nearly everyone coming out of a particular course has a strength and weakness, and they tailor their employee mix based on this. Every graduate I meet can do the basics e.g. SQL, Java, C etc. But the folks that do the best are those that have experiences outside of their core area e.g. An internship where they build something, a company they formed in their basement that went bust but they learned a huge deal, or are great with others as they lead some societies etc. Concentrate on making yourself unique outside your core area and you'll land a job in a snap.

Your degree gets you an interview, it doesn't get you a job.

Finally, choose the Uni you like. Don't go to Trinity because your Dad went there and don't go to UCC because its 'the best craic' Go to a Uni that you like, you can easily get to or live by and has a vibe that settles with you. Don't be that person that chose a course because it was 'the best' but you hated every last second of it.

Thanks for the advice Ironclaw!

It is off putting that theres a higher marking scheme since it's even worse than the leaving cert and honestly I'm not interested in taking a course that is extra work for no reason.

You said a first and a 2:1 are the same but I think a 69% would be a 2:2 in UCD and a first would be 70% in DCU/Trinity. That seems like a lot of extra work for no reason if it comes down to things like internships and societies like you said

ironclaw

6thYear wrote: »

You said a first and a 2:1 are the same but I think a 69% would be a 2:2 in UCD and a first would be 70% in DCU/Trinity. That seems like a lot of extra work for no reason if it comes down to things like internships and societies like you said

You are looking at this too simply in my opinion and negating a ton of more important factors.

You're assuming both courses are equally hard or easy in every single respect. Which is wrong. You might get more marks with UCD in continuous assessment, which is generally easier to score higher in, versus perhaps a much heavier weighting in exams in DCU, which doesn't suit some people. So your 70% in DCU may be a lower grade to your first, but its harder to achieve overall on a consistent basis.

Likewise, you might loathe every single second of DCU because of the people, vibe and commute, versus having great fun in UCD and your grades being lifted as a result.

Don't get hung up on the marks you need to get a scroll of paper that you'll receive in 4 years, it really doesn't matter, its how you get that counts.

eeguy

6thYear wrote: »

You said a first and a 2:1 are the same but I think a 69% would be a 2:2 in UCD and a first would be 70% in DCU/Trinity. That seems like a lot of extra work for no reason if it comes down to things like internships and societies like you said

If you read the doc linked above you'll see that a 1st class honours is above 3.68 which is about a 70% average.
A 2.1 is above a 60% average.
A 2.2 is above a 50% average.

It's the same for all colleges and these are the only marks that matter at the end of the day.

There's no real "good" courses or "bad" courses, they generally just have different focus. Universities are generally more theory based, because they're focussed on research and academia, while IT's are more practical, because they want you to get a job and the lecturers have generally more industry experience.

Generally

6thYear

That's not the marking scheme for computer science. link: cs.ucd.ie/Grading

6thYear

ironclaw wrote: »

You are looking at this too simply in my opinion and negating a ton of more important factors.

You're assuming both courses are equally hard or easy in every single respect. Which is wrong. You might get more marks with UCD in continuous assessment, which is generally easier to score higher in, versus perhaps a much heavier weighting in exams in DCU, which doesn't suit some people. So your 70% in DCU may be a lower grade to your first, but its harder to achieve overall on a consistent basis.

Likewise, you might loathe every single second of DCU because of the people, vibe and commute, versus having great fun in UCD and your grades being lifted as a result.

Don't get hung up on the marks you need to get a scroll of paper that you'll receive in 4 years, it really doesn't matter, its how you get that counts.

That's fair to take into consideration! But I dunno, based off mnbv's comment above I'm really put off, it really doesn't sound like an attractive course, I don't see the point in a course that's too easy so they make grading harder

ED E

The UCD and TCD degree programmes follow a very similar track. Theory heavy(especially for Y1).

The rest of the 3rd levels are a significantly different. Arguably none of the others are really "Computer Science" and more "Computer Applications"/"Computing". DCU doesnt pretend to be though.


Choosing your course based on a perceived/actual marking scheme is a poor approach IMO. Assessment schedule for Y3/Y4 can and do change in your first two years. Sure TCD went to an optional 5yr MSc recently in order to keep Engineering status (or so I'm told that was the cause).

Pick the course that:
A) Covers what you are interested in
Is convenient to get to (its surprising how much better attendance is for people that dont have a 90min commute)
C) Has a decent industry image if possible

If you're the type to be asking these questions now, well in advance, I'm sure you'll be in the higher end of the curve no matter where you study.

TLDR: You've an LC mindset right now, learn the paper not the subject, and thats influencing your decision. College is not the LC. Do what YOU want.