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Maths (TR031)

techknow

Hey guys

I'm in 6th year at the moment and for the last while have been looking at a few courses in TCD which I consider all good options for me to study at 3rd level. I've had a particular interest in science in the last few years, most notably in the computing side of it.

I was at the Maths and Physics open day over the weekend and though I hadn't considered Maths as a true option after listening to the talks I could see myself studying it.

One of the things mentioned was that in the 3rd and 4th years students are allowed to choose modules which they can study, and that some of these are from the computer science course. I was wondering how the Maths students follow these courses? Is it more learning the theory and mathematics behind certain Computer Science ideas with no actual programming, or is it focussed on the implementation as well as the theory of such ideas?

The reason I'm asking is that while I think I'd like to study maths, I'd be loath to pass the opportunity not to study more computer science outside of my spare time. Taking this into account I'm wondering if Maths would be a better option than say, computer engineering or computer science?

Any suggestions / tidbits would be really appreciated.

Cheers

TechKnow

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Fringe

List of modules here. http://www.maths.tcd.ie/undergraduate/modules/

You do a computation module in first year but there's nothing in second year. Third and fourth year are pretty much the same. All the CS options are further down the list. Not sure if this affects the CS modules but the sophister modules rotate every year.

aas

Fringe wrote: »

the sophister modules rotate every year.

What do you mean by this?

antiselfdual

He means that a lot of the Maths Sophister courses are taught only every second year (in particular the pure maths one, less so the theoretical physics ones, and I know nothing about the stats and computing ones).

CJC86

antiselfdual wrote: »

He means that a lot of the Maths Sophister courses are taught only every second year (in particular the pure maths one, less so the theoretical physics ones, and I know nothing about the stats and computing ones).

I'm guessing the confusion was about the word "Sophister", since barely anyone outside Trinity uses this word.

So, to be clear, there are 4 years in Trinity (for most degrees): Junior Freshman, Senior Freshman, Junior Sophister and Senior Sophister. So, when Fringe said that the Sophister courses are rotated, he meant that you sit the same sort of courses in 3rd and 4th year, but that many of them are only offered every second year.

I don't think the computer courses are rotated as much, since you would be studying them with 3rd/4th year Computer Science students, and you would need to sit some of them in 3rd year if you want to sit others in 4th year.

I think that last paragraph also answers the main question which people didn't really answer for you yet. The Maths students can sit some of the courses on offer to CS students in the same year as them, so they can be pretty technical computers courses. I can't really tell you what they are like, since I did pure maths courses myself, but I believe that the Maths students tend to do quite well in them.

I should also mention that a friend of mine did Maths, mixing some computers courses with pure maths courses, and he now works in a middleware company that most CS students would kill to work for.

gaeilgeboy

techknow wrote: »

I was wondering how the Maths students follow these courses? Is it more learning the theory and mathematics behind certain Computer Science ideas with no actual programming, or is it focussed on the implementation as well as the theory of such ideas?

I'm currently in 4th year Maths. In our 1st year, we could choose an Introduction to Computation; the first half of which comprised of C programming, the second half being more mathematical, i.e. algorithms, linear algebra, etc. In 2nd year we had the choice of doing Data Structures and Algorithms (an Engineering Course), which was through C++. That said, that 2nd year course isn't available to 2nd year Maths Students any more, and I'm not sure if there are any plans to reinstate it.

In 3rd and 4th year, you've the option of taking many Computer Science courses which can be a bit more theoretical. While Maths students can take them, they're CS Courses so aren't as Mathematical as you'd think. It depends really on the course. For example, Computer Graphics and Computer Vision are heavy on the programming, but Fuzzy Logic and Symbolic Programming are more theoretical - theoretical in the CS sense, not the Maths sense.

That said, having a background in - or even some familiarity with - Maths helps with the CS courses. Or so I'm told, I haven't programmed properly in a shockingly long time! That said, there is Mathematical Neuroscience taught by Dr. Conor Houghton, the 2nd half of which is a programming course related to the 1st half. It's only available every 2 years, though.

ED E

I have a feeling mloc is on boards. If he is I'll send him this way. He's doing maths but has a heavy interest in the computing side.

I'm JF CS(TR033) myself. I have a feeling there might be some maths students in our programming module, its a mixed class coming from several courses(CS, CSLL, MSIS, B&C and Engineering). If you were to do it next year you'd most likely be doing Java with Cahill like we are.

Anything you would pick in later years would follow from our Maths or Digital Logic Design. I'd assume that your maths(as according to our course) would be way ahead of ours so you'd have to see if DLD based stuff would interest you. As others have said though, its logic for CS, not in general.

If you want to learn on the side remember that DUCSS(CS Soc) and Netsoc arent only for CS students so you wouldnt be completely on your own.

techknow

Thanks for all the replies guys. They've been very interesting to read through. I had guessed that the Maths and Computer Sciences courses would not overlap as much as it is suggested they do. Certainly this would make me reconsider Maths as an option. I'll definitely be attending the open day at the start of December so I can try and scout out a few more details on the day from students on the different courses.

Many thanks again, I really appreciate it.

Techknow