Computer Science and Philosophy

Artificial intelligence (AI), logic, robotics, virtual reality: fascinating areas where Computer Science and Philosophy meet. There are many others, since the two disciplines share a broad focus on the representation of information and rational inference, embracing common interests in algorithms, cognition, intelligence, language, models, proof and verification.

Computer scientists need to be able to reflect critically and philosophically about these, as they push forward into novel domains. Philosophers need to understand a world increasingly shaped by technology, in which a whole new range of enquiry has opened up, from the philosophy of AI, to the ethics of privacy and intellectual property. Some of the greatest thinkers of the past – including Aristotle, Hobbes and Turing – dreamed of automating reasoning and what this might achieve; the computer has now made it a reality, providing a wonderful tool for extending our speculation and understanding.

The study of Philosophy develops analytical, critical and logical rigour, and the ability to think through the consequences of novel ideas and speculations. It stretches the mind by considering a wide range of thought on subjects as fundamental as the limits of knowledge, the nature of reality and our place in it, and the basis of morality. Computer Science is about understanding computer systems at a deep level. Computers and the programs they run are among the most complex products ever created. Designing and using them effectively presents immense challenges. Facing these challenges is the aim of Computer Science as a practical discipline.

Both subjects are intellectually exciting and creative. The degree combines analytical and technical knowledge with rhetorical and literary skills, and the chance to study within two internationally acclaimed academic departments. Computer Science and Philosophy can be studied for three years (BA) or four years (Master of Computer Science and Philosophy). Everyone applies for the four-year course. Exit points are not decided until the third year.

The first year covers core material in both subjects, including a bridging course studying Turing’s pioneering work on computability and artificial intelligence. Later years include a wide range of options, with an emphasis on courses near the interface between the two subjects. The fourth year allows the study of advanced topics and an in-depth research project.

CSP Careers

Graduates will have highly marketable skills. Computer Science teaches you how to program, to design processes that are effective and efficient, to reason logically and formally. Philosophy teaches how to analyse complex concepts and the interconnections between them and – crucially – how to express this analysis, elegantly and precisely, in written form. This ability to analyse complex issues, both technically and discursively, provides the intellectual equipment needed for technical leadership and high-level positions in today’s complex world.

For the first two years, your work is divided between lectures (about ten a week), tutorials in your college (two or three a week) and Computer Science practical classes (about one session a week). In the second year you will take part in an industry-sponsored Computer Science group design practical. In your third and fourth years the Philosophy courses continue similarly, but most Computer Science courses are run as classes in the department rather than tutorials.

Lists of options in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th years are illustrative only, and may change from time to time.

• Attestat o Srednam Obrazovanii (Certificate of Secondary Education) would not be sufficient for candidates to make a competitive application. If your qualification is listed as being insufficient to make a competitive application to Oxford, then you will need to undertake further study if you wish to apply.You could take British A-levels (the British Council may know where you can take A-levels in your country), the International Baccalaureate (IB), or any other qualifications listed as acceptable on this page. The first year of a bachelor's degree from another university could also be an acceptable alternative.
• IELTS: overall score of 7.0 (with at least 7.0 in each of the four components)
• TOEFL (paper-based): overall score of 600 with a Test of Written English score of 5.5
• TOEFL (internet-based): overall score of 110 with component scores of at least: Listening 22, Reading 24, Speaking 25, and Writing 24.
• Cambridge English: Advanced, also known as the Certificate of Advanced English (CAE): grade A if taken before January 2015, or a score of at least 185.
• Cambridge English: Proficiency, also known as the Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE): grade B if taken before January 2015, or a score of at least 185.
• English Language GCSE, or O-level: grade B (for IGCSE, please see below)
• International Baccalaureate Standard Level (SL): score of 5 in English (as Language A or B)
• European Baccalaureate: score of 70% in English.

Hill Foundation Scholarship

Russian nationals wishing to study for a second undergraduate degree. 

Palgrave Brown Scholarship

Students must be ordinarily resident in and/or educated in the following countries:

Albania; Armenia; Azerbaijan; Belarus; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Croatia; Czech Republic; Estonia; Georgia; Hungary; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyz Rep.; Latvia; Lithuania; Macedonia;  Moldova; Montenegro; Poland; Romania; Russia; Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Tajikistan; Turkmenistan; Ukraine; Uzbekistan.