Computer Science

Study mode:On campus Study type:Full-time Languages: English
Local:$ 11.4 k / Year(s) Foreign:$ 37.5 k / Year(s) Deadline: Oct 15, 2025
1 place StudyQA ranking:7372 Duration:4 years

Photos of university / #oxford_uni

Computer Science is about understanding computer systems and networks 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, and this leads to some fundamental questions:

  • How can we capture in a precise way what we want a computer system to do?
  • Can we mathematically prove that a computer system does what we want it to?
  • How can computers help us to model and investigate complex systems like the Earth’s climate, financial systems or our own bodies?
  • What are the limits to computing? Will quantum computers extend those limits?

The theories that are now emerging to answer these kinds of questions can be immediately applied to design new computers, programs, networks and systems that are transforming science, business, culture and all other aspects of life.

Computer Science can be studied for three years (BA) or four years (Master of Computer Science). The fourth year allows the study of advanced topics and an in-depth research project. Everyone applies for the four-year course and chooses their exit point during the third year.

The course concentrates on creating links between theory and practice. It covers a wide variety of software and hardware technologies and their applications. We are looking for students with a real flair for mathematics, which you will develop into skills that can be used both for applications such as scientific computing and, more importantly, for reasoning rigorously about the specific behaviour of programs and computer systems. You will also gain practical problem-solving and program design skills; the majority of subjects within the course are linked with practical work in our well-equipped laboratory.

1st year

Courses

Core courses:

  • Continuous maths
  • Design and analysis of algorithms
  • Digital systems
  • Discrete mathematics
  • Functional programming
  • Imperative programming
  • Introduction to formal proof
  • Linear algebra
  • Probability

Assessment

Four written papers, plus practicals

2nd year

Courses

Core courses (50%):

  • Object-oriented programming
  • Concurrent programming
  • Models of computation
  • Logic and proof

Current options (50%) include:

  • Computer architecture
  • Computer graphics
  • Compilers
  • Concurrency
  • Algorithms and data structures
  • Databases
  • Computer networks
  • Intelligent systems

Assessment

Four written papers, plus practicals (including a group design practical)

3rd year

Courses

Current options (67%) include:

  • Computational complexity
  • Computational learning theory
  • Computer security
  • Computer-aided formal verification
  • Geometric modelling
  • Knowledge representation and reasoning
  • Lambda calculus and types
  • Principles of programming languages

Project work (33%)

Assessment

Approximately five written papers or take-home exams, plus practicals and project

4th year

Courses

Current options (62%) include:

  • Automata, logic and games
  • Advanced security
  • Categories, proofs and processes
  • Computational linguistics
  • Computer animation
  • Concurrent algorithms and data structures
  • Database systems implementation
  • Machine learning
  • Probabilistic model checking
  • Probability and computing
  • Quantum computer science
  • Program analysis
  • Theory of data and knowledge bases

Project work (38%)

The courses listed above are illustrative and may change. A full list of current options is available on the Computer Science website.

Assessment

Five written papers or take-home exams

  • 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.

Want to improve your English level for admission?

Prepare for the program requirements with English Online by the British Council.

  • ✔️ Flexible study schedule
  • ✔️ Experienced teachers
  • ✔️ Certificate upon completion

📘 Recommended for students with an IELTS level of 6.0 or below.

Enroll in the course

Scholarships

Hill Foundation Scholarship

Russian nationals wishing to study for a second undergraduate degree. Application deadline: 12 noon (UK time) on 15 February 2017

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. Application deadline: 12 noon (UK time) on 15 February 2017

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