Computer Science

We live in a fast-changing environment, one in which computer systems become ever more complex, critical and interconnected as well as being relevant to the everyday lives of many people. Computer Science at Newcastle aims to help you thrive in this dynamic environment through fundamental computer science research that is extended through application to industrial and interdisciplinary practice.

The School of Computing Science is one of the longest established in the UK and our reputation, built up over more than 50 years, means that we are able to secure research funding from sources such as the UK research councils, the European Union and industry. Our current portfolio of projects is worth over £10 million. The 2008 Research Assessment Exercise classed 80 per cent of our research as ‘internationally excellent’ and 20 per cent as ‘world leading’.

Research is currently clustered in five groups: biology, neuroscience and computing; concurrent asynchronous systems; dependability; digital interaction; and systems. All our groups are supported by, and in many cases lead, large multisite national and international projects involving the active engagement of both industry and other research disciplines.

We have four research units that further stimulate our research and encourage working across themes that do not necessarily fall neatly into a group. These units are: Centre for Software Reliability; North East Regional e-science Centre; Digital Institute; Centre for Cybercrime and Computer Security.

Our research degrees and taught programmes are based in the School but benefit from selected teaching and supervision by staff from different parts of the University. For example, the MSc in Bioinformatics and the MSc in Neuroinformatics are taught jointly with the Faculty of Medical Sciences and the MSc in E-Business (Information Systems) is jointly taught with Newcastle University Business School (see Business and Management). This ensures high-quality input for interdisciplinary work and adds to the opportunities for project work with industrial partners.

As you would expect, we have excellent computing facilities. As a postgraduate student, you will enjoy access to dedicated PC clusters running Windows and Linux and personal workspaces for research and MSc students.

Postgraduate degrees in this subject area: