School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences

We offer undergraduate and postgraduate degrees which are supported by excellent facilities. In the most recent National Student Survey we are in the top 10% of UK Computer Science Departments. Our staff lead internationally within all main areas of computing, including artificial intelligence, logical foundations, virtual reality and embedded systems.

We win extensive national and international support for our research, with projects advancing the frontiers in telecommunications, safety critical systems, virtual characters, games design, image processing, data mining and automated mathematics. Our thriving learning environment is evidenced by the success of students in many national competitions.

Most of our courses are accredited by the British Computer Society (BCS) and close contacts are maintained with major employers. Our research links alone have involved substantial collaborations with 65 companies since 2001, and we are currently engaging in agreements whereby major companies will guarantee interviews to our students based on their progress.

We are an active member of the Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance, a major Scottish Funding Council supported research pool.

Latest News

Teaching Award. Heriot-Watt's popular Computer Science lecturer Dr Judy Robertson has just been selected to receive the IEEE Computer Society's 2009 Computer Science and Engineering Undergraduate Teaching Award for "outstanding contributions to undergraduate education through teaching and innovative use of pioneering technologies in teaching". The presentation will be made in Denver in June.

Schools Programming Challenge 2009

Schools Programming Challenge 2009/10 Introduction and Implementation Details - Submissions Now CLOSED

Courses

BSc (Hons) Computer Science
BSc (Hons) Information Systems
MEng Software Engineering
MSc and Diploma Courses

Contacts

Head of Computer Science: Nick Taylor
Undergraduate Course Admissions (BSc and MEng):Fiona Dick
Postgraduate Course Admissions (MSc): Hamish Taylor
Postgraduate Research Admissions (MPhil and PhD): Ruth Aylett

History

Here's a look at some of the key events in the department's history.