Our degrees
Information on our undergraduate degree programmes.
Follow the individual degree links below to see more information including fees and funding, what you will study and entry requirements.
Our single subject Bachelor's degrees |
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| Artificial Intelligence (BSc) | Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the attempt to build artificial systems that have intelligent behaviour. | 4 years |
| Cognitive Science (BSc) | A cognitive science programme allows you to combine informatics with a range of courses from psychology, linguistics, philosophy and neuroscience. | 4 years |
| Computer Science (BSc) | Computer science is concerned with understanding, designing, implementing and using computing systems, ranging in scale and complexity from the tiny components of a single processor to the globe-spanning internet. | 4 years |
| Computer Science (BEng) | This degree is exactly the same as the Computer Science BSc. The choice of the BEng is available for students who come from countries where computer science is seen to be an engineering discipline rather than a science one. | 4 years |
| Software Engineering (BEng) | Software engineering will teach you how to write good software and give you the engineering skills needed to meet requirements such as reliability, maintainability, usability and cost-effectiveness. | 4 years |
Our single subject Master's degree |
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| Informatics (MInf) | We offer an integrated programme covering a wide spectrum of Informatics subject areas and taking you to a masters level qualification over five years. | 5 years |
Our Joint Honours degrees |
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| Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science (BSc) | Study in this area is based on the mathematics and logic of algorithms, which form the foundations of programming. | 4 years |
| Computer Science and Management Science (BSc) | This joint programme allows students to develop a strong background across a wide range of topics in both Computer Science and Management Science. It provides an excellent blend of technological knowledge in computer science and business skills. | 4 years |
| Computer Science and Mathematics (BSc) | Study in this area is based on the mathematics and logic of algorithms, which form the foundation of programming. It also includes the study of cutting-edge computing techniques and issues. | 4 years |
| Computer Science and Physics (BSc) | This joint programme draws on Edinburgh's strengths in computational physics and the design and analysis of algorithms to enable students to develop a strong interdisciplinary background covering relevant topics in both Computer Science and Physics. | 4 years |
Detailed degree information
For detailed information on the courses that make up our degrees please see:
Degree Overview
This overview provides a brief summary of the courses and credits that make up each year of study.
Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study (DRPS)
DRPS contains a detailed breakdown on what compulsory and optional courses are available for each degree programme. You can view more information for each course including details such as:
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Course summary and description
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Semester delivered
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Credits
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Prerequisites
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Assessment information and learning outcomes.
Informatics Degree Regulations and Programmes of Study (DRPS)
Sortable list of Informatics courses
Frequently asked questions
Find the answers to some of the most common questions about our degrees.
Informatics is the study of the structure, the behaviour, and the interactions of natural and engineered computational systems. At its simplest, Informatics is Computer Science, but it is also a much wider discipline covering:
- Artificial Intelligence
- Computer Science
- Software Engineering
- Cognitive Science
By studying Informatics, you will look at how information is exchanged in its widest sense, both artificially; in computers, but also in nature through the human mind.
- Video: Why 'Informatics', not just 'Computer Science'?
- Why do we call ourselves the School of Informatics rather than the School of Computer Science? Hear from our Director of Learning and Teaching on why Informatics is an exciting and multi-disciplinary area to study.
Scottish degree programmes are designed to include four years of study to give you a broader and more flexible education. They allow you to try a range of subjects before specialising. Even if you know exactly what you want to do, you can study additional subjects and add depth to your education. By the time you graduate your breadth of knowledge will be highly prized by employers, giving you the best chance of success in your chosen field.
For more information about the 4-year degree structure:
There is no difference in content between a BSc and a BEng and the British Computer Society accredits them both. Employers treat both degrees the same and a BSc or a BEng in Computer Science from University of Edinburgh should carry weight anywhere in the world. The choice of BEng is designed for students who come from countries where computer science is regarded as an engineering discipline rather than a science
We offer a unique five-year Master of Informatics (MInf) course that covers diverse topics such as computer science, artificial intelligence, linguistics, cognitive science, neuroscience, psychology and biology. The course offers students the chance to study these subjects at more depth than a BSc or BEng and allows students to enter into a PhD upon completion.
The Cognitive Science Programme is jointly organised by the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences (PPLS) and the School of Informatics. It is an interdisciplinary degree which attempts to understand the human mind. It focuses on abilities such as reasoning, perception, memory, awareness, emotion, attention, judgment, motor control and language use.
There are two degrees:
- BSc Cognitive Science - School of Informatics. Emphasising mathematical and computational approaches to the study of the human mind.
- MA Cognitive Science (Humanities) - School of PPLS. Emphasising theoretical and experimental approaches to the philosophical, linguistical and psychological nature of language and the mind.
Cognitive Science students may apply for the degree in either School and choose courses from both allowing them to combine the study of core computing and human science subjects of their choice of specialisation.
All kinds, *including self-proposed*.
Here is a random selection of recent projects:
- Beautiful Timetables from Beautiful Soup
- The Importance of Being Android
- Developing Educational Games for Teaching Children with Autism
- Tracking and annotating a chess game
- Dynamic Route Planning for Rural TaxiBus Services
- Sentiment for Twitter
- Butterfly identification phone app
- Guided self-organisation of behaviour in autonomous robots
- An app for the game of sprouts
- Octopus Arm
- Toolbox for spike distances
- Detecting Errors in Human Translations
For even more past projects:
There is a fair bit of Maths, both explicitly (in years 1 and 2) and implicitly. Informatics uses more "discrete" maths (e.g. logic, sets, graphs, algebra probability etc.) than many other disciplines. Continuous maths (analysis, calculus) has important applications too.
Discrete maths is important both because its specific content is sometimes needed in CS topics (e.g. analysing algorithms, proving things about programs, modelling real problems e.g. with graphs) *and* because good ability in and familiarity with careful manipulation of symbolic information is crucial.
You can explore our list of suggested resources to get ready for your courses with a basic knowledge in Mathematics:
No, we start from scratch, but we move at a fair pace, assuming that you are both intelligent and up for it.
You can explore our list of suggested resources and to get ready for your courses with a basic knowledge in Computer Science:
Donald, an MInf Informatics student, also shares his guidance on learning to code:
If you are considering buying a computer, your first decision is whether to buy a desktop, laptop or a tablet. A tablet is the most limited; you won’t be able to do much coursework on one. Most students find laptops the most versatile, but the decision is personal. You will type quite a lot and should choose a set-up that lets you do so comfortably. In laptops the trade-off between a large screen and the weight of a machine you will carry around needs careful consideration. For most purposes, any modern processor will be fine; amount of RAM tends to be more important and if you’re going to upgrade anything you might consider this first. Coursework is unlikely to require you to have more disk space than now comes as standard.
Informatics’ standard operating system is Linux (currently based on Scientific Linux 6). Most of the software used for courses is open source and cross platform, but you might find running Linux sometimes makes it easier for you to run the same version of the same software that is used in the labs. Note that computing staff don’t offer support for students’ machines, and problems with your own computer would never excuse losing work or missing a deadline; you need to be prepared to administer, secure and backup your own computer (good skills to acquire anyway).
One of our student's wrote a blog on buying computers and what to look at for the specs of the computer:
This really depends upon the year that you are in, and the exact options that you take.
During one week of a typical first or second year you might attend 10-11 lectures, 3 tutorials, and a 1 or 3 hour laboratory session. You are also expected to work on lecture material and tutorials outside of these hours, plus any assignments that are set for the courses that you attend.
You can see a sample timetable for a first year on our student blog:
In both cases, a qualified yes. There are various points in the programme at which you can change your direction. The decision to opt out of, or into, other combined or single honours courses must take place by the start of the third year.
It is good practice to discuss with the Student Support Team, what your interests are when you meet, so that they can keep your options open.
Please note that this applies to programmes within the School of Informatics only. Changes or transfers between programmes hosted by other Schools at the University to the School of Informatics are usually not possible.