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Oxford University Computing Laboratory

Oxford University, Department of Computer Science
Former names
Computing Laboratory
Established 1957 (1957)
Parent institution
University of Oxford
Head of Department Michael Wooldridge
Academic staff
52
Students 871
Undergraduates 681
Postgraduates 50
140
Location Oxford, United Kingdom
Website www.cs.ox.ac.uk

The Department of Computer Science is the computer science department of the University of Oxford, England. It was founded in 1957 as the Computing Laboratory. By 2014 the staff count was 52 members of academic staff and over 80 research staff. The 2015 QS World University Subject Rankings places Oxford 3rd in the world for Computer Science (after MIT & Stanford) and 1st in Europe with Cambridge in 7th. Oxford is also the top university for computer science in the UK and Europe according to Business Insider and was ranked 2nd for Computer Science and Information Systems (after Cambridge) in the 2016 Guardian University league tables.

From its foundation the department taught undergraduates reading for mathematics and engineering degrees, but in 1985 the department's first undergraduate course was established, in 'Mathematics and Computation', followed in 1994 by the 'Computation' course. Initially these two courses had a common first year. 'Computer Science' replaced 'Computation' in the title of both courses for students starting their studies in 2000. Between 1987 and 2006 students started studies on a four-year (undergraduate) MEng in Engineering and Computing Science. In October 2012 the first students of the 'Computer Science and Philosophy' started. Today students on all three courses have the choice between a 3-year BA or a 4-year 'undergraduate masters'. Sixty students began one of the three undergraduate courses in October 2013.

There are two full-time taught postgraduate courses: the MSc in Computer Science (approx 50 students total) and the MSc in Mathematics and the Foundations of Computer Science (MFoCS) (approx 15 students total).

The department also offers the part-time Software Engineering Programme, a modular course for industry professionals, leading to either the MSc in Software Engineering (approx 240 students at present) or the M.Sc. in Software and Systems Security (approx 45 students at present).

The Department is home to around 145 academic and research staff. The Department's doctoral programme has over 140 research students (studying for a D.Phil – the Oxford term for a PhD) working across a wide range of subjects in Computer Science and Software Engineering.

After fifty years within the department, the Numerical Analysis group moved in 2009 to be part of the university's Mathematical Institute. Today the department's research is classified into eight broad themes:


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