Computer science at UTS UNSW or USYD...your experiences/opinions? (1 Viewer)

cchhiillyy

Banned
Joined
Feb 18, 2016
Messages
1
Gender
Male
HSC
2018
Hey guys so I am confused over where would be the best location to do ocmputer science. I know most poeple say UNSW and my only issure with that is that there is about a 1.5 hour one way travel time and so would take up ALOT of my day. For UTS i am not fully sure as to which is actually computer science although i am looking at data analytics and AI. for Usyd i dont know much about their computer science program but thats most likely where ill go so yea. PLEASE ADVISE!!
 
Last edited:

BlueGas

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2014
Messages
2,448
Gender
Male
HSC
N/A
UNSW should be your last priority, USYD would be better for you.
 

sida1049

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2013
Messages
927
Gender
Male
HSC
2015
If commuting is an issue for you, then just go for the most convenient uni. Computer science at UNSW and USYD are just as good. I don't know much about UTS, though.
 

the_matrix

Active Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2014
Messages
171
Location
38th Parallel North
Gender
Male
HSC
2016
I know this question was asked more than 6 months ago but since this is such a popular question on this and other forums as well as career markets and open days and whatnot, I would like to share my insight on UTS Bachelor of Computing Science for any aspiring CS students!

From what I know and what my friends say:
- it is a 4 year degree with automatic honours (but you can elect to not do honours and graduate in 3 years instead)
- it is basically the BScIT degree mashed up with maths
- if you want to be a programming specialist (i.e. applications developer, DevOps, software engineer, etc.) like your fellow UNSW/USYD computer science graduates, choose the Enterprise Systems Development major (i.e. the programming major)
- I was previously a UNSW software engineering student (very similar to UNSW CS degree, in fact the first year subjects are the same for both SEng and CS) and I can say UTS Computing Science is your typical CS degree just like UNSW's one, the main difference is that at UTS you learn Java as your introductory language whilst at UNSW you learn C first - but this should not concern you as the programming language you use is just a tool, what matters is way you think and how you solve problems (this is what both universities teach you)
- Few friends at USYD (1 studies Bachelor of Computer Science and Technology, the other studies Software Engineering) say they learn Java first then C in second year, although they say the first year language has now changed to Python instead. Both friends went to USYD for convenience.

In the end, computer science at all 3 universities are very similar. I can't say too much about USYD but at UTS the first sem programming subjects are a bit easier as UTS likes to ease you into things (second sem is where programming starts to get hard), whereas at UNSW my first programming subject was fast pace and intense and had less guidance than UTS (quite a lot of people failed or dropped out of the course due to its difficulty and many had never experienced programming before). Whichever one you pick, just make you sure you maintain good marks and do internships as they are so much more important than what uni you go to (unless you want to work for Microsoft in which case they only hire UNSW students apparently), and you will likely secure a decent grad job!

If you end up going to UTS, check out my review of 48023 Programming Fundamentals on UTS Subject Reviews which contains a link which better explains Java concepts. Unfortunately the lecturer for this subject is quite lazy and doesn't explain Java concepts too well, but I can also say the same for UNSW's first sem C programming lecturer :spin: However, the lecturer for UTS second sem Java Course is a high quality beast who explains things ridiculously well and has pretty much perfected that course in terms of content and quality (Ryan Heise if you get to have him as your lecturer).
 
Last edited:

sida1049

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2013
Messages
927
Gender
Male
HSC
2015
the_matrix provided a pretty informative summary of studying computer science at UTS, UNSW and USYD, I think.

Regarding the programming languages at USYD, during first year you start off with Python, then Java. During second year, you move on to studying C, and a functional programming language like Haskell. For a lot of courses beyond this point, you get to pick your own preferred language for the programming assignments.

I get the feeling that some aspiring computer science students may factor the programming languages taught into their decision in picking a uni. I discourage this, since often the programming language varies from course to course, and sometimes from year to year. There is a lot of freedom by the time you get to the senior units anyway.
 

brent012

Webmaster
Webmaster
Joined
Feb 26, 2008
Messages
5,284
Gender
Male
HSC
2011
(unless you want to work for Microsoft in which case they only hire UNSW students apparently)
Doubt this is true, I know someone at Microsoft who graduated from UTS about 3 years ago.

I believe Microsoft don't do development in Australia anymore however
 

blah21

New Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2018
Messages
13
Gender
Male
HSC
2018
What about data engineering at UTS? i think thats the most similar to computer science in a way. Some majors such as Cyber security are in data engineering at UTS and not in the computing science one.
 

30june2016

Active Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2016
Messages
176
Location
オーストラリア
Gender
Female
HSC
2017
Uni Grad
2021
Doubt this is true, I know someone at Microsoft who graduated from UTS about 3 years ago.

I believe Microsoft don't do development in Australia anymore however
Yeah, I know someone who graduated a year ago from UTS and now works at Microsoft!! Also yeah, I asked one of their recruiters and they said Microsoft only hires for business/marketing/sales/tech support roles in Australia now )):
 

brent012

Webmaster
Webmaster
Joined
Feb 26, 2008
Messages
5,284
Gender
Male
HSC
2011
What about data engineering at UTS? i think thats the most similar to computer science in a way. Some majors such as Cyber security are in data engineering at UTS and not in the computing science one.
Think of Data Engineering as a cousin to Software Engineering. Most of the data engineering majors and a different software major used to be under "ICT Engineering" which was discontinued in favour of Data Engineering + Software Engineering a few years ago.

Computer Science and Software Engineering do have quite a bit of cross over however, but the most similar to computer science and UTS will of course be computing science.

Yeah, I know someone who graduated a year ago from UTS and now works at Microsoft!! Also yeah, I asked one of their recruiters and they said Microsoft only hires for business/marketing/sales/tech support roles in Australia now )):
That puts an end to that rumour then :p
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)

Top