r/Glasgow Tools

Title
Author	zellisgoatbond
Comment	That's a hard requirement - you have to do Higher Maths, and if you don't do it in 5th year and get an A you need to do Higher Computing as well. As for the course itself - in your second year you'll do a module that focuses on the foundational mathematics you'll need in most of computing science (focusing on things like logic, discrete maths, methods of proof, probability - there's nothing on calculus for example). In your third year one of your modules is about the foundations of data science, and you'll learn some more calculus and linear algebra as part of that (but the focus there is generally quite computational/focusing on intuition, rather than doing many calculations by hand). After that, it really depends on the elective courses you choose - for example if you do a lot of courses in data science you'll be expected to be pretty comfortable with maths (especially probability), whereas if you go for more theoretical courses you'll be expected to be comfortable with discrete maths. More generally, there's a lot of abstract skills that transfer over really well too. I'd also add two more things: * In your first two years you'll be taking modules outside of computing science as well, and you can do some maths as part of this - there's a set of maths courses aimed at people who'll use maths in their degrees, but aren't necessarily mathematicians, and that can be good to spend a bit more time on the foundations. * Maths, much like anything else, is something that you can practice and get better at - it's not something that you're innately good or bad at. I've taught quite a few people in similar situations, and a lot of the time I find that having a specific reason to study maths can really help people stay motivated and stick with it, so if you're not a fan of maths at school that's not necessarily a sign that a CS degree isn't right for you.
Reddit Link	https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/177n46g/for_those_that_have_studied_cs_at_the_uni_of/k4ymyth/
Created	Sun 15th Oct 2023 11:53am
Status	normal ()

That's a hard requirement - you have to do Higher Maths, and if you don't do it in 5th year and get an A you need to do Higher Computing as well.

As for the course itself - in your second year you'll do a module that focuses on the foundational mathematics you'll need in most of computing science (focusing on things like logic, discrete maths, methods of proof, probability - there's nothing on calculus for example). In your third year one of your modules is about the foundations of data science, and you'll learn some more calculus and linear algebra as part of that (but the focus there is generally quite computational/focusing on intuition, rather than doing many calculations by hand).

After that, it really depends on the elective courses you choose - for example if you do a lot of courses in data science you'll be expected to be pretty comfortable with maths (especially probability), whereas if you go for more theoretical courses you'll be expected to be comfortable with discrete maths. More generally, there's a lot of abstract skills that transfer over really well too.

I'd also add two more things:

* In your first two years you'll be taking modules outside of computing science as well, and you can do some maths as part of this - there's a set of maths courses aimed at people who'll use maths in their degrees, but aren't necessarily mathematicians, and that can be good to spend a bit more time on the foundations.
* Maths, much like anything else, is something that you can practice and get better at - it's not something that you're innately good or bad at. I've taught quite a few people in similar situations, and a lot of the time I find that having a specific *reason* to study maths can really help people stay motivated and stick with it, so if you're not a fan of maths at school that's not necessarily a sign that a CS degree isn't right for you.