

Ask YC: Best computer science degree in Europe? - maxniederhofer

A friend wants to get a computer science degree in Europe starting next year. What we're not sure about is the best university to apply to. The European education landscape is difficult to navigate and we were wondering whether YC had any good suggestion: outstanding courses, stellar professors, great international student body?<p>Grateful for pointers of any kind.
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bk
Some German universities have Max Planck or Fraunhofer Institutes attached to
them. They do interesting and cutting-edge work, and take local students for
assistant work, etc., which is great to do something "real" during your
studies.

Denmark (Aarhus and Copenhagen) seem to have pretty good CS programs as well.

I don't know though how feasible these programs are if you only speak English.
Some degree programs are being offered in English these days, so it may be
worth an inquiry.

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apexauk
I've studied @ Oxford, have friends at Imperial and Cambridge. Not sure how to
say where's "best".. however there's big differences in approach/material
studied.

Oxford is small (~20 undergrads/year doing straight CS) and the courses are
extremely academic/theoretical in nature - both could be a +/- depending on
what you're looking for. The tutorial system at Oxbridge (where you get a few
hours personal time with a professor each week) is definately the big bonus
that defines what makes it a great education. It's definately not a way that
works for everyone though.

For me, choosing where I wanted to study was less about the course and more
about the experience I'd have while there - it's a personal thing but I find I
learn best by teaching myself, so for me priorities were whether I liked the
city, atmosphere, plus the overall perception/reputation of the university
since it's obviously nice to come out with a certificate from a "brand name"
that people will respect.

The best things about Oxford are the people you meet and wide range of other
things to get involved in alongside your course - wherever your friend's
looking, I'd definately suggest they use this as part of the comparision.

Let me know if you've got any more specific questions/want follow-ups.

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tjr
Philip Wadler teaches at the University of Edinburgh:

<http://homepages.inf.ed.ac.uk/wadler/>

I'd think it a good thing to get hooked up with him, depending on your
interests.

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giardini
I second the University of Edinburgh. Every time I've researched CS subjects
(usually in AI or near it) I end up at one of that university's sites. They
have so many outstanding people, I believe I would have difficulty picking an
area in which to concentrate.

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MaysonL
ETHZ (Swiss federal institute of technology, at Zurich) has a great CS program
- home of Niklaus Wirth.

