COMPUTER SCIENCE - Swansea University

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COMPUTER SCIENCE
AT SWANSEA UNIVERSITY
UNDERGRADUATE STUDY
Computer Science, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK
+44 1792 295393
www.swansea.ac.uk/compsci

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WELCOME
Computer Science is about data, algorithms,
programs and computers; it is also about
how these technical ideas are transforming
the world. Computer Science is a young
academic subject and rich in applications,
since computing systems are everywhere:
in science and engineering, medicine, design
and manufacture, commerce and public
service, defence, transportation, arts and the
media, social life and the home. Information
processing technology allows many people
to use computing systems to create, store,
transform and communicate written,
aural and visual information.
Computer Science is the discipline that leads the long
tradition of mechanisation in our world. The influence
and achievements of Computer Science are destined to
grow for decades. Our education in Computer Science
will provide you with the competence to participate in
a long revolution. The knowledge will enable you to
understand and foresee the great opportunities and
challenges that Computer Science presents to the
world, now and in the future.
Professor J V Tucker
WHY STUDY COMPUTER
SCIENCE AT SWANSEA?
Swansea offers:
• Friendly staff committed to a student experience and education
of a very high standard.
• A top research environment, containing the highest percentage
of world leading researchers in any Computer Science
Department in Wales (and the 12th highest in the UK) in
the most recent national research assessment RAE 2008.
• A large industrial programme IT Wales that arranges for
companies to support students through projects and vacation
employment.
• Excellent employment prospects in an ever growing and
changing computing and ICT industry.
• Excellent transferable skills that open doors to careers in all
sectors of the economy.
• A range of entry scholarships and bursaries.
• A department with over 40 years of commitment to the best
international standards of university education.
• A university with a high success rate for graduation, low drop
out rate, and excellent student support.
• A campus university, set in parkland, overlooking the sea, and
close to both the city of Swansea and the dramatic Gower
Peninsula.
• A city with excellent entertainment and shopping, and active
scientific, cultural and sporting scenes.

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WHY STUDY COMPUTER
SCIENCE AT SWANSEA?
Swansea offers:
• Friendly staff committed to a student experience and education
of a very high standard.
• A top research environment, containing the highest percentage
of world-leading researchers in any Computer Science
Department in Wales (and the 12th highest in the UK) in
the most recent national research assessment RAE 2008.
• A large industrial programme IT Wales that arranges for
companies to support students through projects and vacation
employment.
• Excellent employment prospects in an ever growing and
changing computing and ICT industry.
• Excellent transferable skills that open doors to careers in all
sectors of the economy.
• A range of entry scholarships and bursaries.
• A department with over 40 years of commitment to the best
international standards of university education.
• A university with a high success rate for graduation, low drop
out rate, and excellent student support.
• A campus university, set in parkland, overlooking the sea, and
close to both the city of Swansea and the dramatic Gower
Peninsula.
• A city with excellent entertainment and shopping, and active
scientific, cultural and sporting scenes.

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WHAT CAN I STUDY AT SWANSEA?
Most of our students study for a Bachelor or Master’s degree:
• BSc Computer Science – a three-year degree that teaches a wide spectrum of topics in computing and
that provides a foundation for a huge range of careers inside and outside computing.
• MEng Computing – a four-year degree that focuses on advanced software development and is intended
for those looking for a high-flying career in the software industry.
It is possible to transfer between BSc Computer Science and MEng Computing in the first two years of study.
We also offer more specialised degrees:
• Computing and Communications – a three-year degree that combines Computer Science with digital
communication networks and technology.
• Mathematics for Computer Science – a three-year degree that focuses on the mathematics that drives modern
Computer Science.
• Computer Science with a Modern Language – three-year degrees that combine Computer Science with French,
German, Italian Spanish or Welsh and include a year’s residence abroad.
• Computing with Finance – a three-year degree that concentrates on Computer Science and the finance systems.
• Joint Honours degrees with Psychology, Physics and Geo-informatics – these three degrees consist of about
50% Computer Science and 50% from one of Psychology, Pure Maths, Physics or Geography.

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WHAT OUR STUDENTS SAY…
Profile
Sophie Dare-Edwards
MEng Computing
Profile
Jean Jose Razafindrakoto
BSc Computer Science
“Swansea University was one of the very few universities in the
UK offering the MEng Computing course that I was really
interested in.
The lecturers on the course have been really great, providing
notes and extra help if you need it as well as lab classes to help
you apply what is being learnt to practical situations.
I was impressed by how many facilities are available on campus;
the library is extremely well-equipped and there is the Taliesin Arts
Centre, Lloyds TSB bank and Waterstones plus some great cafes
and food outlets. The Sports Village across the road has a
brilliant range of facilities including 50-metre swimming pool.”
“Swansea is a wonderful place; it has everything that a student
could want in a city. It is relaxed and peaceful but also vibrant and
full of life. Coming from Madagascar and having family in France I
felt that the UK and especially Swansea would be the perfect place
for my studies.
The facilities in the Department and on campus are great.
The library provides all the materials I need.
The course is everything I expected. The Department offers a great
combination of theory and practice and the lecturers are really
helpful; I have learnt so much from them.”
Profile
Dan Craggs
MEng Computing
“The lecturers in the Department are first class, and deservedly worldrenowned.
There is always somebody available whatever issue you have,
and support frameworks are in place to get problems solved very quickly.
The IT facilities are consistently kept up to date. The library is very
accessible, and provides good support for students.
Swansea is a developing city and constantly moving forward. The
University’s situation on the shoreline is fantastic. The Students’ Union is
very active and organises some great social events.
Considering the facilities, support and location, I’m not surprised
Swansea University won the 2005 Times Higher “Best Student
Experience Award.”
Profile
Sean Handley
BSc Computer Science
“The Department has a good ranking in the university league tables.
On the course, the lecturers' doors are always open to students and
the help provided is very good; I was never lacking any information
or assistance I needed.
I was impressed by the city and surrounding area in terms of things
to see and do. Swansea University and the city itself provide great
facilities for students, and the Gower Peninsular is just stunning.
I found the IT Wales industrial unit run in conjunction with the
Department of Computer Science very helpful in terms of support
when it came to deciding what to do after graduation. Their advice
ultimately led me to the company for whom I currently work. I
recommend them to anyone looking to work in IT in Wales.”

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WHAT WILL I LEARN?
Computer Science is about much more than just computers and software. Computer Science
responds to and influences the world and so the subject changes continually. Our degree
programmes give you a firm understanding of the foundations of the subject and the ability
to master new technologies – just what you need to feel at home at the cutting edge.
BSc COMPUTER SCIENCE
The BSc in Computer Science is a three-year programme
designed to teach you the central ideas and methods
of computing.
In the first year you will learn how to program and much
more. In the first term you will be introduced to the basic
concepts of programming and how to solve standard
programming problems. In the second term you will be
taught more advanced ideas – how to structure data to
solve problems more effectively and easily, how to use
software tools to help you program, and how to test and
debug your software. The main programming language
we use is Java though we also introduce a specialised
language called Haskell.
As well as programming, you will learn how computer
systems work – including the hardware, operating systems
and networks. You will also start to learn about the
theoretical ideas upon which Computer Science rests.
For this you need discrete mathematics, which we teach
in the first year. Discrete mathematics is not like A-level
mathematics, and you do not need an A-level in
mathematics to study Computer Science at Swansea.
(You can find more information about this in the section
‘What Qualifications Do I Need?’ Page 18.) Finally,
computer scientists have ethical and legal responsibilities;
for example, many have access to sensitive data. We
teach you about these responsibilities, and about
how Computer Science affects society.
In the second year, you will build on what you learned in
the first year and encounter new topics. You will study
more advanced programming concepts, as well as
software engineering – the art of successfully building
complex software systems. When you study algorithms,
you will deepen your knowledge of how to structure data
and choose good solutions to problems. You will think
about fundamental questions about computing: Can you
compute anything you want to? Are there problems that
you can solve in theory, but in practice take so long
there’s no point in trying? How do you design a
programming language? Can you use any programming
language to solve a problem? Why are some ‘better’
than others for some problems? How do you specify
what a computer system is supposed to do and check
what it actually does?
Many computer systems execute programs in parallel,
when there are many things going on at once; for
example, you may have heard of multithreaded, multicore,
and distributed systems. An important theme in the
second year is the study of such concurrent systems.
This affects programming, networking, operating systems
and computer hardware. Further new topics you will
study include databases, computer graphics, and
artificial intelligence.
In the final year of the BSc in Computer Science you
choose the areas that interest you. You will undertake a
large project – usually this is about building a software
application, but it could be about many things from
fundamental theory to history and social impact. There are
many suggested projects to choose from – including some
in collaboration with industry, and you can suggest your
own project. The rest of the third year is made up of
courses you choose from a wide range of options –
popular options include web programming, security,
graphics and system programming.
The BSc in Computer Science is accredited by the
British Computer Society.

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MEng COMPUTING
As well as a BSc degree, we also offer an MEng degree in Computing. In general, MEng degrees are four years
rather than three, and are about the professional skills to practice a particular subject – in the case of the MEng
Computing, that means the ability to specify, design, build and manage large software systems on time and on
budget. Unlike BSc degrees, an MEng degree can be accredited for full Chartered Engineer (CEng) status. Ours
is fully accredited for CEng by the British Computer Society. Because of this and the advantages it gives students
desiring a career in software, the MEng Computing programme is becoming more popular – a significant number
of our students now either apply for it initially, or transfer to it part way through their BSc degree.
The first three years of the MEng Computing are the same as the BSc in Computer Science, which makes it easy
to swap from one to the other. The fourth year concentrates on the professional skills needed to complete software
projects on time to a high standard. Half of the fourth year is made up of projects – a large individual industrial
project and another large group project. Unlike the projects in the third year of the BSc that can be about almost
anything to do with computing, MEng projects must be about constructing software. As well as projects, MEng
students study courses on business and commercial practice, and, of course, they also choose some advanced
computing courses.
JOINT DEGREES
Computer Science combines naturally with other subjects. In designing such joint degree programmes we:
• Emphasise essential skills – for example, programming.
• Emphasise topics in Computer Science that connect with the other subject – for example, for Computer Science
and Psychology that means courses on human-computer interaction (because psychologists are interested in
how people interact with computers) and artificial intelligence (because psychologists are interested in
thinking and intelligence).
• Let students choose those parts of Computer Science they find most interesting.
cAPTION:
Hardware, current and historical
Top and Centre: The front panel of the University's first computer, an IBM 1620 bought in 1962. This, together with the other historical items shown, is currently in
our museum collection. Bottom left to right: A calibration ruler for a punched card machine. The ruler was used to make sure the holes were punched in exactly the
right places. An IBM flowchart stencil, widely-used by Computer Scientists in the 1960s and 70s to design programs on paper. A rare IBM hexadecimal
adder/subtractor, used to calculate in base 16. Middle right: Inside a hard-drive: the circular disk, or platter, that is visible is the topmost one of a stack. You can
also see the read-write head and the mechanism for controlling it (in the background). This disk was faulty when it was dismantled – please don't take a working
one apart! Middle left: Just one small part of one of the department's many racks containing high-speed (Gigabit) network switches. As well as a high-speed
wired network, the department is part of a campus-wide wireless network.
Part of the Robert Recorde Memorial in the Computer Science Department
Robert Recorde (1510 – 1558) was a Welsh
mathematician who wrote the first book in English on
calculation with the Arabic number system (in 1542) and
also designed and first used the equals sign in algebra
(in 1557) which are key to modern computing.

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INTERNATIONAL
The international community is always present in Computer Science at Swansea. Computer Science at
Swansea has many international students from China, India and Pakistan, the Middle East and Europe.
We have international staff and visitors from China, North America, virtually every country in Europe, Iran,
India and Pakistan, as well as staff who have worked in many of these countries and others (for example New
Zealand). This means we have a lot of experience of the challenges that students face when coming from another
country. It also means we have a strong international culture in the department – and many of our international
students stay to study for postgraduate degrees, and in some cases as staff.
EDUCATIONAL AIMS
Because Computer Science is about more than just computers and software, and because
the subject changes rapidly, we have formulated a set of nine educational aims that
summarise our teaching programmes and help you understand what you will gain:
1. Practical experience and theoretical understanding of design methods for the specification, programming
and analysis of a wide range of computing systems.
2. A fundamental understanding of the scope and limits of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence,
and of their applications.
3. Knowledge of the history and present state of Computer Science, and an insight into future technologies
and their role in applications and society.
4. The ability to plan and accomplish a substantial project.
5. Relevant mathematical knowledge and experience in its applications.
6. Experience in co-operative working through team projects, with their demands on the management
of partners and time.
7. Skills in written and oral communication.
8. Skills in locating information, and the ability to read critically, to précis and to judge information.
9. The ability and confidence to learn, unaided, complex new subjects.

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HOW WILL I STUDY?
We schedule many different kinds of teaching and you are also expected to work on your own –
to complete assignments and to learn about the subjects you are studying in more detail. There is
plenty of time for private study. The teaching of each subject is organised into a module. Many
modules in Computer Science are based on one-hour lectures. Normally there will be two lectures
per week for each module; in most terms you will study six modules so you can expect to attend
about 12 lectures a week. Lectures are supported by other forms of teaching:
• Practical laboratory classes let you put into practice what you have learned. In the first year, you will be in about
two laboratory classes a week (usually lasting one or two hours each).
• Seminars are also used for skills that cannot be taught well in lectures – for example, writing reports and making
presentations. Seminars are also used in the first year to show how the mathematics that we teach is applied in practice.
• Tutorials are regular small group meetings in which you and your tutor will discuss current work. Tutorials provide
extra support, for example, by explaining concepts in different ways to deepen your understanding.
How will I be assessed?
The majority of modules are assessed by a combination
of examinations and coursework – though a few are
based only on coursework or only on an exam;
commonly, a module will be assessed 30% by coursework
and 70% by examination. Your final degree classification
for three-year BSc degrees is based on a combination
of marks from the final two years of study, and for the
four-year MEng degree on the final three years of study.
What about equipment?
The Department is well-equipped for undergraduate
teaching, and is continually upgrading its laboratories to
ensure equipment is up-to-date – equipment is never more
than three years old, and rarely more than two. Currently,
students use three fully networked laboratories: one,
running Windows; another running Linux; and a project
laboratory, containing specialised equipment. These
laboratories support a wide range of software, including
the programming languages Java, C# and the .net
framework, C, C++, Haskell and Prolog among many;
integrated programme development environments such as
Visual Studio and Netbeans; the widely-used Microsoft
Office package; web access tools; and many special
purpose software tools including graphical rendering and
image manipulation tools; expert system production tools;
concurrent system modelling tools; World Wide Web
authoring tools; and databases.
As well as the computers in the Department, the university
provides computing equipment for all students – there are
hundreds of open access PCs across the campus – as
well as file storage space on the University’s servers and
wireless network access across the whole campus and
all University accommodation.
We also recognise that most students will want to use their
own computers – and will want access to the same software
they are using on the University’s computers. So we only
choose software that is either freely available to everybody,
or that is freely available through special agreements we
have with software companies. One agreement is with
Microsoft, allowing us to make most Microsoft applications
and operating systems available for free.
What about industrial experience?
Work experience in industry is an advantage to any
graduate when choosing a career. Our student placement
scheme gives undergraduates the opportunity to undertake
interesting, well-paid vacation work in organisations in
Wales – usually small and medium-sized companies,
though large companies (e.g., Hewlett-Packard, Qinetic
and Logica-CMG) and public services (e.g., South Wales
Police) are involved. Students in the scheme often find that
they are in a position of considerable responsibility within
the company; occasionally, they have more computing
experience than anyone else. Students can build
long-term links with a company, which can lead to
an industry-related final-year project and, sometimes,
to an appointment after graduation.
IT Wales
Our student placement scheme is run by IT Wales, an
industrial and community programme founded by the
Computer Science Department at Swansea in 1993.
Our full-time industrial liaison team links the academic
expertise and resources in Computer Science to the skills
and technical requirements of commerce and industry.
This relationship helps ensure that our students have the
skills they need.
IT Wales is supported by European Union, the Welsh
Assembly Government and hundreds of companies.
The student placement scheme is so successful, it is
now offered throughout Wales; the Computer Science
Department at Swansea is the administrative centre.
Because of our long experience, our students have
a leading role in the scheme and its development.
What careers can I seek?
Most of our graduates start in the software industry,
which is huge and diverse with many different career
options. Computing graduates often specialise in some
type of software, some examples are: web services,
financial software, games, control systems, security,
databases. Within a software company, graduates can
be employed in management, programming, requirements
analysis (what the software is supposed to do for the
client), design and testing. In a large company, graduates
often specialise early on. In a small company, graduates
have to be more flexible and work in a number of areas,
which many prefer as it makes their careers more varied.
Related to the software industry, Computer Science
graduates are also often employed to set up, maintain and
manage computer systems and software, rather than write
applications. Finally, some computer science graduates
feel they need a more advanced education and study for
an MSc or PhD in some specialised field.

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GREGYNOG
WHAT IS LIFE LIKE IN SWANSEA?
For over 25 years the staff and students of the Computer Science Department have
attended our three-day annual conference at Gregynog, a large house that is now
a cultural centre set in an 80-hectare estate in Mid Wales. All final year students
give talks on their project work, and attend lectures from guests, staff and research
students. Here they meet new ideas still hot from the world’s labs and conferences.
Swansea University was founded in 1920,
as part of the federal University of Wales;
it was the first campus university in the UK.
Currently, Swansea has over 15,000
students, with roughly equal numbers of
male and female students, and about 2500
staff. It has active student societies for almost
every interest, especially sports for which
there are well-equipped facilities.
The University is in Singleton Park on Swansea Bay near the city,
surely one of the best locations in the UK. Across the water you
see the coast of North Devon. The old fishing village of Mumbles
is to the west. Mumbles marks the start of the Gower Peninsula –
an area of outstanding natural beauty, with long beaches,
dramatic coastal scenery and a rich history.
Swansea is the second city of Wales with a population of about
230,000. Since the 17th century, Swansea was an industrial
city – and it is now rebuilding itself as a high-technology centre.
Swansea University is influential in the economy of the area and
student life is an important part of the culture of the city. There are
many entertainment venues (clubs, pubs, cafes, restaurants etc.),
which often hold student events. As well as the University’s own
accommodation on and off campus, there is a large amount
of high quality, well regulated and reasonably priced
accommodation for students near the campus; this is popular
with students in their second year. People from many countries
call Swansea home.

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WHAT ABOUT RESEARCH?
The Department has an extensive research programme that supports our undergraduate education and
interests many students. Our students have the chance to feel the cutting edge of computing in courses
and, especially, final year projects.
Strong research also ensures that advanced courses are always
up to date. In the most recent UK Research Assessment 2008,
70% of our Computer Science research was judged to be world
leading or internationally excellent. Only 12 Computer Science
departments in the UK had proportions of world leading research
higher than Swansea’s 25%.
After a first degree, suitably qualified candidates can study for
masters and doctoral degrees (MSc, MRes or PhD) within one of
the Department’s research groups.
The Department has three main research fields: Visual Computing,
Human Computer Interaction, and Theoretical Computer Science.
Visual Computing
Computer scientists have been creating visual images from
the beginning. The Visual and Interactive Computing group
work on several areas of computer graphics and machine
vision, for example:
• Volume Graphics. Normal computer graphic models just
contain the outside, visible parts of objects – they don’t contain
any information about the internal structure. Since you can’t
see the inside of objects it might seem pointless to include such
information but volume graphics models do – because you can
then make external layers transparent, or ‘cut’ through models
to show internal details. One example where this is useful is
medicine –surgeons can make parts of a computer model of
a human body transparent to show the muscles, or bones,
or internal organs, which can help in planning surgery.
• Data Visualisation. Often it is difficult to make sense of data,
even for an expert – and this can be made easier by showing it
graphically, or visualising it. A recent award-winning example
from a Swansea student showed movement data from sensors
attached to animals – penguins actually! By displaying the data
in different ways, more could be learned about the penguin’s
behaviour than was otherwise possible.
Human Computer Interaction
Computer scientists have been thinking about how to make
computers easy for humans to use and interact with for years –
however we now use many devices that are really computers
even though they look like something else: cameras, phones,
mp3 players and more specialised items, like medical equipment.
There are important questions about these new computing devices
that the shape the invention of Future Interaction Technologies:
• Making them usable. Many of these devices have big
restrictions – small screens, limited input systems (e.g., phone
keypads) – how do we make them useful and not frustrating?
There are also opportunities to exploit new input methods
– like motion sensors.
• Inventing new uses. All these new computing devices provide us
with opportunities – for example, many are now location aware
because they contain GPS receivers. How can we use the fact
that they ‘know’ where they are to provide information about
our surroundings?
• Making them safe. Many computing systems – medical systems,
aircraft control systems, systems embedded in cars – are used in
situations where it could be dangerous to misinterpret what they
are telling us, or if we enter the wrong data. How can we make
them safe to use?
Theoretical Computer Science
Theoretical computer science seeks the truly fundamental ideas
through which can understand, model and predict – this has
important practical uses. Some examples that the Algebraic and
Logical Design Methods group work on are:
• Programming. How do we make programming languages
that enable us to better model, reason and predict system
behaviour? How can we be sure that a program does
exactly what we think it does? Such questions are critical
for software controlling critical systems, such as in cars, aircraft
and railway signalling systems.
• Solving problems. How can we speed up solutions to
complex problems?
• Data. How does the kind of data we are working with affect
what we can compute? How can we exploit representations
in a useful ways?
• Distributed systems. It is difficult enough to know the key
properties of programs on a single computer. It is even more
difficult when programs are distributed over many computers
–for example, as with web-based systems.
• New forms of computers. How do physical technologies
represent data and make computations? What are the
physical limits to computation? Do limits on computers imply
limits on our knowledge of the world?

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WHAT QUALIFICATIONS DO I NEED?
Our entry requirements vary each year and you should check the University Prospectus or
web site for the year in which to intend to study. A typical offer is around 300-320 UCAS
tariff points (slightly more for the MEng degree) normally expressed as a combination of
grades rather than directly in terms of points. We do not require any particular subjects but
prior experience of programming (e.g. A level Computer Studies) or mathematics (e.g. AS or
A level Mathematics or Physics) are helpful, especially in the first year.
Do I need A level Mathematics?
A level Mathematics, or its equivalent, is not a requirement for our degree programmes, with
the exception of joint courses with mathematics, physics and electronics. We do normally
require a B for GCSE Mathematics (or equivalent). All modern computer science degrees
involve discrete mathematics and mathematical logic, upon which all forms of computation,
programming, and systems design depend. These subjects are usually not included in school
and college mathematics curricula. We have substantial experience (and success!) in
teaching these essential tools to students who do not have recent mathematical experience.
HOW TO APPLY?
Students from the UK and the European Union (EU) must apply via UCAS,
www.ucas.ac.uk –which is the standard application system for UK universities. Applicants
from outside the EU can apply directly at www.swan.ac.uk/international/apply
Latest Information
Up to date information on studying at Swansea, including details of scholarships and
bursaries, can be found at
www.swan.ac.uk/study/
and information about studying Computer Science at
www.swan.ac.uk/compsci/admissions/

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CONTACT
The Undergraduate Admissions Tutor for Computer Science is Dr Neal Harman.
You can contact him directly by telephone +44 1792 295394 or email: n.a.harman@swansea.ac.uk,
or via Mrs Jill Edwards +44 1792 295393, j.edwards@swansea.ac.uk
The Department’s website is at: www.swansea.ac.uk/compsci.
The University runs Open Days throughout the year, see: www.swansea.ac.uk/undergraduate/opendays
The Computer Science Department runs events on these days, but if you want to
visit on a different date, please contact us and we’ll be happy to make arrangements.