UNIVERSITY OF LONDON INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES
Course Modules
LEVEL 1
102 Mathematics for Computing
Number systems; sets and subsets; set algebra; symbolic logic and logic gates; sequences; summations; elementary counting principles; probability; relations and functions; matrix algebra; systems of linear equations; introduction to the theory of graphs and digraphs.
Assessment: One three hour unseen written paper.
109 Introduction to java and object-oriented programming
Basic Types and Expressions; Assignment Statements; Loops and Conditionals (Simple and Nested); Handling Simple I/O; Objects and Classes; Methods with and without parameters; Inheritance; Constructor Methods (and the use of �?new’); Method Overloading; Method Overriding; Arrays and simple sorting; Basic File Handling; Try and Catch (Simple Exception Handling); Implementing Simple Graphical User Interfaces; Incorporating Applets in a Web page; Simple built-in Dynamic Structures – Vectors; Types vs. Classes; Scope of Variables; Code Layout and Documentation.
Assessment: One three-hour unseen written paper and coursework.
110 Introduction to computing and the internet
Basic computing and communication skills. Fundamentals of computing – hardware, software, architecture, operating systems. Data storage, representation and transmission. Fundamentals of networking and the Internet/WWW: technology, protocols, standards and applications. Professional, legal and social issues relating to the Internet and WWW.
Assessment: One three-hour unseen written paper and coursework.
112 Creative computing 1: image, sound, motion
The Bauhaus; History of mathematics and computing in creativity; Multimedia; Point, Line, Plane; Trigonometry 1; Animation 1;
Bits and Pixels; Motion 2; Perspective, Projections and Affine Transformations; Open GL; Genetic programming; simulation;
Filters and Special Effects.
Assessment: One three-hour unseen written paper and coursework.
LEVEL 2
209 Database systems
Introduction to Database Systems, Database modelling (basic concepts, E-R modelling, Schema deviation). The relational model and algebra, SQL (definitions, manipulations, access centre, embedding). Physical design (estimation of workload and access time, logical I/Os, distribution). Modern database systems (extended relational, object-oriented). Advanced database systems (active, deductive, parallel, distributed, federated). DB functionality and services (files, structures and access methods, transactions and concurrency control, reliability, query processing).
Assessment: One three-hour unseen written paper and coursework.
220 Graphical object-oriented and internet programming in java
This course will give students an insight into the object-oriented approach to the design and implementation of software systems. The unit also considers specific features of the programming language Java, in particular, graphical interfaces and event driven applications. The second part of the course is intended to give students the necessary background to understand the technical software aspects of how computers communicate across the internet. Students will be introduced to the underlying principles of client-server computing systems and will gain the required conceptual understanding, knowledge and skills to enable them to produce simple web-based computing systems in Java.
Assessment: One three-hour unseen written paper and coursework.
226 Software engineering, algorithm design and analysis
This course provides an introduction to software engineering, algorithm design and analysis. The main topics include: Software design in UML: use cases, class modelling, objects and links, aggregations and dependencies, activity diagrams, state-charts; Principles of good software design, software development life-cycle, the role of design and modelling in software development; Software verification and validation; Project management and planning; Case studies and software horror stories. Abstract data types, design patterns, algorithmic issues, complexity theory, the application and implementation of common data structures in Java.
Assessment: One three-hour unseen written paper and coursework.
227 Creative computing 2: interactive multimedia
Signals and systems; perception; audio and image signal processing (including convolution, filters, the Fast Fourier Transform); image techniques (such as texture mapping, transparency, blending); advanced computer graphics for scene description and rendering; animation (techniques and concepts); user interface issues (such as advanced mouse control, keyboard control, text input / output); creative development; visual literacy; multimedia manipulation; action scripting.
Assessment: One three-hour unseen written paper and coursework.
LEVEL 3
LEVEL 3 HALF COURSES
310 Artificial intelligence
Knowledge representation, propositional and predicate calculus; problem solving: state-space search; breadth first and depth-first search; planning; non-monotonic reasoning; natural language; expert systems; philosophy of AI; Prolog. Additional software requirements: Prolog is needed. Can be SWI-prolog from http://hcs. science.uva.nl/software.html
Assessment: One two-hour fifteen minute unseen written paper and coursework.
311 Neural networks
The artificial neuron; network architecture; perceptrons. Single layer networks; supervised training in batch and individual mode. Multilayer feedforward networks; backpropogation; momentum. Counterpropogation networks; unsupervised training; initialisation of weights. Statistical methods; Boltzmann training. Feedback networks; Hopfields nets; energy; training. Applications. Additional software requirements: recommended that some neural nets software is obtained (e.g. MATLAB).
Assessment: One two-hour fifteen minute unseen written paper and coursework.
314 Software engineering management
This half course aims to develop understanding and skills in identifying the factors influencing software engineering costs and in applying analysis techniques to software engineering decisions. It includes the following topics. Product and process attributes, metrics and measurements. Estimation methods; effort estimation, schedule estimation, effort/staffing/ schedule tradeoffs, maintenance effort estimation. Cost models (Putnam, Jensen, COCOMO). Nonparametric methods of estimation. Software sizing, project risk engineering. Software process modelling, process maturity framework. Systems safety. Software quality issues.
Assessment: One two-hour fifteen minute unseen written paper and coursework.
317 Accounting information systems
This half course describes the accounting process and the nature of Accounting Information Systems (AIS). It addresses the following subject areas: the measurement of business reality; the role of AIS in planning and control; product costing, project costing and performance measurement. It covers computer support for all of these areas and also provides an overall conceptional framework for AIS.
Assessment: One two-hour fifteen minute unseen written paper and coursework.
318 Information systems management
An introduction to the various facets of Information Systems Management. Topics include: the importance of close integration between business and IS planning, information security and safety critical systems; data protection legislation; Computer Misuse Act and other relevant legislation. Ethical and professional issues. Strategic planning of IS; evaluation of IS investments.
Assessment: One two-hour fifteen minute unseen written paper and coursework.
319 Decision support and executive information systems
This half course aims to study the nature of business decision making in the context of the support that can now be provided by information technology. The following topics are included: the nature of decision making, the use of information by the executive decision maker, the concept of decision support, models of Decision Support Systems; review of classes of software: text oriented (WP, Outlining, Hypertext etc.), data-oriented (spreadsheets, data managers, financial management, quantitative analysis), graphics-oriented (desk-top publishing, business graphics, presentation managers), other products (e.g. Expert System Shells, Executive Information Systems (EIS), etc.); study of one product and/or case study from each of the above classes; aims and purposes of EIS, design framework and methodology, case studies of actual systems.
Assessment: One two-hour fifteen minute unseen written paper and coursework.
323 Electronic commerce
This course is designed to familiarise students with current and emerging electronic commerce, technologies using the internet. Subject areas will include �?Internet Technology for Business Advantage’, �?Web-based Tools for Electronic Commerce’, �?Electronic Payment Systems’, �?Strategies for Marketing’, �?Sales and Promotion’, �?Internet Security’, �?International, Legal, Ethical and Tax Issues’.
Assessment: One two-hour fifteen minute unseen written paper and coursework.
325 Data compression
Minimum redundancy coding; data compression and information theory; adaptive Huffman coding; arithmetic coding; statistical modelling; dictionary based compression; sliding window compression; LZ278 compression; speech compression; graphics compression; fractual image compression.
Assessment: One two-hour fifteen minute unseen written paper and coursework.
326 Computer security
Passwords; access controls; symmetric and asymmetric encryption; confidentiality; authentication; integrity; nonrepudiation; availability; hash functions. Security for electronic mail, IP, Web, databases, distributed systems. Standards.
Assessment: One 2¼ hour unseen written paper and coursework.
352 Operations research and combinatorial optimization
The course offers a modern and computationally-oriented introduction to discrete optimization. The theory of matroids is covered in detail as providing a deep and coherent approach to the principles of optimization. The more advanced topic of matroid intersection is given a novel treatment using symbolic computation which focuses on the underlying concepts while maintaining a strong link to computing science. This leads on to a consideration of algorithmic and computational complexity and to the theory of linear and integer linear programming.
Assessment: One 2¼ hour unseen written paper and coursework.
LEVEL 3 FULL COURSES
343 Computing art and image effects
Discretisation and painting style; aesthetic principles in computing; motion understanding in perception; motion rendering (e.g. in animation), sculpting and 3D layouts; visual, modelling, animation and interaction aspects of game design and implementation.
Assessment: One 2¼ hour unseen written paper and coursework.
346 Sound and music
Sound synthesis and manipulation; computer systems and models in music; multimedia and music information retrieval; computer music creativity (machine-led, human-led and machine/human interaction).
Assessment: One 2¼ hour unseen written paper and coursework.
348 Interaction design
This course examines the notion of �?interaction with technology’ with a focus on the design concepts of modern user experience design and production. It begins with a grounding in the specification, design, prototyping and evaluation of advanced interactive systems, with an introduction to HCI and a short history of the field. An overview of design approaches follows. Human/user attributes and requirements, and interaction paradigms, looks at the human in HCI and available types of interaction. Usability requirements/usability engineering are discussed in the context of a number of specific design approaches and techniques, requirements and issues. Design guidelines and standards, accessibility requirements, and issues involved in designing for specific populations (globalization and internationalism) follows. Finally, information on current interaction design questions and approaches for new and emerging technologies and paradigms provides an exposition of real-world applications and sectors where Interaction Design is relevant.
Assessment: One 2¼ hour unseen written paper and coursework.
320 Project
Each student is required to undertake an individual project. Project work can be expected to take up at least 300 hours of a student’s time. Additional software requirements: Internet access is required to widen the scope of information sources. This will also aid in obtaining some free- and share-ware.
Assessment: One 2¼ hour unseen written paper, one preliminary report and one final report.
Notes: All Level 3 units are �?half-units’ except for the 320 Project
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