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SPECIAL REGULATIONS FOR THE HONOUR SCHOOL OF MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTER SCIENCE

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A

In the following, ‘the Course Handbook’ refers to the Mathematics and Computer Science Undergraduate Course Handbook and supplements to this published by the Teaching Committee and also posted on the website at: http://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/currentstudents/

  1. 1. The subject of the Honour School of Mathematics and Computer Science shall be Mathematics and the theory and practice of Computer Science.
  2. 2. No candidate shall be admitted to examination in this School unless he or she has either passed or been exempted from the First Public Examination.
  3. 3. The Examination in Mathematics and Computer Science shall be under the supervision of the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Board. The Board shall have the power from time to time to frame and vary regulations for the different parts and subjects of the examination.
  4. 4.
    1. (a) The examination in Mathematics and Computer Science shall consist of three parts (A, B, C) for the four-year course, and of two parts (A, B) for the three-year course.
    2. (b) Parts A, B, and C shall be taken at times not less than three, six, and nine terms, respectively, after passing or being exempted from the First Public Examination.
  5. 5. The Examiners shall classify and publish the combined results of the examinations in Part A and Part B, and in respect of candidates taking the four-year course shall separately classify and publish results in Part C.
  6. 6.
    1. (a) Part A shall be taken on one occasion only. No candidate shall enter for Part B until he or she has completed Part A of the examination.
    2. (b) In order to proceed to Part C, a candidate must achieve upper second class Honours or higher in Parts A and B together.
    3. (c) A candidate on the three-year course who obtains only a Pass or fails to satisfy the Examiners in Part B may retake Part B on at most one subsequent occasion; a candidate on the four-year course who obtains only a Pass or fails to satisfy the Examiners in Part C may retake Part C on at most one subsequent occasion. A candidate on the four-year course shall take Part B on one occasion only.
  7. 7. A candidate adjudged worthy of Honours on both Parts A and B together, and on Part C may supplicate for the degree of Master of Mathematics and Computer Science provided that the candidate has fulfilled all the conditions for admission to a degree of the University.
  8. 8. A candidate in the final year of the four-year course, adjudged worthy of Honours in both Parts A and B together, but who does not enter Part C, or who fails to obtain Honours in Part C, is permitted to supplicate for the Honours degree of Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and Computer Science with the classification obtained in Parts A and B together; provided that no such candidate may later enter or re-enter the Part C year or supplicate for the degree of Master of Mathematics and Computer Science; and provided in each case that the candidate has fulfilled all the conditions for admission to a degree of the University.
  9. 9. All candidates will be assessed as to their practical ability under the following provisions:
    1. (a) The Head of the Department of Computer Science, or a deputy, shall make available to the examiners evidence showing the extent to which each candidate has pursued an adequate course of practical work. Only that work completed and marked by noon on Monday of the fifth week of the Trinity Term in which the candidate takes the examination shall be included in these records.
    2. (b) Candidates for each part of the examination shall submit to the Chairman of the Examiners, Honour School of Mathematics and Computer Science, c/o the Academic Administrator, Oxford University Department of Computer Science, Oxford, by noon on Monday of the fifth week of the Trinity Term in which the examination is being held, their reports of practical exercises completed during their course of study. For a report on a practical exercise to be considered by the examiners, it must have been marked by a demonstrator and must be accompanied by a statement that it is the candidate's own work except where otherwise indicated.
    3. (c) The examiners shall take the evidence (a) and the report (b) into account in assessing a candidate's performance.
    4. (d) Candidates whose overall performance on practical work is not satisfactory may be deemed to have failed the examination or may have their overall classification reduced.

B

The syllabus for each of Parts A, B, and C will be published by the Computing Laboratory in a handbook for candidates by the beginning of Michaelmas Full Term in the academic year of the examination concerned. The duration of each optional paper will be specified in the Course Handbook.

The use of calculators is generally not permitted but certain kinds may be allowed for certain papers. Specifications of which papers and which types of calculators are permitted for those exceptional papers will be announced by the examiners in the Hilary Term preceding the examination.

  2. 1. In Part A of the examination, candidates shall be required to offer four papers as follows:
    1. AC1(MC) Algebra, analysis and differential equations;
    2. AC2(MC) Algebra, analysis and differential equations;
    3. AO1(MC) Mathematics options;
    4. AO2(MC) Mathematics options.
    In papers AC1(MC) and AC2(MC), candidates will be permitted to answer questions on two of the three subjects of the paper. Papers AC1(MC) and AC2(MC) will each be of two hours’ duration; papers AO1(MC) and AO2(MC) will each be of one and a half hours’ duration. Candidates shall also be required to offer four subjects from Schedule A (MC) in the Course Handbook. The manner of examining the subjects in Schedule A (MC) shall be the same as that prescribed for the same subject in the Honour School of Computer Science.
  3. 2. In Part B of the examination, each candidate shall be required to offer eight optional subjects from Schedules B1-B5 in the Course Handbook, subject to the conditions that:
    1. (a) no candidate shall offer any subject from Schedule B1 that he or she has already offered in Part A of the examination.
    2. (b) each candidate shall offer no more than two subjects from Schedule B1.
    3. (c) each candidate shall offer no more than two subjects from Schedules B4 and B5.
    4. (d) each candidate shall offer at least two subjects from Schedules B1 and B2.
    5. (e) each candidate shall offer at least two subjects from Schedule B3.
    Each optional subject in Schedules B1, B2 and B4 shall be examined by a written paper or by a mini-project. The manner of examining each subject in Schedules B3 and B5 shall be the same as that prescribed for the same subject in the Honour School of Mathematics. Each ‘whole unit’ in schedules B3 and B5 shall be regarded as equivalent to two subjects in the examination, and each ‘half unit’ shall be regarded as equivalent to one subject.
  4. 3. In Part C of the examination, each candidate shall be required to offer four optional subjects from Schedules C1 and C2 in the Course Handbook, subject to the condition that no candidate shall offer any subject that he or she has already offered in Part B of the examination. Each optional subject in Schedule C1 shall be examined by a written paper or by a mini-project. The manner of examining each subject in Schedule C2 shall be the same as that prescribed for the same subject in the Honour School of Mathematics. Each ‘whole unit’ in schedule C2 shall be regarded as equivalent to two subjects in the examination, and each ‘half unit’ shall be regarded as equivalent to one subject. In addition, each candidate in Part C of the examination shall submit a report on a Computer Science project or a Mathematics dissertation.
  5. 4. The schedules of optional subjects for Parts A, B, and C of the examination shall be approved by the Faculty of Mathematics and the Faculty of Computer Science, and shall be published in the Course Handbook.
  6. 5. The examiners shall have power to combine two papers on related optional subjects into a single paper for those candidates who offer both the optional subjects concerned.
  7. 6. In Part C of the examination, each candidate shall carry out a Computer Science project or a Mathematics dissertation on a topic approved by the Teaching Committee. Each project or dissertation will be supervised by a member of the Faculty of Computer Science, the Faculty of Mathematics or the Faculty of Engineering Science, or by some other person of equivalent seniority approved by the Teaching Committee. Two copies of a report of the project or dissertation shall be submitted to the Chairman of the Examiners, Honour School of Mathematics and Computer Science, c/o Examination Schools, High Street, Oxford, by the date given in the Course Handbook. Rules concerning the form of the report will be published in the Course Handbook. In retaking Part C of the examination, projects or dissertations previously submitted for the examination may be resubmitted. No project or dissertation may be resubmitted if it has already been submitted, wholly or substantially, for another honour school or degree of the University, or of any other institution.