Choosing a degree

There are lots of ways to study computer science (CS) at the ANU. This page aims to list the common undergraduate degrees and give unofficial advice on the benefits and drawbacks of each choice.

The main ways these degrees differ is how open ended or rigid they are and whether they have a mandatory honours year (an extra year with a research project).

Remember that your first choice isn't final: 50% of ANU undergraduate students will transfer from their first degree!

• Bachelor of Information Technology

The BIT is a 3 year, open ended computing degree without any research/honours components. It's more vocational than theoretical and is a great way to quickly launch yourself into a software development career.

• Bachelor of Advanced Computing (Honours)

The BAC is a 4 year, very rigid computing degree with an honours year. It's like a BIT but with more compulsory CS courses and more of a research/academic focus.

• Bachelor of Advanced Computing (Research & Development) (Honours)

The BAC R&D is the BAC but with lots of research project courses throughout the degree and high ATAR and GPA requirements. It's aimed at high academic achievers who want to be exposed to academic research and it's a good pathway into postgraduate study. For some students the degree may be too restrictive, in this case the Bachelor of Philosophy is a better choice.

• Bachelor of Science / Bachelor of Science (Advanced) (Honours)

The BSc is a very open-ended science degree. You can choose to focus on any area of science or CS including chemistry, physics, mathematics or computer science. You can mix and match courses how you like with relatively few restrictions. If you want to study CS alongside maths or physics, or you haven't decided which field you like the most, the BSc is a great choice.

The BSc Advanced is simply a BSc with an honours year and tougher grade requirements.

• Bachelor of Philosophy (Science) (Honours)

The PhB is a very open ended science degree like the BSc, but with tough entry requirements (very high ATAR + referees + written statement) and a heavy research focus. You can study any science courses you like (which includes all COMP courses) and don't even have to complete a major. It has lots of research projects (Advanced Studies Courses) and a tough GPA requirement (you have to maintain almost an HD average).

It is like the BAC R&D but much more open ended. You should do the PhB if you want to do the BAC R&D but are limited by its flexibility: perhaps you want to study lots of maths or physics alongside CS, perhaps you don't want to fully commit to CS but want to study it anyway, or perhaps you want to skip a few introductory courses as you have lots of prior knowledge. It's an excellent pathway into postgraduate study.

The only disadvantage when compared to the BAC R&D is the name takes a little more explaining to employers (this is more minor than it sounds). All things considered, it is generally a better choice than the BAC R&D.

It becomes difficult to transfer into the PhB after second year due to the amount of research projects you have to do in the first 3 years of the degree.

Due to the difficulty of the course, many students transfer out of the PhB into a BSc Advanced or BSc, which are both great choices.

• Bachelor of Applied Data Analytics (Honours)

The BADAN is a fairly rigid 4 year degree with a large emphasis on computer science and statistics. It's commonly used as half a double degree.