Welcome to the Department of Computing at Imperial College London, and to the MSc Computing programme. We hope that you will enjoy your year with us and that you will find your studies interesting and stimulating. This page gives you links to all the relevant information you will need throughout the year.

Induction and welcome talk materials (2021-2022)

• MSc Intro video [Watch video]
• MSc General Introduction 2122 (Dr Fariba Sadri) ‌
• MSc Computing Welcome 2122 (Dr Josiah Wang) [Watch video]
• MSc Welfare and Support 2122 (Dr Thomas Lancaster and Caroline Gilchrist) [Watch video]‌

Use of Space 2021-2022

For the 2021-2022 academic year, the College and the Department have restrictions in place on the use of indoor spaces to reduce the transmission of Covid-19. Teaching is currently operating in mixed mode, with many sessions being delivered face-to-face. Study spaces with limited capacity are also available within the department for students to use. 

Using the Laboratories

Your timetable has scheduled laboratory sessions, for instance the Integrated Programming Labs. For these, you may go to any of the timetabled rooms at the time indicated and use any available space. The module organisers will provide full details of how scheduled lab sessions will be organised. Every other workstation is available for you to use, as indicated by the presence of a keyboard. If a workstation has no keyboard please do not sit in front of it, as we must maintain 50% occupancy in these rooms.

You can also work in a laboratory when there is no timetabled session, but you must book a space in advance. You can book a seat up to one week in advance using OfficeSpace. Please respect the needs of your fellow students when making a booking. In particular, if you book a session you must turn up for it.

Out of Hours Access

You can access any of the teaching rooms and laboratories in the Huxley building out of normal office hours (9am-6pm, Monday to Friday). Initially, at least, out-of-hours access to the laboratories will have to be pre-booked using OfficeSpace.

Departmental Rules

The Head of Department has issued a set of rules for the use of departmental spaces to reduce the risk of transmitting Covid-19. Students should follow these rules at all times.

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Degree Regulations

Information on the requirements for different degree classifications is in the MSc Computing regulations.

Course Structure and Timetables

• Timetables for each degree course are located here.
• Information on the structure of all the degree courses can be found here.
• The college term dates are available here.

Enrolling on Modules

There are seven compulsory modules (including the individual project), to which you are subscribed automatically. To take the selective modules, and thus to satisfy the degree requirements, students must subscribe using the department's module registration system. To see a description of what is taught on each module, and the form assessment takes, click on the module's name, on the page for current students.

Course Materials

Access to materials for each module is controlled by the module registration system. Students must enrol on a module before they will be able to access these resources.

• Lecture slides and notes are issued on the new Scientia platform, which has been developed within the department. 
• Recordings of lectures and other live sessions are issued on Panopto.
• Each module has a discussion forum on EdStem for students to ask and answer questions. 

Coursework

Coursework Publication and Submission

Coursework, both assessed and unassessed exercises, is issued on the CATE platform. Students must enrol on a module using the module registration system before they will be able to access the exercises. The module subscription level must be at least Level 2 in order to submit work.

Assessed Coursework Contribution

The assessed coursework component of each taught module contributes between 10% and 30% of the final mark. (The default is 20%; exceptions are listed in the Coursework contribution document.) 

Coursework Deadlines and Late Submission

Coursework deadlines are strict. Work submitted late without mitigating circumstances will be subject to mark capping, according to the Department's Late Submission Policy. Work submitted more than 24 hours after the deadline will be marked 0.

Mitigating Circumstances and Extensions

If your ability to submit by the deadline has been affected by mitigating circumstances, you should complete a Mitigating Circumstances Form and submit it to your programme coordinator, Dr Fidelis Perkonigg. If your application is accepted you can be given a deadline extension, have the mark cap removed from a late submission, or be awarded some other form of mitigation. See Extensions and Mitigating Circumstances for further information. Course lecturers are not able to approve late submissions, grant deadline extensions etc.

Plagiarism

The college and the department take the issue of plagiarism very seriously. Please do not engage in this practice. The college has policies on plagiarism and exam offences.  There is also a departmental FAQ on plagiarism.

Group Projects

Group Projects for MSc Computing are selected at the end of the autumn term, and run throughout the spring term and over the spring break. There are also associated lectures on software engineering as part of the MSc Software Engineering Practice and Group Project module. For more information, please see the MSc Computing Group Project Wiki.

Individual Projects

The MSc Computing individual projects begins in the summer term, through to the end of the year. The MSc Individual Projects Wiki has more information. Projects are usually proposed by academics in the department, however you have the option of proposing your own. Projects in collaboration with industry are also possible, but such projects can sometimes be tricky to manage - please read the Industry-based MSc Projects Wiki page for more information.

Student Welfare

Studying should be fun, but it can also be stressful and you will undoubtedly have to deal with non-academic challenges during your time at Imperial. The College offers a range of services to support the welfare and well-being of its students ranging from healthcare to financial advice and support. We also have support for you within the department, with your personal tutor as your first point of call. See Student Support for more information about support for MSc students in our department.

Results

Provisional Results: July

The department's Board of Examiners meets to approve taught module results in July, after all examinations have taken place and been marked. Following the meeting you will be able to see a provisional overall result in your personal examination results page (NOT in CATE). The result will give one of the following outcomes:

1. Distinction
2. Merit
3. Pass
4. Fail
5. Borderline
6. Decision Deferred

If your result is 1, 2 or 3 this indicates the final MSc degree for which you are being considered. If your result is one of 4, 5 or 6 you will be given further information at the time.

Overall Results: November

The Board of Examiners meets again in October to approve the marks for the individual projects. Your final degree result will be the minimum of your July provisional result and your project result. So, for example, if you have a provisional Merit result and then achieve a Pass on the project your degree will be a Pass. Project marks and overall degree results are issued by the college Registry department following approval by the college. This happens in early November.

Transcripts and Degree Certificates

All transcripts and degree certificates are issued by the college Registry department, not the Department of Computing. Transcripts are issued after the completion of the degree and final approval by the Board of Examiners and the College in early November.