THE HONOURS DEGREE IN 2012
Department of Computer Science
Rhodes University
The Computer Science Honours course builds upon the broad education provided by typical undergraduate courses, to equip students with a substantially deeper knowledge of Computer Science.
Honours students select a variety of topics in Computer Science for intensive study, and develop a significant state-of-the-art software system. Some of the work is practically orientated; some of it is more in the line of research and development.
In the B.Sc.(Honours) programme, you are required to select course options which count for 60% of the final mark, and which are examined formally in June and November. The remaining 40% comes from project work undertaken during the year, and is made up as follows:
The project is assessed from a written technical report. A compulsory three week Project Management course is presented at the start of the year, which covers various aspects involved in tackling a large project, including writing, research, and corporate communication skills. An important component of modern science and technology is the ability to write up one's work in a clear form, perhaps with the intention of publishing it. Of course, the ability to write clearly is also a vital business skill, and the Project Management course will equip you for these tasks. There is also a follow-up week for the Project Management course, presented later in the second term.
In 2012, the Computer Science department plans to offer the following courses
(please note that this selection may change as a result of specialist staff
availability). Each course contributes 10% towards the final assessment,
so students are required to select 6 options.
Students should choose at least two topics from this group:
Students may also select an option from the honours modules offered in
Please also note the possibility of continuing to the fourth-year programme of the specialist BSc(Software Development) degree. This option is open to students currently registered for this degree, or for students who have taken Computer Science and Information Systems as the major subjects in the BSc(Information Systems) degree, and who have achieved good marks in their third-year. More details of the BSc (Software Development) degree are available here.
Honours students select a project in conjunction with a supervising member of staff. Most projects are likely to fall into the area of distributed multimedia, which incorporates the fields of Networks and Data Communications, Distributed Computing, Graphics, Virtual Reality, Visualization, Audio Engineering, On-line E-commerce Applications, On-line Databases, and Anywhere-Anytime Portable Devices. A Centre of Excellence in Distributed Multimedia has been established at Rhodes University, under the sponsorship of Telkom, Comverse, StorTech, Tellabs, OpenVoice, Amatole Telecommunication Services, Mars Technologies, Bright Ideas Projects 39 and THRIP (a Government research-funding agency). Opportunities exist for projects ranging from the highly theoretical, through to market oriented applications.
Students become part of a team working in one of the project development fields, and attend meetings and contribute to seminars in their project area. Check out the projects on offer in the Department in 2011 here, which will give you an idea of the general areas of interest.
A number of posts are usually available each year as Graduate Assistants. Graduate Assistants receive a monthly income for their services as tutors, demonstrators and laboratory assistants. Prospective Honours students are encouraged to apply for these bursaries and to involve themselves in this side of the Department's work, which can be very rewarding.
Contractual bursaries from Telkom SA are available for students working under the banner of the Distributed Multimedia project. Contractual bursaries for certain other industrial sponsors are also available.
Limited numbers of affirmative action bursaries are available from the NRF, under the NRF's grant holder and capacity building programmes. Students are also encouraged to apply for NRF free-hold bursaries, which are awarded to all groups on academic merit.
Rhodes University also offers fee rebates for returning students who do well in their final examinations.
Details of postgraduate bursaries are available from Mr John Gillam in the Research Office.
The entrance requirement for honours in Computer Science is a Bachelor's Degree, or an equivalent qualification, with Computer Science as a major subject. Normally, candidates will be expected to have obtained at least a second class pass in their final year of Computer Science (in exceptional circumstances, such as for an applicant with other relevant experience, these requirements might be relaxed).
Potential applicants should also note that acceptance may be limited by the space available in the Honours Laboratory, in which case places will be allocated purely on merit using an aggregate mark for CSc301 and CSc302.
The course programme commences on Monday 6th February 2012, and
runs until the end of November 2012.
Applications should be made before 30 November 2011, but preferably as soon as possible.
Application forms are available from the University's website (click here).
For more information contact: