• Offered by School of Computing
  • ANU College ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science
  • Course subject Computer Science
  • Areas of interest Medical Science, Psychology, Statistics, Bioinformatics, Photonics More...
  • Academic career UGRD
  • Course convener
    • Dr Amanda Parker
    • Dr Brian Parker
    • Dr Minh Bui
  • Mode of delivery In Person
  • Co-taught Course
  • Offered in First Semester 2022
    Second Semester 2022
    See Future Offerings

In Sem 2 2022, this course is delivered on campus with adjustments for remote participation due to unavoidable COVID constraints.

This course teaches introductory programming within a problem solving framework applicable to the sciences. The course emphasises technical programming, the simulation of scientific systems and the processing of scientific data. There is an emphasis on designing and writing correct code. Testing and debugging are seen as integral to the programming enterprise. Both top-down and object oriented design are taught. There will be an introduction to widely-used computer science algorithms and to machine architecture. The course will be taught using one or more programming languages which are widely applicable to scientific work.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

Students who succeed in all aspects of this course will be able to:

  • Design, write and debug small programs to solve practical problems of a scientific nature.
  • Have a practical understanding of the processing of scientific data.
  • Be able to describe and design small computer programs using both procedural and object-oriented methodologies.
  • Have an awareness of good program organisation.
  • Have an understanding of some widely-used algorithms.
  • Have an understanding of practical aspects of machine architecture including finite precision and rounding errors.

Other Information

http://cs.anu.edu.au/courses/COMP1730/

Indicative Assessment

Practical programming assessments (55%), written exams (45%).

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Workload

4-5 hours scheduled time each week (2-3 lectures and one 2-hour lab).

 Students are expected to spend an average of 5-6 hours per week practicing programming (including work on assignments) outside of scheduled labs.

Requisite and Incompatibility

You are not able to enrol in this course if you have successfully completed COMP6730

Prescribed Texts

There are no prescribed texts.

We recommend one of:

  • "Think Python: How to think like a computer scientist" (2nd Edition)  by Allan Downey.
     Available from http://greenteapress.com/wp/think-python-2e/, or  in paperback (O'Reilly, 2015; ISBN-13: 978-1491939369; ISBN-10: 1491939362).
  • "The Practice of Computing using Python" (2nd Edition) by William Punch  and Richard Enbody (Addison-Wesley, 2012. ISBN-10: 0-13-280557-X  ISBN-13: 978-0-13-280557-X).

Assumed Knowledge

Students are assumed to have achieved a level of knowledge of mathematics comparable to at least ACT Mathematics Methods or NSW Mathematics or equivalent. No programming, Computer Science or IT experience or skills are required

Areas of Interest

  • Medical Science
  • Psychology
  • Statistics
  • Bioinformatics
  • Photonics
  • Physics
  • Science
  • Engineering
  • Genetics
  • Mechatronics
  • Electronics
  • Communications
  • Materials
  • Mechanical
  • Advanced Computing
  • Biotechnology
  • Biomedical Science

Fees

Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.  

Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees

Student Contribution Band:
2
Unit value:
6 units

If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.

Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.

Units EFTSL
6.00 0.12500
Domestic fee paying students
Year Fee
2022 $4740
International fee paying students
Year Fee
2022 $6000
Note: Please note that fee information is for current year only.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

The list of offerings for future years is indicative only.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.

First Semester

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
4414 21 Feb 2022 28 Feb 2022 31 Mar 2022 27 May 2022 In Person N/A

Second Semester

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
5381 25 Jul 2022 01 Aug 2022 31 Aug 2022 28 Oct 2022 In Person N/A

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