Teaching Programmes

For historical accuracy, note that the original 'Computation' soon gave way to 'Computer Science'. Also, in the first few years taught graduate degrees used to be BPhil and all undergraduate degrees were BA. This Department was a party to a campaign to introduce MSc and BSc; that was successful. Then, this Department was the first to introduce accredited engineering programmes: these were MEng and BEng (but see note at end). The original terminology has been used here only for the very earliest years, as the details of the changeover are now lost.

At some time after the move from BA to BSc, but before the introduction of MEng and BEng, this department was the first to introduce industrial placement years ('sandwich years' as they were then called).

A new programme goes through the phases: proposal; approval; and then, for the first time each: appearance in official catalogues and prospectuses, advertising, application, selection, interview, admission, entry, study, assessment, graduation. Of all these phases, it is the first entry, i.e. the first actual intake, that is noted here.

Note that often, in order to get a new programme off the ground with a prototyping intake, some of our current students on an existing programme would transfer into a new programme a year or two before its intake from outside the University. In those cases, the date of that intake by internal transfer is recorded here.

Following the publication of the Finniston Report Engineering our Future in 1981, the department introduced a four-year integrated degree designated BEng, and planned an extension year designated MEng, both as recommended in that Report. It soon became apparent to all universities that applicants were reluctant to apply for a four-year bachelor's degree, and so these two degrees were re-designated MEng (nationwide) and EngDip (Engineering Diploma - at least, at York) respectively. The designation BEng was then used (generally) for three-year accredited engineering degrees.