From Natural Science to Computer Science

The University of Cambridge’s courses are well-known all over the world, not only for its academically rigorous nature, but also for its flexibility. If you already know what you want to focus on, you can start to specialise early on at Cambridge. However, if you don’t have a clear idea of the options you want to take just yet, our courses allow you to delay specialising until you’ve had the chance to fully explore the breadth of your subject and confirm which areas you’re most interested in. After your first year, since you would have studied subjects that are common between courses, there is an option of switching to another course. However, the reality is not always as easy as it may sound. There are, of course, many difficulties involved in such a decision.

In the scope of this post, the Hackers at Cambridge team try to assist you specifically if you intend to switch from Natural Sciences Tripos (NatSci — NST) to Computer Science Tripos (CompSci — CST). With many from our team have done so, we’ll clear some of your misconceptions, give you an insight into the challenges that you might encounter at various points and the steps you can take right now. This isn’t intended to be an exhaustive guide, so feel free to contact us if you think you have a problem that is not mentioned.

Getting into Cambridge’s CompSci via NatSci?

First, before any sixth formers might ask: “Wait, so you are saying that if I’m not sure about CST, I should apply to Cambridge via NST…