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ACM40660

Academic Year 2026/2027

Scientific Programming Concepts (ICHEC) (ACM40660)

Subject:
Applied & Computational Maths
College:
Science
School:
Mathematics & Statistics
Level:
4 (Masters)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Dr Niels Warburton
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This module introduces programming concepts aimed at scientists pursuing research with a strong computational element. The focus is on C programming yet the general concepts should be applicable to other programming languages. The module is not suitable for students with existing C or C++ programming experience.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:

• Understand what constitutes a computer program and how it is constructed.
• Comprehend written source code.
• Write and compile programs in C.
• Make use of standard libraries in their own code.
• Keep track of code changes using version control.
• Profile and debug C code.
• Write a computer program to solve problems relevant to scientific research.

Indicative Module Content:

Week 1: Linux shell, SSH, bash scripting
Week 2: Computer architecture, compilers, variables
Week 3: For loop, while loop, if/else statements, switch/case statements
Week 4: Git
Week 5: Arrays, functions, scoping, structs and enums
Week 6: Casting, pointers, passing-by-reference
Week 7: Memory management, pointers and arrays
Week 8: make, gdb, gprof
Week 9: Standard libraries, file IO, random numbers and timing
Week 10: Algorithms, recursion, data-structures

Additional non-examinable topics may include:
assembly coding, wrapping C code in python,
intro to HPC coding, numpy implemention

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

20
Computer Aided Lab

10
Specified Learning Activities

24
Autonomous Student Learning

66
Total

120

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Lectures, tutorials, enquiry and problem-based learning

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Exam (In-person): Three in-class tests Week 4, Week 8, Week 12 Standard conversion grade scale 40% No
60
 No
Exam (In-person): Practical coding exam End of trimester
Duration:
2 hr(s)
 Standard conversion grade scale 40% No
40
 No

Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

Name Role
Mr William Doherty Tutor

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Autumn Tutorial Offering 1 Week(s) - Autumn: All Weeks Fri 16:00 - 16:50
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - Autumn: All Weeks Tues 15:00 - 15:50
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - Autumn: All Weeks Wed 16:00 - 16:50
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