The Department of Computer Science is the computer science department of the University of Oxford, England, which is part of the university's Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division. It was founded in 1957 as the Computing Laboratory. By 2014 the staff count was 52 members of academic staff and over 80 research staff. The 2019, 2020 and 2021 Times World University Subject Rankings places Oxford University 1st in the world for Computer Science. Oxford University is also the top university for computer science in the UK and Europe according to Business Insider. The 2020 QS University Subject Rankings places The University of Oxford 5th in the world (with the University of Cambridge placing 6th) for Computer Science. Teaching From its foundation the department taught undergraduates reading for mathematics and engineering degrees, but in 1985 the department's first undergraduate course was established, in 'Mathematics and Computation', followed in 1994 by the 'Computation' course. Initially these two courses had a common first year. 'Computer Science' replaced 'Computation' in the title of both courses for students starting their studies in 2000. Between 1987 and 2006 students started studies on a four-year (undergraduate) MEng in Engineering and Computing Science (now discontinued). In October 2012 the first students of the 'Computer Science and Philosophy' started. Today students on all three undergraduate courses - 'Computer Science', 'Maths & Computer Science' and 'Computer Science & Philosophy' - have the choice between a 3-year BA or a 4-year 'undergraduate masters'. Sixty students began one of the three undergraduate courses in October 2013. There are two full-time taught postgraduate courses: the MSc in Computer Science (approx 50 students total) and the MSc in Mathematics and the Foundations of Computer Science (MFoCS) (approx 15 students total). The department also offers the part-time Software Engineering Programme, a modular course for industry professionals, leading to either the MSc in Software Engineering (approx 240 students at present) or the M.Sc. in Software and Systems Security (approx 45 students at present). Research The department is home to around 145 academic and research staff. The department's doctoral programme has over 140 research students (studying for a D.Phil. – the Oxford term for a PhD) working across a wide range of subjects in computer science and software engineering. After fifty years within the department, the Numerical Analysis group moved in 2009 to be part of the university's Mathematical Institute. Today the department's research is classified into