MSc Computer Science (with Advanced Practice)

Course overview

This course offers you the opportunity to study two major themes; programming and artificial intelligence (AI). You also study project management and research methods to provide the academic rigor required for postgraduate study and the practical skills for entry to industry.

The School has a proven record of successful research, consultancy and enterprise projects in the field of computer science, giving our staff the relevant real-world case studies to draw upon in their teaching. Having worked in the sector, many of our academic staff have forged strong working relationships with colleagues in industry.

The programming strand gives you the expertise and transferable skills in event-driven programming, patterns, design, development and deployment using industry-standard tools. The AI strand investigates computer models, simulations and techniques for observing and predicting behaviours in large-scale systems. The project management module underpins the practical and theoretical skills with techniques for strategic management of projects so that you are prepared for the full project life cycle. The individual computer science project and Advanced Practice (Internship) module provides you with the opportunity to apply both your practical and theoretical skills in your chosen specialism and to gain real-world experience in industry or research.

How you learn:

You learn about concepts and methods through keynote lectures and tutorials using case studies and examples. Lectures include presentations from guest speakers in industry. Critical reflection is key to successful problem solving and essential to the creative process. You develop your own reflective practice at an advanced level, then test and assess your solutions against criteria that you develop in the light of your research.

Career opportunities:

We prepare you for a career in industry. In addition to your taught classes, we create opportunities for you to meet and network with our industry partners through events such as our Expo Series, which showcases student work to industry. ExpoTees is the pinnacle of the Expo Series with over 100 businesses from across the UK coming to the campus to meet our exceptional students, with a view to recruitment.

Graduates can expect to find employment in one of the increasing number of sectors needing data science specialists, such as the defence industry, financial industry, telecommunications, and health sector.

The one-year programme is a great option if you want to gain a traditional MSc qualification. The two-year master’s degree with advanced practice enhances your qualification by adding a vocational or research based internship to the one-year master’s programme. A vocational internship is a great way to gain work experience and give your CV a competitive edge. A research internship provides you with the opportunity to develop your analytical, team-working, research and academic skills by working alongside a research team in an academic setting. We guarantee a research internship, but cannot guarantee a vocational internship. We will, however, provide you with practical support and advice on how to find and secure your own vocational internship position should you prefer this type of internship.