MSc Computer Science (Dubai)

MSc/PGDip Computer Science is accredited by the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education
The MSc/PGDip Computer Science Course (Dubai) is a Masters degree course generally for students who have a first degree in a subject other than computing, but we consider students with a background in computing on a case-by-case basis.

To enrich your learning experience on our programmes, our teaching is delivered jointly by staff from both our campuses (Dubai and the UK), by utilising modern digital technology. Typically, for each module, the teaching team consists of colleagues across the campuses with at least one member based in the Dubai campus. You will receive the same high-quality teaching materials (lecture slides and notes, for example) and rigorous assessments (assignments and exams, for example) as our UK campus. You will also have the opportunity to interact with staff & students across both campuses to support and enhance your learning experience. Furthermore, there is also the opportunity to conduct projects under the supervision of staff from either of our campuses which significantly boosts the pool of project topics accessible to our students.

The MSc/PGDip Computer Science programme is different to IT programmes, in that it is a technical degree with a significant programming component. You will learn about the computational languages, software engineering, artificial intelligence, human computer interaction, databases, and machine learning. It focuses on analytical methods and technical skills, and offers the opportunity to combine knowledge and personal skills to solve society's problems by developing software solutions. 

The core components of this degree course are a software workshop, taught modules and a summer project. The software workshop involves two terms of intensive training in Java programming, including lectures, supervised laboratory work and small-group tutorials.

At the same time students enrol in a variety of modules, including: Computing Systems; Building Usable Software; Data Structures, Algorithms, and Databases; and Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. In the summer term, students engage in developing a substantial software project under the supervision of a faculty member. Teaching is joint between academics on our Dubai campus, and our Edgbaston Campus. You will also have the opportunity to interact and work alongside students in our Edgbaston campus in the UK whilst you study at our Dubai campus.

Graduates of this MSc/PGDip Computer Science degree are highly sought after by employers due to the special knowledge, expertise and skills acquired. You could become anything from a Software Engineer, Artificial Intelligence Developer, Robotics Engineer, Financial Computing Analyst, Applications Developer, or inspire the next generation of computer scientists academically. 

Why study Computer Science at Birmingham Dubai?

• Global recognition - We offer the same world-class education as in our UK campus by delivering the same high quality curriculum and meticulously similar quality assurance processes.
• International reputation - The School of Computer Science is a truly international place, and our academics specialise in subjects including artificial intelligence and cyber security, which the modern world is built upon. You will be obtaining a first-class education in real-world issues, and will become the person that can develop and lead society and our future.
• Research focused teaching - Our research feeds directly into your teaching ensuring your programme includes the latest developments in Computer Science, such as Artificial Intelligence, Data Science and Cyber Security.
• Excellent career prospects - The broad range of skills you will gain mean you could choose to work in technology consultancy, IT, investment and banking, software development, finance, or join on of the many emerging start-up companies.
• Connections across the world - You will become part of our global community of computer science students across the world meaning you will be connected wherever you go in the world.

Why Study Intensive Programming (for the connected world)?

Programming plays an important role in this modern age. Imagine you walk into your house and your lighting automatically changed according to your mood, your sofa was set to your favourable seating position, your favourite TV channel switched on, and the coffee machine had already prepared your favourite coffee. How could all of this happen? Programming can give life to any computing device. A programming language powers computing devices to collect, control, store and process data accordingly.

There is a continuously increasing number of businesses and industries relying on computer programming. Programming languages, such as Java, JavaScript, C#, C++. PHP, Python, SQL, Perl etc, evidently are the driving force behind the advances in Robots, Voice Recognition, Artificial Intelligence, Block Chain, Virtual Reality, Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, and Big Data, to name a few.

Programming has become a necessity in our digital world, not only in the IT industry, but also in business, engineering, medicine, healthcare, fashion, marketing, gaming, mobiles, websites, multimedia to name only a few.

In our degree programme, we focus on intensive programming in order to develop strong programming skills in our students.

Why Strong Theoretical Foundations?

The digitally-driven world changes fast, with digital trends raising and fading away in the span of a few years. One example is today's popularity of artificial intelligence, which only 15 years ago was extremely unpopular not attracting much funding from the private and public sector.

At the same time, computing skills have an ubiquitous usefulness in society, finding applications much beyond IT, for instance in medicine, biology, finance, banking, businesses, fashion, gaming, and policymaking, among others. An education purely based on practical training would only train a professional that could cope with the current technologies, but unable to cope with changing landscapes (e.g. with the advent of another mainstream technology in 10 years) or unsuitable to cope with a domain that was not represented during training.

A strong theoretical foundation along with a balanced mix of practical training is therefore crucial to acquire lifelong cores skills of general applicability, but at the same time it offers the necessary practical skills to enhance employability prospects after graduation.

View the Computer Science MSc Dubai campus brochure (pdf 493 KB).