The course
- Delivery
- Full-time, Part-time, Per course
- Course type
- Taught
- Location
- Edinburgh
- Entry date
- September
Contact
-
Contact
MACS PG Enquiries
-
Telephone
+44(0) 131 451 8444
MACS postgraduate scholarships
Some scholarships of £2,500 will be awarded to outstanding applicants to any of our Computer Science MSc programmes. Find out more.
Overview
Our MSc in Data Science teaches the theory and skills for managing and analysing very large and complex data sets, sometimes referred to as Big Data. You will learn how to model, store and process these data sets using the latest algorithms and techniques and about modern methods and tools for visually exploring them.
The core courses of the programme provide the key skill set of a data scientist: applying machine learning, managing large data sets, and generating interesting visualisations. The optional courses provide an opportunity to explore closely related areas based on the cutting edge, internationally leading research work of our academics.
The skills acquired will be applicable to industrial applications as well as to scientific data exploration. The MSc project in some cases can be carried out in collaboration with an outside industrial or academic organisation.
Further details are available here.
Programme duration
This full-time programme course starts in mid September and lasts one year. The programme can also be taken part-time over 2 years or as a 9 month Postgraduate Diploma.
Professional recognition
The MSc is accredited by the British Computer Society.
Course content
Detailed course guideFull-time students take 4 courses each semester and must normally take all core courses.
Core Courses:
- Big Data Management
- Data Mining and Machine Learning
- Data Visualisation and Analytics
- Research Methods and Project Planning
- Masters project and dissertation
Optional Courses:
- Digital and Knowledge Economy
- Advanced Software Engineering
- Biologically Inspired Computation
- Computer Network Security
- Distributed and Parallel Technologies
- Information Systems Methodologies
- Software Engineering Foundations
- Conversational Agents and Spoken Language Processing
After semester 2 students continue full-time on the MSc project.
Further details are available here
Project
In the third semester (May-August) students undertake a specialist MSc project which is written up as a 15000 word dissertation. This project enables further development and consolidation of skills introduced in the taught courses, applying them to a challenging practical problem in this subject area.
Entry requirements
Admission requires a good honours degree with a substantial academic component of Computing or IT that includes study of databases and programming.
English language requirements
Important: If your first language is not English, or your first degree was not taught in English, we’ll need to see evidence of your English language ability.
The minimum requirement for English language is IELTS 6.5, we also accept TOEFL (scores of 79 and higher).
We also offer a range of English language courses to help you meet the English language requirement prior to starting your master’s programme:
- 14 weeks English (for IELTS of 5.5 with no more than one skill at 4.5);
- 10 weeks English (for IELTS of 5.5 with minimum of 5.0 in all skills);
- 6 weeks English (for IELTS 5.5 with minimum of 5.5 in reading & writing and minimum of 5.0 in speaking & listening)
Fees and funding
| Status* | Full-time | Part-time | Per course |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland / Non-UK EU | £5200 | £2600 | £650 |
| England / Northern Ireland / Wales | £5200 | £2600 | £650 |
| Overseas | £17570 | £8785 | £2196.25 |
* If you are unsure which category you fall in to, you should complete a fee status enquiry form, which allows us to assess your fees.
** Fee per course
Scholarships and bursaries
We aim to encourage well-qualified, ambitious students to study with us and we offer a wide variety of scholarships and bursaries to achieve this. Over £6 million worth of opportunities are available in fee and stipend scholarships, and more than 400 students benefit from this support.
View our full range of postgraduate taught scholarships.