Data Science MSc - 2022/3
Awarding body
University of Surrey
Teaching institute
University of Surrey
Framework
FHEQ Level 7
Final award and programme/pathway title
MSc Data Science
MSc Data Science with Professional Postgraduate Year (Placement pathway (24 months))
Subsidiary award(s)
| Award | Title |
|---|---|
| PGDip | Data Science |
| PGCert | Data Science |
| PGDip | Data Science with Professional Postgraduate Year |
| PGCert | Data Science with Professional Postgraduate Year |
Modes of study
| Route code | Credits and ECTS Credits | |
| Full-time | PCL61001 | 180 credits and 90 ECTS credits |
| Full-time with Placement | PCL71001 | 240 credits and 120 ECTS credits |
QAA Subject benchmark statement (if applicable)
Other internal and / or external reference points
N/A
Faculty and Department / School
Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences - Computer Science
Programme Leader
THORNE Tom (CS & EE)
Date of production/revision of spec
12/09/2023
Educational aims of the programme
- The key educational aim of the programme is to prepare students for a variety of leading roles in data science. Such roles will involve data-intensive computing and lead to positions as data scientists, data analysts, data engineers and data architects, as well as business analysts and database administrators, with expected progression through to managerial roles involving teams of these. Creation, collection, management and analysis of data is core to a wide range of industry activities, from politics to advertising, health, finance, and numerous others.
- The programme incorporates an optional year in industry in order to foster close engagement with the employers of data scientists. This offers an attractive proposition to employers and provides students who have completed the taught programme, and whose subsequent assessment relates to practical experience, with access to potential employers following graduation. An extension to the dissertation emphasises the importance of clear business understanding of value being derived from research and development.
Programme learning outcomes
| Attributes Developed | Awards | Ref. | |
| The principles and practices of data science | K | PGCert, PGDip, MSc | |
| The principles and applications of data science technologies | K | PGCert, PGDip, MSc | |
| The professional issues involved in the exploitation of data | K | PGCert, PGDip, MSc | |
| The areas of emergent and innovative data science technologies | K | PGCert, PGDip, MSc | |
| The key research issues in data science | K | PGDip, MSc | |
| Understand, articulate, and demonstrate how to achieve the requirements of the users of data science applications | C | PGCert, PGDip, MSc | |
| Research, develop, and evaluate data science methods | C | PGDip, MSc | |
| Specify, design and develop solutions to complex and substantial data science problems | C | PGDip, MSc | |
| The practices and business relevance of data science | P | PGCert, PGDip, MSc | |
| The ability to critically evaluate software systems and tools | P | PGCert, PGDip, MSc | |
| The capability to work as an effective member of a team | P | PGCert, PGDip, MSc | |
| The ability to communicate effectively with specialists and non-specialists to understand their needs | P | PGCert, PGDip, MSc | |
| The ability to apply and justify appropriate ways to analyse data and present information | P | PGDip, MSc | |
| The ability to plan, research, manage and implement a major project | P | MSc | |
| Research and information retrieval skills | T | PGCert, PGDip, MSc | |
| Numeracy in both understanding and presenting cases involving a quantitative dimension | T | PGCert, PGDip, MSc | |
| Self-learning skills | T | PGCert, PGDip, MSc | |
| Succinctly present, to a range of audiences, knowledge relevant to the building, testing and deployment of a system | T | PGCert, PGDip, MSc | |
| Time management and organisational skills | T | PGCert, PGDip, MSc | |
| Effective use of specialist IT facilities | T | PGCert, PGDip, MSc | |
| Continuing professional development | T | PGCert, PGDip, MSc |
Attributes Developed
C - Cognitive/analytical
K - Subject knowledge
T - Transferable skills
P - Professional/Practical skills
Programme structure
Full-time
This Master's Degree programme is studied full-time over one academic year, consisting of 180 credits at FHEQ level 7. All modules are semester based and worth 15 credits with the exception of project, practice based and dissertation modules.
Possible exit awards include:
- Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits)
- Postgraduate Certificate (60 credits)
*some programmes may contain up to 30 credits at FHEQ level 6.
Full-time with Placement
This Master's Degree programme is studied full-time over two academic years, consisting of 240 credits at FHEQ level 7*. All modules are semester based and worth 15 credits with the exception of project, practice based and dissertation modules.
Possible exit awards include:
- Postgraduate Diploma (120 credits)
- Postgraduate Certificate (60 credits)
*some programmes may contain up to 30 credits at FHEQ level 6.
Programme Adjustments (if applicable)
N/A
Modules
Year 1 (full-time) - FHEQ Levels 6 and 7
Module Selection for Year 1 (full-time) - FHEQ Levels 6 and 7
4 modules of 15 credits each (60 credits total), semester 1: students must choose 1 module from 2 optional
4 modules of 15 credits each (60 credits total), year 1, semester 2: students must choose 2 optional modules
1 dissertation module of 60 credits, summer
Year 1 (full-time with placement - 2 years) - FHEQ Levels 6 and 7
Module Selection for Year 1 (full-time with placement - 2 years) - FHEQ Levels 6 and 7
4 modules of 15 credits each (60 credits total), year 1, semester 1: students must choose 1 module from 2 optional
4 modules of 15 credits each (60 credits total), year 1, semester 2: students must choose 2 modules from optional modules available
Year 2 (full-time with placement - 2 years) - FHEQ Levels 6 and 7
| Module code | Module title | Status | Credits | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COMM002 | MSC DISSERTATION | Core | 60 | Year-long |
| COMM056 | ALIGNING BUSINESS VALUE WITH RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT | Core | 30 | Cross Year |
| COMM057 | PROFESSIONAL POSTGRADUATE YEAR REPORT | Core | 30 | Cross Year |
Module Selection for Year 2 (full-time with placement - 2 years) - FHEQ Levels 6 and 7
1 module of 30 credits reflecting placement learning, year 2
1 module of 30 credits reflecting business relevance, year 2
1 dissertation module of 60 credits, across academic years
Opportunities for placements / work related learning / collaborative activity
| Associate Tutor(s) / Guest Speakers / Visiting Academics | Y | |
| Professional Training Year (PTY) | N | |
| Placement(s) (study or work that are not part of PTY) | Y | Yes |
| Clinical Placement(s) (that are not part of the PTY scheme) | N | |
| Study exchange (Level 5) | N | |
| Dual degree | N |
Quality assurance
The Regulations and Codes of Practice for taught programmes can be found at:
Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2022/3 academic year.