Data Science and AI MSc

Our MSc Data Science and AI offers you an intensive course to help you gain important skills and knowledge in data science and artificial intelligence.

Why choose this course?

* This course is ideal if you are new to the subject of computer science and wish to gain the foundations for a successful career in IT as a data scientist or analyst, or wish to gain a deeper understanding of how current AI methods work.

* If you are already working in IT, this course provides you with the opportunity to strengthen and update your knowledge and skills in data science as well as equipping you with important new practical skills in the dynamic and growing area of artificial intelligence.

* The modules you will take on both data science and AI are taught by experts in the field who regularly publish their research in these areas.

What will I learn?

You will gain a broad knowledge of data science including tools, techniques and applications, and acquire valuable practical problem-solving and analytical skills. You will also acquire strong programming and data analysis skills using Python and R - the most popular programming languages used by data scientists today.

Your training in artificial intelligence will involve machine learning, neural networks and natural language processing, so that you can gain in-depth knowledge and understanding of current AI techniques and applications. You will benefit from the chance to investigate specific areas of current research more deeply too.

How will I learn?

This MSc Data Science and AI is available to study full- or part-time. If you choose full-time study, you will be able to start in either January or October. Part-time study starts in October. Both involve a mixture of daytime and evening classes and you will be taught via lectures, group exercises and practical sessions, for example in programming.

To complete the course, you will undertake your own individual project, supported by a member of our academic team, to investigate in depth an aspect of data science and AI that particularly interests you.

This course will suit graduates who are new to computer science. If you already hold a degree in computer science, you should apply for our MSc Advanced Computing.

Highlights

* You will study at our Bloomsbury campus in the heart of London, a city fast becoming one of the major European hubs for AI research and development.

* Birkbeck established one of the first computing departments in the UK in 1957. Our research dates back to the late 1940s. We are now home to the Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Research Group.

* We provide a stimulating teaching and research environment, with academic specialists in all fields, including information and knowledge management, web and pervasive technologies, computational intelligence, information systems development and artificial intelligence.

* Birkbeck was ranked in the top 25 universities in the UK for its Computer Science and Informatics research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

Careers and employability

On successfully completing this course you will have gained an array of transferable skills, including the ability to:

* demonstrate self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems

* act autonomously in planning and implementing tasks at a professional level

* conduct a critical appraisal of material synthesised from research papers

* communicate conclusions clearly to specialist and non-specialist audiences

* deal with complex issues systematically and creatively.

You will find graduates in the following kinds of roles:

* data scientist

* data analyst

* programmer

* software developer.