Data Science and Analytics with a year in industry MSc

The importance of Big Data grows year on year, with sectors including healthcare, manufacturing, retail, administration and others reliant on the insights that accurate data capture and analysis can provide. Study Data Science and Analytics with a Year in Industry at Royal Holloway, University of London and you’ll develop the practical skills needed to handle and analyse data in a wide variety of fields, preparing you for a rewarding career in Big Data.

This flexible programme gives you the chance to tailor your learning to your own strengths and interests, with a broad range of optional modules including Online Machine Learning, Methods of Bioinformatics and Microeconometrics providing academic scope and variety. You’ll be well-equipped to continue your studies at PhD level, which will place you in a strong position to pursue more advanced, research-based roles upon graduation.

Skills that you will acquire include the ability to:


- work with methods and techniques such as clustering, regression, support vector machines, boosting, decision trees, and neural networks


- work with structured, unstructured, and time-series data


- work with software packages such as MATLAB and R


- design data processing solutions for data-intensive analytics problems


- work with modern tools for massively distributed data processing, such as Hadoop and Pig, and Cloud Computing tools such as Amazon S3, EC2 and Elastic MapReduce


- design Extract-Transfer-Load (ETL) pipelines


- design Data Warehousing and Decision Support System (DSS) solutions


- work with highly-scalable data-storage solutions, such as MongoDB, Cassandra, HBase, and other NoSQL Data Stores


- work with data-intensive computing technologies, such as Hadoop MapReduce, Spark, Hive, and Pig


- work with Cloud Computing tools, such as Amazon S3, EC2 and Elastic MapReduce


Follow your passion for Data Science and Analytics at Royal Holloway and you’ll graduate with a desirable Masters degree from a highly regarded department, as well as transferable skillset that’s both in short supply and in high demand by employers. Our location near the M4 corridor – also known as ‘England’s Silicon Valley’ – means students can develop their skills and experience with a year in industry at some of the country's leading technology institutions.

By electing to spend a year in business you will also be able to integrate theory and practice and gain real business experience. In the past, our students have secured placements in blue-chip companies such as Centrica, Data Reply, Disney, IMS Health, Rolls Royce, Shell, Sociéte Générale, VMWare and UBS, among others.


• Benefit from strong industry ties, with close proximity to ‘England’s Silicon Valley’.



• Graduate with a Master's degree leading to excellent graduate employability prospects.



• Tailor your learning with a wide range of engaging optional modules.



• Gain invaluable knowledge, experience and contacts with a year in industry.