Advanced Computer Science MSc

<strong>The information provided on this page was correct at the time of publication (November 2025). For complete and up-to-date information about this course including information about course components or research areas, please visit the course page on the University of Oxford website.</strong><br/><br/>The MSc in Advanced Computer Science is a taught course covering advanced topics like machine learning, computer security, quantum information, and formal verification, combining theory and practice with a strong mathematical foundation.<br/><br/>As in other branches of applied mathematics and engineering, improvements in the practice of computing necessitate a deep and broad engagement with the foundations of computer science.<br/><br/>Recognising this, this full-time, twelve-month MSc has been designed to teach the mathematical principles of specification, design and efficient implementation of computing technologies.<br/><br/>The MSc is designed to combine theory and practice. It teaches the advanced techniques and ideas that are being developed in application domains (such as machine learning, verification and computer security) and the rich and diverse theories that underpin them. These include models of computation and data, and mathematical analysis of programs and algorithms.<br/><br/>The course aims:<br/><br/><br/>- to provide a challenging and supportive learning environment that encourages high quality students to reach their full potential, personally and academically;<br/><br/><br/>- to provide the foundation for a professional career in computing-based industries;<br/><br/><br/>- to enhance the skills of a professional who is already working in one of these industries;<br/><br/><br/>- to provide a foundation for research into the theory and computing;<br/><br/><br/>- to present knowledge, experience, reasoning methods and design and implementation techniques which are robust and forward-looking.<br/><br/><br/>The Department of Computer Science is committed to the development and application of effective theory based on realistic practice. The MSc in Advanced Computer Science is heavily informed by the department’s consultation and collaboration with industry, and some of the modules were developed through consultation and collaboration with industry. The department believes that only by the interplay of theory and practice can you be trained properly in such a rapidly advancing subject. Practice alerts us to real contemporary problems - theory is a shield against professional obsolescence.<br/><br/>Entrants to the course will come from either a computer science or mathematical background. You may be a recent graduate in computer science and will supplement your knowledge with the kind of sound mathematical basis which is not always found in undergraduate courses. If you are a graduate in mathematics you will apply your training in the context of a rigorous application of the fundamental techniques of computer science.<br/><br/>You will develop knowledge and understanding of a formal disciplined approach to computer science, a range of relevant concepts, tools and techniques, the principles underpinning these techniques and the ability to apply them in novel situations. On subsequent employment, you will be able to select techniques most appropriate to your working environment, adapt and improve them as necessary, establish appropriate design standards for both hardware and software, train colleagues in the observance of sound practices, and keep abreast of research and development.<br/><br/><strong>For the full description, please visit the relevant University of Oxford course page via www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/ucas</strong>