Masters in Data Science in UK: Colleges, Syllabus, Eligibility, Jobs, and More

Do you know? As per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there’s a projected increase of 27.9% in the demand for jobs that need Data Science skills by the year 2026. Data Science is undoubtedly one of the most-liked courses across the globe. This is a no-brainer that a masters in data science in UK would also be one of the most-picked courses. The United Kingdom is a really great study-abroad destination for pursuing your higher education. It provides the students with ample research opportunities. Also, the UK is home to many top universities across the world. People from all over the world come here in search of quality education and top-notch infrastructure.

In this blog, we will be learning about the masters in data science in UK. We will be seeing many important things related to the course. This information will help you make an informed choice among the plenty of universities available in the United Kingdom. By the way, the UK is not only famous for its world-class universities for also because of its breathtaking scenery. Let’s explore the unexplored delicacies of the masters in data science in UK.

Masters in Data Science in UK: Course Highlights

Data science is about using computers to understand and organize information from big sets of data. These data sets come from all sorts of things, like science, social media, and business. It helps us make sense of the information and use it in different fields, like biology, energy, and healthcare.

This section serves as an introductory section for this course. In this section, we will be looking at the top details related to the data science course. This will help you build a fundamental understanding of the course. Here are the course highlights for the masters in data science course in UK:

Name of the Course	Master’s/MS in Data Science
Type of Program	Post-Graduate (Full-time & Part-Time)
Program Duration	01-02 Years
Eligibility	Graduate or Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field
Average Salary After Graduation	Around £59,701 per year (INR 61.12 LPA)
Top Recruiters	Amazon, Deloitte, KPMG, British Telecom, etc

Master’s in Data Science in UK: Top Specializations

There are several specializations available in the data science department. Each of the specializations brings expertise in the different domains of the data science. You can choose from the different list of the specializations offered. The list contains numerous specializations, such as:

• Machine Learning
• Big Data Analytics
• Data Engineering
• Business Analytics
• Artificial Intelligence
• Predictive Analytics

These specializations cater to various aspects of the dynamic field of Data Science, allowing students to align their expertise based on their interests and career goals.

Eligibility Required for Master’s in Data Science in UK

If you want to pursue a Master’s in Data Science in the UK, you need to take care of certain requirements to be eligible for admission. Meeting these requirements makes sure you’re well-prepared for the Master’s in Data Science. Some of the general eligibility requirements include:

• A good UK honors degree or an equivalent international degree. This degree should be in a related field like computer science, artificial intelligence, mathematics, or other quantitative disciplines.
• You also need to have experience in computer programming equivalent to an introductory programming course.
• Lastly, you’ve got to be good at math. You should have completed certain credits worth of math during your degree. This includes topics like calculus, linear algebra, discrete math, and probability.

Please note that this is just a general eligibility criteria, taken in reference from the University of Edinburgh. For university-specific requirements, students are advised to check the eligibility criteria of the university they are applying in. Also, just keep in mind that things might change for future years, so stay updated on any new requirements.

English Language Proficiency Tests

As you would be an international student there, English won’t be your first language of communication. So, you must appear for language tests in order to prove your English proficiency. Some of the general language proficiency tests required are:

• IELTS Academic
• TOEFL-iBT
• C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE)
• Trinity ISE
• PTE Academic

These language tests required some minimum score/band in order to be qualified. Make sure you check the required band/score of the university you are applying to.

Masters in Data Science in UK: Syllabus

Analyzing the syllabus beforehand helps you get an overview of the course insights that you will be studying in the next one or two years. In this section, we will look at the bifurcations of the MS in Data Science in the UK’s syllabus. The syllabus has generally been divided into five parts, namely:

1. Compulsory Subjects
2. Group A: Machine Learnings and Statistics
3. Group B: Data Management
4. Group C: Applications
5. Electives

Let’s look at the detailed syllabus of each part one by one.

Compulsory Subjects

The bifurcation of the compulsory subject’s syllabus in MS in Data Science in UK is mentioned in the table given below:

Course Type	Course Name	Credits
Compulsory	MSc Dissertation (Informatics)	60
Compulsory	Informatics Research Review (IRR)	10
Compulsory	Informatics Project Proposal (IPP)	10

Group A: Machine Learning and Statistics

The bifurcation of Group A: Machine Learning and Statistics syllabus in MS in Data Science in UK is mentioned in the table given below:

Course/Subject Name	Credits
Reinforcement Learning	10
Machine Learning and Pattern Recognition	20
Machine Learning Practical	20
Probabilistic Modelling and Reasoning	20
Natural Computing	10
Machine Learning Theory	10
Applied Machine Learning	20
Statistical Methodology	10
Applied Statistics	10
Fundamentals of Optimization	10
Time Series	10
Large Scale Optimization for Data Science	10
Bayesian Data Analysis	10
Statistical Programming	10
Bayesian Theory	10
Incomplete Data Analysis	10
Generalised Regression Models	10
Integer and Combinatorial Optimization	10
Targeted Causal Learning	10

Group B: Data Management

The bifurcation of Group B: Data Management syllabus in MS in Data Science in UK is mentioned in the table given below:

Course/Subject Name	Credits
Algorithms and Data Structures	10
Introduction to Databases	20
Extreme Computing	10
Fundamentals of Data Management	10
Advanced Database Systems	20
Knowledge Graphs	10

Group C: Applications

The bifurcation of Group C: Applications syllabus in Masters in Data Science in UK is mentioned in the table given below:

Course/Subject Name	Credits
Automatic Speech Recognition	10
Accelerated Natural Language Processing	20
Image and Vision Computing	10
Text Technologies for Data Science	20
Natural Language Understanding, Generation, and Machine Translation	20
Bioinformatics 1	10
Data-driven Business and Behaviour Analytics	20
Case Studies in AI Ethics (CSAI)	10
Methods for Causal Inference	10
Speech Synthesis	10
Optimization Methods in Finance	10
Biomedical Data Science	10

Electives

The bifurcation of the electives syllabus for Masters in Data Science in UK is mentioned in the table given below:

Course/Subject Name	Credits
Level 10 and 11 Courses in Schedules A to Q, T, and W	0-20

This table summarizes the compulsory courses, group options, and electives for the Master’s in Data Science course, including the course names and credits. Keep in mind that this is just a reference of the syllabus for Masters in Data Science from the University of Edinburgh. While the exact syllabus will vary from college to college.

Top Universities in UK for Masters in Data Science

While now you know the insights of the MS in Data Science course, chronologically the next step is to know about the top universities. In this section, we will be listing some of the top universities in the UK, popular courses offered in Data Science or relevant fields, and their average cost of tuition.

Name of the University	Popular Courses Offered
University of Edinburgh	MSc in Data Science MSc in Data Science, Technology, and Innovation (Online Delivered) Masters in Operation Research with Data Science
University of Oxford	MSc in Social Data Science MSc + DPhil in Social Data Science
University of Cambridge	Healthcare Data Informatics
Imperial College London	MSc Environmental Data Science and Machine Learning MSc Geo Energy with Machine Learning and Data Science
University College London	MSc in Data Science MSc in Energy Systems and Data Analytics
University of Warwick	MSc in Behavioral and Data Science MSc in Big Data and Digital Future
University of Manchester	MSc in Data Science MSc in Health Data Science
University of Southampton	MSc in Data Science MSc in Data and Decision Analytics
University of Bristol	MSc in Data Science MSc in Environmental Modelling and Data Analysis
University of Glasgow	MSc in Data Science

Average Tuition Fees

The tuition fees of the top universities for Masters in Data Science in UK depend on several factors. Factors such as the location of the university campus, the duration of the course, the hostel fees, and other expenses play a vital role in calculating all the expenses. However, is we talk about the general range of the tuition fees, it will be somewhere around 16,000 to 40,000 GBP per year.

Other fees include living expenses, accommodation, travel expenses, and miscellaneous expenses. To view the complete breakdown of these expenses, visit our blog Cost of Studying in UK for Indian Students.

Admission Process for Masters in Data Science in UK

You have sailed through the important information regarding admission into Masters in Data Science in UK. Now, it is time to move to the admission process. There are certain pointers that we need to take care of before applying for admission. The steps involved in admission into Masters in Data Science in UK are:

1. Firstly, make sure you have a college and course combination ready with you. Pick out the best one from the list of available options.
2. Then, you need to check the application deadlines, Intakes in the UK, and other entry requirements before applying for admission.
3. After having filled out the application form, check out the eligibility criteria of the course. Make sure you fulfill all the needed requirements including the language proficiency tests.
4. Make sure to arrange all the Study visas and financial documents required. This may be asked at the time of immigration or even before.
5. After the document verification, pay the required fees for the college and enjoy studying in one of the top colleges across the globe!

This is just a generalized admission process regarding the Masters in Data Science in UK course. For an exact college-specific admission process, students are advised to visit the official website of the colleges they are applying in.

Top Scholarships for Masters in Data Science in UK

Arranging the financial requirements can be a bit challenging for some of the students who are from weak income backgrounds. As learning should not stop, there always comes a way! This section is mainly for students who are from weak income backgrounds and are looking for financial aid. Let’s look at the top scholarships offered along with their respective rewards:

Name of the Scholarships	Awards Grant
AI and Data Science Masters Scholarship	£10,000 scholarships available for 2023 entry
John Fisher High-Performance Scholarship	3 scholarships, for a sum up to £15,200 each
GREAT Scholarships	£10,000 towards their tuition fees

Also, read: Scholarships to Study Abroad for Indian Students & Masters in the UK

These aren’t the only ways to fund your financial requirements. While they offer some relied]f, you can still do other creative stuff to earn a sustainable livelihood there! Please note that the students are kindly requested to check the awarded amount and the eligibility requirements as they keep changing with time.

Placement Scenario for Masters in Data Science in UK Course

Lots of companies in the UK are looking to hire individuals with Data Science and related backgrounds. Big tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are always looking out for talented data scientists, who can help them sort, retrieve and align their data worth millions. Additionally, commercial establishments such as Barclays, HSBC, Accenture, and Deloitte are also evolving and are always in search of people with Data science degrees and diverse backgrounds.

It’s not just one type of company – from healthcare to finance, everyone wants data scientists. Top recruiting firms like GSK in healthcare and Jaguar Land Rover in cars are also into using data. So, if you’re good at working with data, you’re in a high-demand job market. Big companies in different fields are looking for people just like you!

Popular Job Roles and Salary

In the previous section, you just saw some big names of the popular recruiters who are in search of data scientists. In this section, we will be looking at the top job roles associated with Masters in Data Science in UK course along with their average annual salaries.

Popular Job Roles	Average Annual Salary
Data Scientist	£59,701
Machine Learning Engineer	£70,690
Data Analyst	£40,398
Business Intelligence Analyst	£53,834
Data Engineer	£61,155
Statistician	£45,360
Quantitative Analyst	£1,07,614
Research Scientist	£56,471
Database Administrator	£51,846
Data Architect	£94,387

Time’s Up!

Getting a Masters in Data Science in the UK isn’t just a fancy degree, it’s like getting a pass to lots of opportunities. In this program, you learn to understand advance computer language and find important info in really big sets of data. Big companies like Amazon and Google are the prominent recruiters there! You have a great chance to work with the data giants.

In the UK, there are heaps of jobs waiting for people like you who know their way around data – in banks, hospitals, and tech companies. So, if you’re up for a journey into the world of data, doing a Masters in Data Science in UK is like your starting point into a world that really needs your data skills.

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Masters in Data Science in UK: FAQs