MSc Advanced Computing Science

From day one you’ll be immersed in the expertise of our world-leading research team who are working at the cutting edge of computing science.

You’ll study key core subjects including our flagship module Advanced Programming Concepts and Techniques. Your lectures for this important area will cover historical, established and upcoming programming languages, functional languages, assembly and intermediate languages, code optimisation, high performance computing, software testing and modern frameworks. The finale of this module will see you produce a prototype of a professional standard software product to tackle a real world problem. You’ll develop this in groups or individually, following industrial software engineering practice and guidelines.

Your compulsory Research Techniques module will help you master crucial skills such as writing scientific reports and analysing and critically reviewing scientific publications. You will also develop your ability to analyse and process big data resources using basic and advanced statistical methods.

It’s all brought to life in our specialist MSc lab with state of the art computers and high-end graphics cards. You will also be able to use our motion capture studio, 3D printer, 3D stereoscopic monitors, humanoid robots, haptic feedback devices and mainstream Virtual Reality (VR) hardware.

Thanks to our strong ties with the IT and computing industries, we are able to shape our course content and coursework projects based on current trends and real-world problems. This ensures that your experience is aligned with the industries that you may well be moving into after your course.

About

Program your future, just the way you want it. Whether you’re an aspiring programmer, software engineer, data or computer scientist, this Master’s course is the ideal opportunity to set yourself apart from other graduates.

Taking your BSc degree in computing science (or equivalent), you’ll broaden and deepen your knowledge to an advanced level – especially in research-led subjects such as advanced programming concepts, artificial intelligence, data mining, computer games and graphics and much more.

Your studies will culminate in an MSc research project on a topic of your choice – giving you the chance to showcase everything you’ve learnt and demonstrate your research ability. This heavy slant on research is perfect preparation for the job market once you graduate or for further research studies or posts.

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Important Information

Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the courses listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the regular review of course programmes. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes, there will normally be prior consultation of students and others. Changes may for example consist of variations to the content and method of delivery of programmes, courses and other services, to discontinue programmes, courses and other services and to merge or combine programmes or courses. The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will inform students.

Assessment for Year 1

We’ll assess your work through coursework projects, course tests, scientific reports, a dissertation and exams.

If you take the Advanced Programming and Computer Games modules, your course tests will include short and multiple choice questions covering the syllabus along with hands-on programming tests where you’ll make modifications to sample code in a limited time frame.

We’ll always make sure to give you prompt feedback during laboratory sessions and after the final marking stages for all modules.

Structure

Our Master’s programme is made up of a series of advanced level modules to develop your skills and knowledge, as well as a dissertation, which gives you the chance to complete your own research project.

Your dissertation counts for 60 (out of a total of 180) credits and you can either choose a topic from a list of projects set by the academic staff or propose your own subject. Recent dissertation topics include:

Comparing the Unreal and Unity games engines by developing a first person shooter game.
Creating an augmented reality (AR) game on mobile devices.
Midi to tablature transcription.
Sentiment polarity classification of tweets using supervised models.
Reconstructing speech from articulatory data.

You have until mid to late August to complete the project, which will be assessed based on the dissertation itself and a demonstration of your final deliverable.

Your remaining 120 credits are made up of six 20-credit modules. Two of these are compulsory modules: Research Techniques and Advanced Programming Concepts and Techniques. You’ll then be able to select four optional modules from a range of topics including: artificial intelligence, human computer interaction, computer games laboratory, information visualisation, computer vision, audio-visual processing, embedded systems, data mining and more.

Teaching and Learning

Teaching

You’ll have an average of 15 hours of contact time per week with teaching staff through lectures, laboratory sessions and seminars – though this may vary depending on your module choices.

Most modules are taught mainly through lectures and laboratory sessions, led by our experienced lecturing staff. You’ll also benefit from your lab sessions being facilitated by postgraduate associate tutors who are experts in the specific subject.

Our class sizes are relatively small – ranging from 10-25 students – meaning that you’ll have more opportunities to engage directly with our academics.

Independent study

The very nature of a Master’s course means that you will spend a lot of time carrying out independent study. On top of your taught sessions, you’ll spend at least 25 hours a week on independent study, coursework assignments and projects.

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You must discuss and agree your module choices with the Course Director, prior to selection, to ensure you are not duplicating any prior learning or experience.

Assessment for Year 1

We’ll assess your work through coursework projects, course tests, scientific reports, a dissertation and exams.

We’ll always make sure to give you prompt feedback during laboratory sessions and after the final marking stages for all modules.

Compulsory Modules

RESEARCH TECHNIQUES (RESEARCH METHODS)

Code CMP-7030Y

Credits 20

This module aims to prepare postgraduate students with necessary intellectual and practical skills for successfully carrying out research work for their MSc Dissertation in Computing Sciences and Computational Biology. Specifically, it teaches research methodologies, techniques and tools used in computing sciences. More importantly, it provides systematic training to enhance students' transferable skills and their understanding in ethics, social and legal issues involved in computing professions.

ADVANCED PROGRAMMING CONCEPTS AND TECHNIQUES

Code CMP-7009A

Credits 20

You will cover advanced programming topics and state of the art software engineering concepts as part of medium to large software product development. More specifically, the following subjects are included: 1. Programming languages: Covering the vast array of programming languages, including older languages (both surviving and obsolete ones), current popular languages and new kids on the block. Different programming paradigms are discussed with code samples and applications to illustrate the underlying theoretical concepts. 2. Advanced software engineering including design patterns, modern iterative and incremental methods such as agile programming and software testing. 3. Program optimisation, parallel programming and high performance computing (HPC): Including underlying laws (Amdahl, Gustafson-Barsis), multi-threading, various languages and/or platforms, GPU programming (CUDA and OpenCL). 4. State of the art coverage of specific languages including C, F#, C#, C++11,14 etc. 5. Specific architectures such as Window’s .NET/CLR, DLL programming, templates and type systems.

DISSERTATION

Code CMP-7027X

Credits 60

In this module, each Masters student is required to carry out project work with substantial research and practical elements on a specified topic for their MSc dissertation from January to late August. The topic can be chosen and allocated from the lists of proposals from faculty members, or proposed by students themselves with an agreement from their supervisor and also an approval from the module organiser. The work may be undertaken as part of a large collaborative or group project. A dissertation must be written as the outcome of the module.

Optional A Modules

(40 credits)

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION

Code CMP-7018A

Credits 20

Human Computer Interaction (or UX) covers a very wide range of devices, including conventional computers, mobile devices and “hidden” computing devices. In this module you will learn about interactions from a variety of perspectives, such as cognitive psychology, ethnographic methods, security issues, UI failures, the principles of good user experience, heuristic and experimental evaluation approaches and the needs of a range of different audiences.

DATA MINING

Code CMP-7023B

Credits 20

This module is designed for postgraduate students studying on MSc courses. You will explore the methodologies of Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDD). You will cover each stage of the KDD process, including preliminary data exploration, data cleansing, pre-processing and the various data analysis tasks that fall under the heading of data mining, focusing on clustering, classification and association rule induction. Through this module, you will gain knowledge of algorithms and methods for data analysis, as well as practical experience using leading KDD software packages.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Code CMP-7028A

Credits 20

This module will introduce you to core techniques in Artificial Intelligence. Topics covered may include state space representation and search algorithms, knowledge representation, expert systems, Bayesian networks, Markov Models, Neural networks, Deep learning and an Introduction to Robotics and Drone.

INTRODUCTION TO CYBER SECURITY

Code CMP-7034A

Credits 20

This module will provide you with a broad understanding of the key topics and issues relating to cyber security. In the module we will use real-world examples and case studies to illustrate the importance of security. You will learn about a variety of cyber security topics including: the value of information and data, vulnerabilities and exploits, tools for defence and mitigation and the human elements of cyber security. Security is fast becoming an essential part of all aspects of our daily lives and this module will provide you with the fundamental skills and knowledge for working in a range of industries.

DEVELOPING SECURE SOFTWARE

Code CMP-7038B

Credits 20

This module will focus on the methods and techniques for delivering robust, maintainable and secure software. Students will learn about the importance of security when designing and developing software. The module will include a broad range of software security threats and vulnerabilities and methods of mitigating these issues. The module will cover ethical hacking, penetration testing and structured approaches to security testing.

Optional B Modules

(40 credits)

INTERNET & MULTIMEDIA TECHNIQUES

Code CMP-7003A

Credits 20

In this module you will learn about the development and core technologies of the web, website design, deployment on desktop and mobile devices, current issues (e.g. security), and its impact on society. In the practical part of the module you will work on the design and integration of web sites, emphasising maintainability, accessibility and usability.

AUDIO AND VISUAL PROCESSING

Code CMP-7016A

Credits 20

This module explores how computers process audio and video signals. In the audio component, the focus is on understanding how humans produce speech and how this can be processed by computer for speech recognition and enhancement. Similarly, the visual component considers the human eye and camera, and how video is processed by computer. The theoretical material covered in lectures is reinforced with practical laboratory sessions. The module is coursework only and requires you to build a speech recogniser capable of recognising the names of students studying the module using both audio and visual speech information.

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION

Code CMP-7018A

Credits 20

INFORMATION VISUALISATION

Code CMP-7022B

Credits 20

This module is an introduction to information visualisation. You will learn techniques for summarising and presenting a wide range of data. There is a strong emphasis on understanding the appropriate context and use of visualisation techniques. You will also learn about problems and techniques for dealing with large data flows and issues of integrating multiple data sources.

DATA MINING

Code CMP-7023B

Credits 20

COMPUTER VISION

Code CMP-7026B

Credits 20

Computer Vision is about “teaching machines how to see”. You will study methods for acquiring, analysing and understanding images in both lectures and laboratories. The practical exercises and projects that you undertake in the laboratory will support the underpinning theory and enable you to implement contemporary computer vision algorithms.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Code CMP-7028A

Credits 20

INTRODUCTION TO CYBER SECURITY

Code CMP-7034A

Credits 20

DEVELOPING SECURE SOFTWARE

Code CMP-7038B

Credits 20

UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING

Code CMP-7040B

Credits 20

In this module we will introduce the multifaceted topic of Ubiquitous Computing. You will learn about how computing power can be taken away from desktop computer setting and be applied anywhere. The module draws upon many other areas such as Signal Processing, Machine Learning, Human Computer Interaction, Internet of Things, Networks, and the use of hardware such as microcontrollers, various sensors to create systems that sense and interpret the outside world to help solve a wide range of problems.  These systems can be wearable devices, smartphone apps that use the phone’s sensors, or bespoke devices that can be deployed in buildings, vehicles, urban and natural environments. This is project and coursework orientated module with an emphasis on developing your own ideas to gain the skills needed to take the power of computing to be everywhere.

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Important Information

Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.

MSc ADVANCED COMPUTING SCIENCE