MSc Data Science (Online)

Go from academic theory to real-world artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) applications with a career-focused MSc Data Science from Lancaster University. Our curriculum leverages popular tools such as Hadoop, Spark and PyTorch sought by today’s employers. Through practical, hands-on learning experiences, you’ll gain a thorough understanding of foundational and advanced programming, data analysis and mathematical concepts that are crucial to succeed as a data science professional. You’ll showcase your skills through an original data analysis project with your current employer or with one of our industry partners.

As a student in the online MSc Data Science programme, you’ll learn directly from academics at Lancaster’s renowned Data Science Institute (DSI), a leading research institute driving data science and AI innovations across industries in the UK and abroad. Along with DSI, teaching staff from our School of Computing and Communications (SCC), School of Mathematical Sciences and the Security Lancaster institute collaborate to deliver a curriculum that reflects the interconnected and ever-evolving nature of data science. Professional data scientists regularly join classroom sessions as guest lecturers, sharing how they’ve navigated complex projects, overcome challenges and built distinguished careers.

Upon completion of the programme, you will:

• Become a subject matter expert in data science, AI, NLP and machine learning
• Master industry-standard tools including Python, Hadoop, Spark and PyTorch
• Gain the confidence to distill complex data sets into digestible, actionable insights for non-technical audiences;
• Develop the skills to independently design and conduct an original data analysis project with your current employer or one of our industry partners, and confidently present and package findings to inform business decisions

How is the course taught and assessed?

The programme consists of 180 credits made up of six taught modules (20 credits each) and a 60-credit project dissertation. The project dissertation comprises a 20-credit foundation element and a 40-credit implementation element. Assignments within modules emphasise working with various applications and programming languages, empowering you to master the foundational, career-essential building blocks of data science. Build a supportive learning community with teaching staff and peers during live sessions, which will take place one hour a week, allowing you to view other lectures and complete independent study when it’s convenient for you.

You will have the opportunity to connect theory to practice during the dissertation and devise an independent industry or research project to solve a real-world data challenge and demonstrate learnings from the modules within the programme. If you are already working within the field, you can complete your project using your place of work as your respective site instead of one of our industry partners.

Who is this programme for?

If you’re interested in the fast-paced world of data science, our career-centric programme will equip you to extract, analyse and articulate complex data and turn it into a competitive business advantage.

Prior experience in computer programming is not strictly required; however, the programme emphasises technical skills and you do need previous exposure to quantitative methods such as statistics or mathematical modelling. Whether you are transitioning from another field or enhancing your existing skill set, our programme puts the tools and techniques into your hands to build a successful data science career.