Artificial Intelligence is rapidly changing the way we live, work and learn. Both governments and industries have recognised the need for strategic development of AI -- technology giants such as Google, Microsoft and Facebook have each established their own AI research institutes, and the UK government recently announced its £75 million investment in the November 2017 Budget.
There is however a real shortage of AI talents worldwide, both to serve the industry and drive future research. Artificial Intelligence jobs are amongst the best paid in industry nowadays – an AI Specialist typically earns among the highest salaries (New York Times, 22nd Oct 2017), while having a solid AI background is strongly desired in multiple research disciplines.
MSc Artificial Intelligence importantly recognises such need for training cutting-edge AI talents, and is specifically designed to maximise student employability on AI-specific jobs.
• comprehensive: covering all five of the most popular AI topics
• up-to-date: each topic backed up by a world-leading group with cutting edge research
• unique: offering Game AI that represents some of the most advanced AI to date (e.g., AlphaGo)
• practical: focusing on developing practical machine-learning skills across all five AI topics
The programme brings together our teaching, research and industrial contacts to allow students to mix the different AI topics that best suits their personal requirements and future plans. Students will be offered lectures that explain the fundamental AI concepts, universal machine-learning tools essential for any AI job profile, and specific practical and research skills on all five of the AI topics. Students will gain experience with cutting-edge tools such as Deep Neural Networks (DNN), Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN), and Deep Reinforcement Learning (Deep RL) via regular exercises and practical labs. Students will be taught by world-renowned academics in their specific subject areas, and have regular contacts with them throughout the duration of the programme.
MSc Artificial Intelligence is currently available for one year full-time study or two years part-time study.
Semester 1: Four modules that operate on a 3+1 scheme
3 core modules that cover the foundational machine learning techniques and introduction of Artificial Intelligence for Games (e.g., AlphaGo); and 1 optional module to select from three other AI topics (vision, music and language).
Semester 2: Four modules themed around all five AI topics offered
The module selection allows students to focus on topic-specific research or industry applications for AI. More importantly, these module options allow students to gain advanced and up-to-date knowledge on selected AI topics.
Semester 3:
Students carry out a large project on the AI topic that they want to specialise in, after agreeing on a specific topic with an academic supervisor in the first semester, and completing the preparation phase over the second semester.
Undertaking a masters programme is a serious commitment, with weekly contact hours in addition to numerous hours of independent learning and research needed to progress at the required level. When coursework or examination deadlines are approaching, independent learning hours may need to increase significantly. Please contact the course convenor for precise information on the number of contact hours per week for this programme.
Part-time study options often mean that the number of modules taken is reduced per semester, with the full modules required to complete the programme spread over two academic years. Teaching is generally done during the day and part-time students should contact the course convenor to get an idea of when these teaching hours are likely to take place. Timetables are likely to be finalised in September but you may be able to gain an expectation of what will be required.
Important note regarding Part Time Study
We regret that due to complex timetabling constraints, we are not able to guarantee that lectures and labs for part time students will be limited to two days per week, neither do we currently support any evening classes. If you have specific enquiries about the timetabling of part time courses, please contact the MSc Administrator
· Computational Intelligence and Games
· Machine Learning
· Data Mining
· MSc Project module
· Introduction to Computer Vision
· Machine Learning for Visual Data Analysis
· Deep Learning and Computer Vision
· Music Perception and Cognition
· Music and Speech Modelling
· Music Analysis and Synthesis
· Natural Language Processing
· Advanced Natural Language Processing
· Artificial Intelligence
· Information Retrieval
· Advanced Robotics Systems
· Multi-platform Game Development
*All new courses are required to undergo a two-stage internal review and approval process before being advertised to students. Courses that are marked "subject to approval" have successfully completed the first stage of this process. Applications are welcome but we will not make formal offers for this course until it has passed this second (and final) stage.
AI is rapidly changing the way we live, work and learn. Both governments and industry have recognised the need for strategic development of AI -- technology giants such as Google, Microsoft and Facebook have each established their own AI research institutes, and the UK government recently announced its £75 million investment in the November 2017 Budget.
There is however a real shortage of AI talents worldwide, both to serve the industry and drive future research. AI jobs are amongst the best paid in industry nowadays – an AI Specialist typically earns among the highest salaries (New York Times, 22nd Oct 2017), while having a solid AI background is strongly desired in multiple research disciplines.
MSc Artificial Intelligence importantly recognises such need for training cutting-edge AI talents, and is specifically designed to maximise student employability on AI-specific jobs.
The programme brings together our teaching, research and industrial contacts to allow students to mix the different AI topics that best suits their personal requirements and future plans. Students will be offered lectures that explain the fundamental AI concepts, universal machine learning tools essential for any AI job profile, and specific practical and research skills on all five of the AI topics. Students will gain experience with cutting-edge tools such as Deep Neural Networks (DNN), Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN), and Deep Reinforcement Learning (Deep RL) via regular exercises and practical labs. Students will be taught by world-renowned academics in their specific subject areas, and have regular contacts with them throughout the duration of the programme.
The industrial placement consists of 8-12 months spent working with an appropriate employer in a role that relates directly to your field of study. The placement is currently undertaken after you have completed, passed the taught component of the degree and submitted your MSc project. The placement will provide the opportunity to apply key technical knowledge and skills gained from your taught modules and will enable you to gain a better understanding of your own abilities, aptitudes, attitudes and employment potential. The module is only open to students enrolled on a programme of study with integrated placement.
In the event that you are unable to secure a placement, we will transfer you onto the 1 year FT taught programme without the Industrial Experience. This change will also apply to any student visa you hold at the time.
MSc Artificial Intelligence is currently available for one year full-time study or two years part-time study.
Semester 1: Four modules that operate on a 3+1 scheme
3 core modules that cover the foundational machine learning techniques and introduction of Artificial Intelligence for Games (e.g., AlphaGo); and 1 optional module to select from three other AI topics (vision, music and language).
Semester 2: Four modules themed around all five AI topics offered
The module selection allows students to focus on topic-specific research or industry applications for AI. More importantly, these module options allow students to gain advanced and up-to-date knowledge on selected AI topics.
Semester 3:
Students carry out a large project on the AI topic that they want to specialise in, after agreeing on a specific topic with an academic supervisor in the first semester, and completing the preparation phase over the second semester.
Undertaking a masters programme is a serious commitment, with weekly contact hours being in addition to numerous hours of independent learning and research needed to progress at the required level. When coursework or examination deadlines are approaching independent learning hours may need to increase significantly. Please contact the course convenor for precise information on the number of contact hours per week for this programme.
Part-time study options often mean that the number of modules taken is reduced per semester, with the full modules required to complete the programme spread over two academic years. Teaching is generally done during the day and part-time students should contact the course convenor to get an idea of when these teaching hours are likely to take place. Timetables are likely to be finalised in September but you may be able to gain an expectation of what will be required.
· Computational Intelligence and Games
· Machine Learning
· Data Mining
· MSc Project module
· Introduction to Computer Vision
· Machine Learning for Visual Data Analysis
· Deep Learning and Computer Vision
· Music Perception and Cognition
· Music and Speech Modelling
· Music Analysis and Synthesis
· Natural Language Processing
· Advanced Natural Language Processing
· Artificial Intelligence
· Information Retrieval
· Advanced Robotics Systems
· Multi-platform Game Development
*All new courses are required to undergo a two-stage internal review and approval process before being advertised to students. Courses that are marked "subject to approval" have successfully completed the first stage of this process. Applications are welcome but we will not make formal offers for this course until it has passed this second (and final) stage.
The Institute for Adaptive and Neural Computation (IANC) is a world-leading institute dedicated to the theoretical and empirical study of adaptive processes in both artificial and biological systems. We are one of the UK’s largest and most prestigious academic teams in these fields.
We foster world-class interdisciplinary and collaborative research bringing together a range of disciplines.
Our research falls into three areas:
In machine learning we develop probabilistic methods that find patterns and structure in data, and apply them to scientific and technological problems. Applications include areas as diverse as astronomy, health sciences and computing.
In computational neuroscience and neuroinformatics we study how the brain processes information, and analyse and interpret data from neuroscientific experiments
The focus in the computational biology area is to develop computational strategies to store, analyse and model a variety of biological data (from protein measurements to insect behavioural data).
You carry out your research within a research group under the guidance of a supervisor. You will be expected to attend seminars and meetings of relevant research groups and may also attend lectures that are relevant to your research topic. Periodic reviews of your progress will be conducted to assist with research planning.
A programme of transferable skills courses facilitates broader professional development in a wide range of topics, from writing and presentation skills to entrepreneurship and career strategies.
The School of Informatics holds a Silver Athena SWAN award, in recognition of our commitment to advance the representation of women in science, mathematics, engineering and technology. The School is deploying a range of strategies to help female staff and students of all stages in their careers and we seek regular feedback from our research community on our performance.
The award-winning Informatics Forum is an international research facility for computing and related areas. It houses more than 400 research staff and students, providing office, meeting and social spaces.
It also contains two robotics labs, an instrumented multimedia room, eye-tracking and motion capture systems, and a full recording studio amongst other research facilities. Its spectacular atrium plays host to many events, from industry showcases and student hackathons to major research conferences.
Nearby teaching facilities include computer and teaching labs with more than 250 machines, 24-hour access to IT facilities for students, and comprehensive support provided by dedicated computing staff.
Among our entrepreneurial initiatives is Informatics Ventures, set up in 2008 to support globally ambitious software companies in Scotland and nurture a technology cluster to rival Boston, Pittsburgh, Kyoto and Silicon Valley.
The research you will undertake at ANC is perfectly suited to a career in academia, where you’ll be able to use your knowledge to advance this important field. Some graduates take their skills into commercial research posts, and find success in creating systems that can be used in everyday applications.
The Web Intelligence MSc aims to provide you with the knowledge and skills to solve challenging computational problems related to advanced reasoning systems for the internet. It will give you a broad understanding of web intelligence and a thorough knowledge of techniques for developing intelligent software.
The Web Intelligence MSc will provide you with the practical knowledge and expertise to evaluate, design and build intelligent software for the internet. You will complete the course in one year, studying September to September and taking a combination of required and optional modules totalling 180 credits, including 60 credits that will come from a research project and dissertation of 10,000 words. You will study Artificial Intelligence, Agents and Multi-agent Systems as well as Software Engineering of Internet Systems. There are also opportunities to explore a broad range of optional modules allowing you to develop a study pathway that reflects your interests.
A graduate in computer science, mathematics, science or engineering with good knowledge of computer programming, this MSc will provide you with the practical knowledge and expertise to enable you to evaluate, design and build intelligent software for the web. Research for your individual project will provide valuable preparation for a career in research or industry.
Teaching
We use lectures, seminars and group tutorials to deliver most of the modules on the programme. You will also be expected to undertake a significant amount of independent study.
You are expected to spend approximately 150 hours of effort (i.e. about 10 hours per credit) for each module you attend in your degree. These 150 hours cover every aspect of the module: lectures, tutorials, lab-based exercises, independent study based on personal and provided lecture notes, tutorial preparation and completion of exercises, coursework preparation and submission, examination revision and preparation, and examinations.
Assessment
The primary method of assessment for this course is a combination of written examinations, essays, coursework and individual or group projects and oral presentations. The research project will be assessed through a dissertation.
Our graduates have continued on to have very successful careers in industry and research. Recent employers have included general software consultancy companies, specific software development businesses and the IT departments of large institutions (financial, telecommunications and public sector). Some graduates have entered into the field of academic and industrial research in software engineering, bio-informatics, algorithms, artificial intelligence and computer networks.
This degree, offered by the Department of Computer Science and the Department of Economics, allows you to specialise in modern quantitative finance and computational methods for financial modelling, which are demanded for jobs in asset structuring, product pricing as well as risk management.
Skills that you will acquire include the ability to:
You will be taught by world-leading academics. Research in Machine Learning at Royal Holloway started in the 1990’s, at which time V. Vapnik and A. Chervonenkis (the inventors of Support Vector Machines) were both professors here. We have developed both fundamental theory and practical algorithms that have fed into the analytics methods and techniques that are in use today. Current researchers include Alexander Gammerman and Vladimir Vovk – the inventors of conformal predictors theory, a radically new method of estimating the accuracy of each prediction as it is made – and Chris Watkins, originator of reinforcement learning who developed ‘Q-learning’, a work that is fundamental to planning and control.
Core modules
Optional modules
In addition to these mandatory course units there are a number of optional course units available during your degree studies. The following is a selection of optional course units that are likely to be available. Please note that although the College will keep changes to a minimum, new units may be offered or existing units may be withdrawn, for example, in response to a change in staff. Applicants will be informed if any significant changes need to be made.
Please note that some of these modules may have pre-requisites. During Welcome Week, your personal advisor will help you choose the electives that best suit your background and career ambitions, as well as your timetable.
Teaching is organised in terms of 11 weeks each. Examinations are taken in April/May of each academic year, except for Data Analysis for which the exam is in January. The individual project is taken over 12 weeks during the Summer.
A weekly seminar series runs in parallel with the academic programme, which includes talks by professionals in a variety of application areas as well as workshops that will train you to find a placement or a job and lead a successful career.
Assessment is carried out by a variety of methods including coursework, small group projects, and examinations, the proportions of which vary according to the nature of the modules.
This degree can be taken part-time - visit our website for details
Demand for data scientists is buoyant, in the UK and worldwide, with salaries much higher than other IT professions and at least double the UK average full time wage. All our graduates found jobs at the end of (if not during) their studies.
We bring several companies to our campus throughout the year, both for fairs and for delivering advanced topics seminars, which are an excellent opportunity to learn about what they do and discuss possible placements or jobs. Together with the University’s Careers Service, we offer you workshops and one-to-one coaching that prepare you to find a placement or a job and lead a successful career.
Develop your skills and enhance your career prospects with a masters degree in Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence
