Advanced Computer Science
MSc or PGDip or PGCert
Key facts
Start dates
September 2020
Location
Course length
Full time: MSc - 1 year (12 months); MSc with placement 2 years (24 months); PG Dip - 6 months; PG Cert - 3 months
Part time: MSc - 2 years; Msc with placement 3 years (36 months); PG Dip - 18 months (12 months study time); PG Cert - 6 months
Accreditation(s)
The British Computer Society
Overview
Our Advanced Computer Science MSc / PGDip / PGCert will help you to develop a diverse range of skills to produce solutions in the complex projects increasingly widespread in industry. These projects include:
- web technology combining networking, human computer interface and intelligent systems
- high speed networks using concepts from artificial intelligence requiring intelligent front ends.
This course is for recent graduates and those with substantial experience in the computing industry. You will gain a qualification which develops your expertise. And you'll have the opportunity to put the skills you have gained into practice by taking an optional, one year placement.
You will be part of a diverse and truly international postgraduate community.
The course is accredited by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.
How to apply
Entry requirements
Specific entry requirements
You should normally hold a first degree equivalent to at least a British lower second class bachelor's degree in a computer-related subject. If your first degree is not in computing but you have worked in the computing industry you can also be considered. If you have no experience or degree in a computing related discipline then you should consider our MSc in Computing Science.
For entry onto the Postgraduate Certificate Research Project you should be able to provide evidence of experience in research and study methods at an appropriate level.
Please also see the University's general entry requirements.
English language requirements
If your first language is not English you will require a minimum IELTS score of 6.0 with 6.0 in all components.
OR
An equivalent English language qualification acceptable to the University.
Please also see the University's standard English language requirements.
English requirements for visas
If you need a student visa to enter the UK you will need to meet the UK Visas and Immigration minimum language requirements as well as the University's requirements. Find out more about English language requirements.
Pathways courses for international and EU students
We offer a range of courses to help you meet the entry requirements for your postgraduate course and also familiarise you with university life in the UK.
Take a Pre-Master's course to develop your subject knowledge, study skills and academic language level in preparation for your master's course.
If you need to improve your English language, we offer pre-sessional English language courses to help you meet the English language requirements of your chosen master’s course.
Terms and Conditions of Enrolment
When you accept our offer, you agree to the Terms and Conditions of Enrolment. You should therefore read those conditions before accepting the offer.
Application process
Tuition fees
Questions about fees?
Contact Student Finance on:
Tuition fees
The full-time fees quoted are for the taught Year 1. Fees will be charged for the placement year in Year 2 and are available on request from finance-fees@brookes.ac.uk in May 2020. For approximate fee levels of the placement year see the placement fee above.
Financial support and scholarships
Additional costs
Please be aware that some courses will involve some additional costs that are not covered by your fees. Specific additional costs for this course, if any, are detailed below.
Students on placement are responsible for living costs associated with their placement.
Learning and assessment
You will have maximum flexibility and choice in your studies with our modular course-unit design.
You have the option of working in industry for a year in the middle of your course to gain valuable workplace experience.
You can update your skills as a computing industry professional with our Postgraduate Certificate or Diploma in Advanced Computer Science. You will concentrate on the taught element of our degree.
There is also the option of completing a Postgraduate Certificate in Advanced Computer Science research project.
Study modules
The modules listed below are for the master's award. For the PGDip and PGCert awards your module choices may be different. Please contact us for more details.
Please note: As our courses are reviewed regularly as part of our quality assurance framework, the modules you can choose from may vary from that shown here. The structure of the course may also mean some modules are not available to you.
Learning and teaching
Your understanding will be strengthened with a combination of lectures and practical sessions.
The modules you study will be enriched by our teaching staff's research expertise. We also invite visiting lecturers from research organisations and industry.
To qualify you will need to pass modules amounting to the following levels of credit:
- master’s degree - 180 credits
- postgraduate diploma - 120 credits
- postgraduate certificate - 60 credits.
As a part-time student you can distribute your work over a two-year period.
Research
We have a vibrant and growing research community with a wide range of activities:
- model-driven system design
- empirical software engineering
- web technologies
- cloud computing and big data
- digital forensics
- computer vision.
Staff and students collaborate on projects supported by the EPSRC, the EU, the DTI, and several major UK companies. Our course design is informed by state-of-the-art research undertaken in the school.
Research areas and clusters
- artificial intelligence and vision research group
- communications, media and electronic technologies group (COMET)
- cognitive robotics group
- applied formal methods
- applied software engineering
- advanced reliable computer systems group (ARCoS)
- cyber security.
After you graduate
Career prospects
Graduates of this course are employed across a whole range of careers from development roles in small software houses, to the activities of IT departments in large, multinational corporations, to more specialist roles for providers of IT and telecommunications services.
These include:
- technical roles, including software design and development
- specialist product support
- infrastructure and security management roles.
Programme Changes: On rare occasions we may need to make changes to our course programmes after they have been published on the website.
For more information, please visit our Changes to programmes page.