Questions

Good afternoon, I'm sahil from India. I am looking forward to pursue Master's in data science or artificial intelligence from the universities of Uk. Currently I'm in my last year of university, graduating in statistics. My question is: is it worth doing it and what are the job opportunities in this field in the UK? Thank you

Hello!

While I don’t study those subjects, from what I do know about them, I would say they are great degrees if you are planing on entering and specialising in that field. From what I personally know, I know it would help you to become a data scientist or machine learning engineer. But again I have very little information in this topic as I only studied computer science conversion course.

My advice for you is to try phoning the university, or emailing someone from the course that can advise you further. I recently had someone who found me on LinkedIn and asked me some questions so that is something you can try if the person is up for it they’d be happy to answer some questions. I would highly recommend checking online forums, they helped me when I was unsure.

It is definitely a worthwhile degree, but I understand you want to be sure before taking on that responsibility. I hope my advice has helped in that regard.

– Fatma

Hi Fatma, I hope you're well. I was hoping to do the MSc in Computer science however I have only done maths up to GCSE level and achieved a B. Do you think this will hinder me, is there a lot of maths knowledge needed? Thank you

Hi!

I also only did Maths until my GCSE and I remember phoning the university when I was applying to check if this would be an issue, and they told me that it would be fine, and honestly since the being on the course, I can say that has been true. Not having any mathematical achievements passed a GCSE has not hindered me at all, plus all the relevant maths is taught to you in lectures and you are given practice assignments as well as directed to useful resources as well, but this is not often because we don’t have all that much math in the course. The most math I saw was in the introduction to Artificial Intelligence.

Also you will be able to do your own further research and study into the maths, if you feel you haven’t quite grasped some stuff. My goto is usually youtube, and khan academy have some amazing tutorials, but there is also a wide range of support on the course. For example, I remember when I struggled understanding matrices, and I spoke to a TA who was willing to sit and help me and some friends out to understand it and sent us a bunch of resources as well. So you will always find the help when it comes to the maths on this course, but its isn’t math focused at all.

You will be fine, trust me. I hope my answer helped.

– Fatma

Hello Fatma, hope you are doing well. I am an applicant from India and got admitted to Msc Computer Science course. I want to know about the teaching method (like approx % of lectures, practicals, self study) used to deliver this course. Also i am not able to find the detailed course curriculum, would you help me to find that? Thanks in advance.

Hi there!

First of all congrats on getting admitted to the course!

In terms of teaching methods it of course varies between the different modules, but on average you will have two hours of lectures for each module every week, with more hours for the mandatory software workshop module. Outside those lecture hours every student is assigned a lab session or tutorial where it is applicable in different modules, e.g. software workshop has lab hours while data structures module has tutorials. the labs also range from 1-2 hours, it changes from autumn to spring term, and the tutorials are 1 hour every week. I don’t remember the exact hours that is expected for self-study but it is reasonable, but what I found was that naturally some things are going to come easier to you than other, so self study times is nothing but a guideline. I don’t know where to find a detailed course curriculum, but I know that the course page online does include a list of the modules that are taken on the course, that’s what I used to look over when I was applying.

I hope that helps answer your questions!

-Fatma

This is a greeting from Jack. I am a Hong Kong student majoring in Social Policy and Administration and minoring in Accountancy. I am particularly interested in the MSc in Computer Science offered by the University of Birmingham because it helped developing practical coding skills of students, who had not studied any computer science before. I believe that acquaintance with computing skill would be conducive to my future career path in finance. However, may I ask whether a student who did not study Advanced Mathematics and Physics in his secondary school level is possible to enter into this programme? Thank you.

Hi,

Our entry requirements are a 2:1 Honours degree in any subject other than computing. Therefore, you would be eligible to apply. You may also need to meet our English language requirements, which are detailed here: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/postgraduate/pgt/requirements-pgt/international/index.aspx.

Hi I am willing to apply for a Cybersecurity master's degree. I have bachelor degree in Electronic engineering with grade 69% with 14 years of experience in the IT field. Do you think the work experiences can cover the low grade. Also, is it applicale to start the from Jan 2021 not Oct. 2020. Thanks

Hi there!

I’m not very knowledgeable about the Cybersecurity masters course as I do Computer Science. But I had a similar experience when I was applying for my masters here too. Naturally experience in the field will add to your application and will be taken into consideration. I have looked over the entry requirements for the course and it requires a 2:1 in computer science or a related subject. I would say you have a strong application in that case. I would highly recommend either phoning or emailing the postgraduate admissions team, that’s what I did, I spoke to them over the phone about any hesitations I had about my entry requirements and they were extremely helpful. The number to call is +44 121 415 8742 and the email is msc-admissions@cs.bham.ac.uk. Regarding the start date, I would also check with the postgraduate admissions team to be sure, but from what I know courses do start in October for the autumn term.

I hope that helps, and good luck with your application!

-Fatma

I have been offered a place in MSc Data science taught program and i am concerned about the placements in University that held on career fairs. I wish to know about the student getting placed in industry with the initial package and list of recruited that visited last year? It would be highly regard-able if you soughted out my complexity.

Hi,

Congrats on your offer! In terms of postgraduate placement support, there are some ways the careers network help with this. It ranges from internship programmes such as the Santanders Universities Internship Scheme, or taking on a virtual internship, etc. They will also support with applications and finding graduate opportunities, and their help extends for two years after graduation. They also have a range of tailored events on campus as well as numerous opportunities to meet employers face to face. They can also support with starting your own business. In terms of the specific numbers, I do not hold that information, but you are welcome to contact the careers network with more questions who would be more than happy to help. The MSc Data Science page also has a list of employability options at also includes a section regarding the support the careers network can provide, but again your welcome to talk to them directly to get more information.

I hope that helps and good luck with everything!

– Fatma

What piece of advice would you give to anyone considering postgraduate study in your field?

To anyone looking to study a postgraduate course, I would immediately recommend to look over the modules of a course, understand what will be taught and how much it aligns with what you want out of that year, and for your career plans afterwards. For me, I wanted to understand the theoretical underpinnings of computer science, but I also wanted real practical coding skills, and in looking over a variety of computer science conversion courses, this course at the University of Birmingham fit the best for me. I would also recommend either going to the campus, asking questions to the postgraduate recruitment team, or even browsing online forums to understand the culture of the university you will be studying at.

What was your motivation for undertaking postgraduate study?

I undertook postgraduate study because it presented me with an opportunity to study computer science without having studied it before. The conversion course allows anyone with no knowledge of computer science to have theoretical understanding of the field as well as grounded and practical skills of programming. I also knew that having a postgraduate degree under my belt will increase my skill set and make me that much more employable in the near future.

What, for you, are the best things about the course?

One of the best things about this course is the wide variety of help available to me, from the lecturers to the teaching assistant, to the weekly tutorials to the many help desks for the different modules I take. Also my classes are filled with people from such a wide variety of backgrounds, where everyone has their own strengths that I am able to learn from my team members during group work assignments or even just while we study together!