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MSc Advanced Computer Science with Placement Year

Why choose Herts?

  • Industry Accreditations: Accredited by the British Computer Society (BCS) and the Chartered Institute for IT on behalf of the Engineering Council, enabling you to prepare for registration as a chartered engineer.
  • Employment Prospects: Our graduates work as software engineers, developers and project managers for organisations including IBM and Microsoft.
  • Work-Related Learning: You have an option to undertake a placement of up to one year conditional on course requirements. Placements may be paid or unpaid depending on the employer organisation. Students have secured placements with organisations including Hewlett Packard, BT and Vodafone.

Professional Accreditations

Accredited by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT for the purposes of partially meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered IT Professional. Students on the specialist MSc with placement (Semester B entry) must pass the 7COM1064 Preparation for Placement module as a condition for accreditation.  

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About the course

One of a range of degrees from the taught master's Programme at the Department of Computer Science.

This course will enhance your career prospects or prepare you for a programme of research that requires knowledge of one or more of these sub-discipline areas. You will benefit from wide range of taught modules from which to choose, and will be expected to complete a major project that extends and applies what you have learnt in one or more of the taught modules you have taken.

The programme offers three award routes that you can choose to study:  

Why choose this course?

  • One of a range of advanced courses within our postgraduate master's programme in Computer Science, this particular course provides you with a specialism combining theoretical knowledge and practical skills in advanced computer science.
  • This MSc will enable you to develop skills in using and critically evaluating a range of methods and tools currently employed in at least two specialist topics of computer science to advanced depth.
  • Taught by a highly-regarded and long-established computer science department with strong links to business.
  • Computer Science saw 90% of its research ranked as world-leading (Research Excellence Framework, 2021). 

What will I study?

Classes consist of lectures, small group seminars, and practical work in our well-equipped laboratories. We use modern, industry-standard software wherever possible. There are specialist facilities for networking and multimedia and a project laboratory especially for masters students. In addition to scheduled classes, you will be expected a significant amount of time in self-study, taking advantage of the extensive and up-to-date facilities. These include the Learning Resource Centres, open 24x7, with 1,500 computer workstations and wifi access, Studynet our versatile online study environment usable on and off campus, and open access to our labs.

Where will I study?

Learn in our new School of Physics, Engineering and Computer Science building (SPECS), where you’ll experience a range of experiential learning zones.

The computer science labs are home to telecommunications, robotics and UX empathy labs, with a variety of research spaces that range from dark rooms to clean rooms, and sample prep labs to calibration and assembly labs.

You will also benefit from our Academic Support Hub, which is aimed at helping you build your employability and academic skills. Plus, have access to industry mentors who will provide you with pastoral support, vocational guidance, and career progression opportunities.

Spectra also provides space to collaborate, with plenty of workshops, social and meeting spaces available. Even better, the building has been designed with the University’s net zero carbon target in mind, and forms part of our plan to replace or upgrade older sites that are energy inefficient.

  • Level 7
    ModuleCreditsCompulsory/optional
    Measures and Models for Software Engineering30 CreditsOptional
    Programming for Software Engineers30 CreditsOptional
    Software Engineering Practice and Experience30 CreditsOptional
    Distributed Systems Security30 CreditsOptional
    Artificial Life with Robotics30 CreditsOptional
    Neural Networks and Machine Learning30 CreditsOptional
    Theory and Practice of Artificial Intelligence30 CreditsOptional
    Advanced Computer Science Masters Project60 CreditsCompulsory
    Preparation for Placement0 CreditsCompulsory
    Foundations of Data Science30 CreditsOptional
    Wireless Mobile and Multimedia Networking30 CreditsOptional
    Computational Algorithms and Paradigms30 CreditsCompulsory
    Team Research and Development Project15 CreditsCompulsory
    Professional Work Placement for MSc Computer Science60 CreditsCompulsory
    Responsible Technology15 CreditsCompulsory
  • Further course information

    Course fact sheets
    MSc Advanced Computer Science - Extended Download
    Programme specifications
    MSc Advanced Computer Science - Extended Download
    Additional information

    Sandwich placement or study abroad year

    Mandatory

    Applications open to international and EU students

    Yes

    Student experience

    At the University of Hertfordshire, we want to make sure your time studying with us is as stress-free and rewarding as possible. We offer a range of support services including; student wellbeing, academic support, accommodation and childcare to ensure that you make the most of your time at Herts and can focus on studying and having fun.

    Find out about how we support our students

    You can also read our student blogs to find out about life at Herts.