Computer Science influences every aspect of modern life and is one of the fastest-moving academic disciplines and has a huge impact on both economic competitiveness and human wellbeing. This course will equip you with the skills and expertise required to forge a successful career in a wide range of industries.
This course not only offers a balance between advanced computer science theory and practical experience, but has a very strong focus on contemporary research. Practical work is an important part of every module and the School of Science and Technology has strong links within the industry, including company giants such as Microsoft and Siemens.
The university is very active in the exploration of a number of key areas within computer Science which you will have the opportunity to focus upon during your studies and individual research project. These include, but are not limited to interaction design, data visualisation, artificial intelligence, ubiquitous computing, cyber-security, algorithmic design, and blockchain engineering.
This course is designed for those students who have previously studied computing at university level and are looking to develop an advanced mastery of the subject.
*Please note this course is subject to review.
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You will be encouraged to investigate the current areas of research that the university is currently exploring. These include computer graphics, machine learning, robotics, quantum computing, algorithmic design and visual analytics, amongst many others. You will also have the opportunity to study a range of programming paradigms, cross-platform software application development, agile techniques, human-computer interaction as well as designing and developing interactive visual computer systems.
As well as an in-depth understanding of your subject, you will also be quipped with the knowledge of analysing, developing and executing complex software, producing software to a given specification, and you’ll be able to use modelling and abstraction techniques to design software systems. This course will provide you with many transferable skills and will improve your research, data collection and interpretation, communication, problem-solving, presentation, and critical skills. The strong focus on principles and concepts will help you develop the capacity for life long independent study.
This module serves two main purposes. Firstly, it gives students an opportunity to complete two short studies as separate teaching blocks of advanced topics in computer science. Students will be able to select topics from a pool of designated options. All designated topics have a close alignment with research activity conducted within the school of Science and Technology, and each elective short-course will be presented by an experienced scholar in the specified field of computer science. The module will also focus on the preparation of a project proposal to be taken forward to the dissertation phase of the programme. To this end, a number of teaching weeks will aim to prepare students in research methods and project planning appropriate to an individual project. These sessions will be integrated at several points within the standard 24 week teaching framework with a view to underpin research and development activities within all the taught modules on the programme.
The module covers the software development process from requirements elicitation and design, to team development, documentation, maintenance, and quality assurance. The development paradigm will be object-oriented, and students will employ an integrated development environment for code management, and utilise associated tools for version control, testing and system documentation. The module also aims to guide the student learner through agile principles and practises, including requirements gathering, planning, test-driven development and refactoring. During this phase of the course students will gain experience using a range of software modelling tools.
Blockchain Technology is changing how organisations communicate and operate, with this change there is a challenge and opportunity for Blockchain developers. This module aims to convey the required knowledge underpinning blockchain technology in order to enable you to apply it to develop solutions to practical problems.
This module aims to develop your key skills required to understand and circumvent cyber incidents and how to implement security of systems and data. This module will review a range of related topics, including information security including cryptographic techniques, risk management, network penetration, protection and ethical hacking.
This module is based on the development of cross-platform applications and the context in which they work, that is, the Internet. These technologies and frameworks allow distributed client/server systems because of their cross-platform capabilities and APIs for accessing backend resources. This allows developers to create dynamic data driven Internet applications. The module looks at how such systems can be developed and deployed, the tools, protocols and security needed to do this in an efficient and security-aware manner.
This module provides you with an understanding of core concepts in the theory and application of interactive data visualisation, including those relating to visual perception, sensemaking, data preparation, visualisation patterns, dashboard design and interaction. You will learn principles relevant to designing interactive data visualisation and gain the experience of iteratively eliciting requirements for and developing visualisation solutions to real problems using off-the-shelf toolkits.
The project module aims to develop the students knowledge and skills required for planning and executing research projects such as proof of concept projects or empirical studies related to computer science. To plan and carry out their projects the students will have to: Apply theories, methods and techniques previously learned Critically analyse and evaluate research results drawing on knowledge from other modules Develop their communication skills to enable them to communicate their findings competently in written and oral form.
See the course specification for more information:
Optional modules are usually available at levels 5 and 6, although optional modules are not offered on every course. Where optional modules are available, you will be asked to make your choice during the previous academic year. If we have insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, or there are staffing changes which affect the teaching, it may not be offered. If an optional module will not run, we will advise you after the module selection period when numbers are confirmed, or at the earliest time that the programme team make the decision not to run the module, and help you choose an alternative module.
You’ll attend online sessions, where you’ll do practical work designing, analysing and building software, as well as a combination of real-time and pre-recorded lectures and seminars, which will give you the opportunity to ask questions, take part in class discussions and talk about problems. Some work will be done in groups. In your spare time, as well as in directed study periods, you’ll do your own independent study and reading, which will include the use of online resources.
Although there will be some tests as part of the programme assessment, there will be no written exams. You will be assessed entirely through coursework, presentations, reports, learning logbooks, practical software development assignments and group assignments. You will receive regular feedback on your work throughout the course.
For your independent project and dissertation, you will plan, conduct and critically evaluate an analytical study. You will be assessed on your research proposal, written dissertation and a viva voce exam, in which you’ll justify and reflect on your work, and discuss possible further developments.
If you have travel restrictions to the UK due to coronavirus, this course can be started fully online with support to learn from your home country for the first term.
We are back on campus for the majority of teaching in Autumn 2021, as long as restrictions allow. Your timetable will be built around on campus sessions using our professional facilities, with online sessions for some activities where we know being virtual will add value. We’ll use technology to enhance all of your learning and give you access to online resources to use in your own time.
In case of any changes to government guidance, we‘ll be ready to move to teaching with more restrictions in place and continue to give you an excellent learning experience. In this scenario, on campus teaching should continue although more of your course will take place online.
The table below gives you an idea of what your learning will look like across a typical week. Some weeks might be different due to how we schedule classes and arrange on campus sessions.
This information may change slightly as we receive further guidance from the government. You’ll receive final arrangements for your teaching and a full course timetable before you start.
Scenario A: Without social distancing | ||
Live in-person on campus learning | Contact hours per week, per level: | 6 hours |
Live online learning | Average hours per week, per level: | 6 hours |
Tutor set learning activities | Average hours per week, per level: | 2 hours |
Scenario B: With social distancing and/or with restrictions on travel to campus | ||
Live in-person on campus learning | Contact hours per week, per level: | 2 hours |
Live online learning | Average hours per week, per level: | 10 hours |
Tutor set learning activities | Average hours per week, per level: | 2 hours |
Outside of these hours, you’ll be expected to do independent study where you read, listen and reflect on other learning activities. This can include preparation for future classes. In a year, you’ll typically be expected to commit 1800 hours to your course across all styles of learning. If you are taking a placement, you might have some additional hours.
Read more about our scenarios for returning to campus and what they might mean for your teaching and learning experience, and how you’ll be able to access student support.
Future plans for teaching
We’re developing our plans for in-person on campus teaching following government advice to keep you safe. If more restrictions are put in place in the future, or there is another lockdown, we’ll deliver your learning and support fully online for a temporary period. We’ll make alternative arrangements for any required placements if they can’t go ahead as planned. We’ll always give you notice of any changes that we make.
Definitions of terms
Support
You’ll have a strong support network available to you to make sure you develop all the necessary academic skills you need to do well on your course.
Our support services will be delivered online and on campus and you’ll have access to a range of different resources so you can get the help you need, whether you’re studying at home or have the opportunity to come to campus.
You’ll have access to one to one and group sessions for personal learning and academic support from our library and IT teams, and our network of learning experts. Our teams will also be here to offer financial advice, and personal wellbeing, mental health and disability support.
More on teaching for your subject in 2021/22
Read our guide to what you can look forward to when you study your subject with us including more information about your teaching experience this autumn.
There is a very high demand worldwide for well-qualified IT graduates and this course will leave you perfectly placed to for a variety of roles in the software industry, such as software developer, IT systems architect, IT security coordinator, or information security analyst. You also have the opportunity to move into broader IT project management, systems design, consultancy or strategy planning. You might choose to specialise in a particular field, for example finance or security, or take on a managerial role.
The course's strong research slant creates an excellent foundation for further research in a wide range of topics.
Our graduates have gone on to work for software firms, computer manufacturers and specialist IT security consultancies. There are also opportunities within government departments, the health service, public services, financial institutions, management consultancies as well as in the media, transport, retail and education sectors. You could even start your own business.
Tomasz Wawreniuk
MSc Computer Science student
I chose this course because I love solving problems and computer science is the best subject for that. Course group is small, which gives an intimate feeling to the lessons. Lecturers know your strengths and weaknesses and will develop personalised projects that allow you to understand things in your own way.
The support on this course has been very good. Lecturers are helpful and willing to stay after hours to assist. Getting experience with real clients has been an amazing learning process through which I’ve gained confidence and bettered my communication skills. For example, working with the Pink Shoe Club (a company that aims to help women open and develop businesses) allowed me to work in a team with people I hadn’t interacted with before. We had to learn how to assess each other’s skills to utilise everyone’s strengths in the most efficient manner.
Student group in this course is very international and it’s exciting to learn about everyone's similarities and differences. I’ve loved my time at Middlesex University and I’d say that the diverse community here makes this course even more valuable.
We’ll carefully manage any future changes to courses, or the support and other services available to you, if these are necessary because of things like changes to government health and safety advice, or any changes to the law.
Any decisions will be taken in line with both external advice and the University’s Regulations which include information on this.
Our priority will always be to maintain academic standards and quality so that your learning outcomes are not affected by any adjustments that we may have to make.
At all times we’ll aim to keep you well informed of how we may need to respond to changing circumstances, and about support that we’ll provide to you.
Start: October 2021
Duration: 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time
Code: PGH671
Start: October 2021, EU/INT induction: September 2021
Duration: 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time
Code: PGG502
Start: October 2021, EU/INT induction: September 2021
Duration: 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time
Code: PGF490
