Oxford Brookes University, MSc, Computer Science

BCS accredited MSc (CITPFL, partial CEng)

Our BCS accredited MSc in Computer Science provides you with a diverse range of skills so that you will be able to produce optimal solutions in complex, multi-discipline projects which are increasingly widespread in industry.

Examples of such projects include web technology combining networking, human-computer interface and intelligent systems, and high-speed networks using concepts from artificial intelligence and requiring intelligent front ends.

This course is aimed at recent graduates and those with substantial experience in the computing industry who want to gain a qualification that develops their expertise.

Why choose this course?

• The design of our programmes is informed by state-of-the-art research being undertaken in the school.
• Professional experts contribute to the range of subjects on offer.
• You will have the opportunity to put the skills you have gained into practice if you choose to undertake our 1 year optional placement
• You will be joining a school with a diverse and truly international postgraduate community. 
• The universal nature of the technical skills developed in our programmes means our courses are of equal relevance to both new graduates and those with many years of industrial experience.

Professional accreditation

The course is accredited by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, for the purposes of fully meeting the further learning academic requirement for registration as a Chartered IT Professional and partially meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered Engineer.

Teaching and learning

Lectures provide a theoretical basis, while the practical sessions are used to strengthen your understanding by active involvement. Coursework and projects form the basis for continuous assessment. These methods have been developed to provide the varied experience that our students require, including the opportunity to discuss your work directly with the lecturers.

Many of the modules are enriched by the teaching staff's research expertise. There are also visiting lecturers from research organisations and industry.

Assessment methods include examination and coursework, reflecting the development of academic content from the more practical aspects to the more conceptual.

Approach to assessment

Assessments include coursework exercises, presentations, lab work, reports and examinations.

Specialist facilities

Based on your own dedicated campus our labs are equipped with industry-standard equipment and software tools. This enables you to develop skills of immediate relevance to industry needs while also providing a sound practical basis that enhances you understanding of theoretical concepts. Networking laboratories are equipped with modern Cisco routers, switches and security devices to enable design construction and testing of complete high bandwidth, secure, wired and wireless networks. Our server and security laboratories provide a safe environment for you to experiment with range of complex systems and software.

How this course helps you develop

We focus on using industry standard tools to solve practical and industrially relevant problems, and using those problems to teach the theoretical concepts. This ensures that students have the opportunity to acquire skills which will not just equip them for today's computing industry, but for a lifelong career in the computing industry.

Students on the MSc course who undertake a placement will have the opportunity to put into practice in a business environment, the skills they have acquired in the taught part of the programme as well as gaining valuable experience for their CVs.

Careers

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, and infrastructure and security management roles.

Tuition fee

Home/EU - full time fee 2019/20: Masters £6,360 (12 months), Diploma £3,950 (6 months), Certificate £1,990 (3 months)

Home/EU - part time fee 2019/20: £3,240 Masters

Home/EU - sandwich fee 2019/20: £1,270

International - full time 2019/20 £14,850 (12 months)

International - sandwich fee 2019/20: £3,180

Where part time fees are quoted this is for the first year only. Fees will increase by up to 4% each year.

Funding and scholarships

The Department of Computing and Communication Technologies awards a limited number of scholarships for its taught postgraduate programmes, which are awarded on a competitive basis to UK, EU and international postgraduates each year. 

Additional Costs

Students on placement are responsible for living costs associated with their placement.