Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence)

Our advanced, four-year MSci with a dedicated Artificial Intelligence (AI) pathway is designed to give you the knowledge, skills and practical experience to pursue a high level career in computing and AI. It offers a thorough grounding in computing as well as an in-depth study of the latest trends and technologies in the rapidly evolving world of AI. You will explore an AI related topic of your choice and showcase your abilities in an extended final year project. You will also have the chance to take courses from our MSc programmes and to graduate with an integrated masters qualification. It is particularly recommended for students who want to go on to postgraduate study or a scientific or technical career. You will not only enhance your knowledge and understanding of the subject but also gain a competitive edge over graduates from standard three-year BSc programmes.

AI is one of the most exciting and rapidly developing aspects of 21st century technology. On this programme you will learn from leading researchers in the field, covering topics such as computer learning, intelligent agents, neural networks, bioinformatics, information security and computational finance, and benefit from access to our internationally renowned Computer Learning Research Centre. All this will be underpinned by a thorough grounding in the fundamentals of computing and the essentials of application development, from programming to software engineering, databases to web development, computer graphics to robotics. From the outset you be experimenting with programming games, robots, Gadgeteer kits, Subversion, JUnit testing, Scrum-based Agile software and more, in our well-equipped laboratories. Alongside our core modules you will have the flexibility to choose from a range of optional courses. There is also the possibility of transferring onto our five-year, year in industry programme subject to good academic progress.

We are a highly respected, research-focused department with a friendly approach and award-winning teaching. We offer a summer work placement programme and a dedicated personal adviser to guide you through your studies. You will also be welcome to join our Computing Society, a thriving community of more than 400 computer enthusiasts from across the College. We are one of only seven departments in the UK to hold the Athena SWAN bronze award for our commitment to increasing female participation in computer science.

A state-of-the-art Big Data cluster comprising 32 processors, 32 Terabytes of disk storage, GPU and RDMA networking allows you to work on real case studies.

We develop both fundamental theory and practical algorithms that feed into the analytics methods and techniques that are in use today.

Our research involves cognitive and autonomous agents, automated planning, scheduling and domain-independent search control, and applications in surveillance operations, disaster response missions, and space operations.

We collaborate with Microsoft Research, IBM Research, NEC Labs Europe, Facebook, Google, and NASA, whichinforms our teaching.

Course Modules

Core Modules

Year 1

• Object Oriented Programming I

• Object Oriented Programming II

• Programming laboratory

• Internet Services

• Mathematical Structures

• Machine Fundamentals

• Mathematical Methods for Computer Science

• Software Design

• Academic Integrity

Year 2

• Software Engineering

• Team Project

• Operating Systems

• Databases

• Algorithms and Complexity

• Introduction to Information Security

Year 3

• All modules are optional

Year 4

• Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence) MSci Project

Optional Modules

Below is a taster of some of the exciting optional modules that students on the course could choose from during this academic year. Please be aware these do change over time, and optional modules may be withdrawn or new ones added.

Year 1

• All modules are core

Year 2

• All modules are core

Year 3

• Computational Finance

• Intelligent Agents and Multi-agent Systems

• Machine Learning

• Semantic Web

• Data Visualisation and Exploratory Analysis

• Advanced Data Communications

• Concurrent and Parallel Programming

• Interconnected Devices

• Applications of Cryptography

• Critical Infrastructure Security

• Digital Forensics

• Malicious Software

• Smart Cards, RFIDs and Embedded Systems Security

• Human-computer Interaction

• IT Project Management

• Software Language Engineering

• Bioinformatics

• Compilers and Code Generation

• Computational Optimisation

• Digital Audio and Applications

• Functional Programming and Applications

Year 4

• Methods of Computational Finance

• Data Analysis

• Deep Learning

• Intelligent Agents and Multi-agent Systems

• Machine Learning

• Advanced Data Communications

• Advanced Distributed Systems

• Large Scale Data Storage and Processing

• Wireless Sensor and Actuator Networks

• Critical Infrastructure Security

• Digital Forensics

• Secure Business Architectures

• Security Management

• Security Testing Theory and Practice

• Smart Cards, RFIDs and Embedded Systems Security

• Running a small business

• Standards, IP and Technology seminar series

• Technology Entrepreneurship

• Computational Optimisation

• Digital Audio and Applications

• Artificial Intelligence Principles and Techniques

https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studying-here/undergraduate/computer-science/computer-science-artificial-intelligence-msci/

We firmly believe that how we teach you is at least as important as what we teach, and we know the importance of giving you the time and space to experiment and put theory into practice. We encourage you to use your creativity, both in project teams and independently, and to have fun while you learn. We use a variety of teaching methods, including lectures, small-group tutorials, supervised computer lab classes and problem-solving sessions. You will also be expected to complete guided independent study and group work. Our programming and software engineering teaching is very hands on, allowing you to learn at your own pace, whatever your previous level of experience. You will also attend laboratory classes on games and robotics in year 1, giving you the chance to develop real applications with imagination and creativity from the outset.

We are proud of our award-winning teaching. Professor Dave Cohen won a College Excellence Teaching Prize for the re-design of our second-year software engineering courses, and he was shortlisted for a Times Higher Education Award for Most Innovative Teacher of the Year. The British Computer Society (BCS) has distinguished our software engineering teaching as an exemplar of 'best practice' in computer science education.

Assessment is through a mixture of examinations and coursework. Most course units have a two or three-hour written examination taken at the end of the year in which they are taught, but around half of your final award will come from assessed coursework, which could include project reports, essays, oral presentations and software submissions.