Course summary

In today’s hi-tech world, as organisations seek to streamline processes and increase efficiency, there is a growing demand for highly-skilled professionals who can harness the power of accelerating digital transformation in everything from intelligent automation to cloud computing, cybersecurity and big data.

This MSc in Advanced Computer Science is intended for graduates who studied Computing, Computer Science or a closely-related subject at undergraduate level and are looking to develop a higher level of understanding and advanced skills which reflect cutting-edge developments and technologies within the field.

The course covers a wide range of practical skills and theory that students can chose from, including advanced programming, machine learning and AI, cyber security and cryptography and advanced data analysis and the use of cloud computing infrastructure. Taught by our experienced lecturers, with opportunities for hands-on experience using our state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, you can learn a wide range of in-demand skills and techniques, including manipulating large amounts of data, designing and building complex and secure applications, leveraging and provisioning cloud services and developing autonomous systems.

As part of our focus on preparing you for industry, you will have the opportunity to study a module where you work collaboratively with students on all of our MSc programmes to develop an application for one of our industrial collaborators.

You’ll have multiple opportunities to apply your learning to real-world problems with the choice of taking either an industrial placement* or tackling an industry-related problem as part of an MSc project. Examples of companies where students have previously undertaken an industry placement include Synectics Solutions, Collective Crunch and Greenhous.

By the time you graduate, you’ll have gained the technical knowledge and practical skills necessary to design, build, deploy and evaluate distributed information systems and enterprise applications over the Internet, with a focus on security issues.

With a long-standing tradition in teaching Computer Science since 1972, Keele takes pride in being at the forefront of computer science education and research today. The School of Computer Science and Mathematics offers an inclusive, dynamic community of experts with access to world-leading research and cutting-edge areas of industry, such as cloud computing, data mining and web technologies.

Smaller class sizes allow you to foster close relationships with colleagues and peers, while industry-led projects and practitioner guest lecturers provide valuable networking opportunities. In the past, students have enjoyed talks from our industrial partners from the SEND project, software developers from national companies, such as Bet365, and academic experts.

Your career

The rising profile of AI, global cyber security, social media safety, and tech’s role in understanding and tackling some of society’s biggest challenges, such as climate change and pandemic modelling, is fuelling the demand and interest in computer science, according to the BCS.

The IT sector is still growing faster than the rest of UK economy and a shortage of specialised skills mean the demand for graduates is not set to slow any time soon. In fact, three-quarters of IT decision-makers across the world reported critical skills gaps across tech departments, a number that has increased significantly in the past five years.