Data Science MSc

University of Surrey

The need for computational power and data storage continues to drive demand for more highly capable systems. Highly data intensive applications demand fast access to terabytes, petabytes, even exabytes of storage; processor intensive applications demand access to various types of processors in various configurations. Such applications are increasingly being developed in both scientific and industrial contexts and need to be variously scalable and supportable for large numbers of geographically distributed users. This module will provide insights into how Cloud Computing attempts to meet the varying needs of such applications.

The module provides for coverage of a variety of statistical methods, including descriptive statistics and validating formulated hypotheses, as well as predictive analytics. The computational foundations and methods of importance to data science are also covered, along with consideration for relevant supporting software and tools, and the need for data science governance.

A key aspect of business operations today, across sectors almost, has to do with gathering the right type of data and storing it in a way that it can be readily available to the right person at the right time. This course looks into the techniques that allow us nowadays to define and operate on large volumes of data as and when it is created. This paves the way for making more intelligent uses of data, whether this has to do with correctness (reliability and consistency) or informing more strategic decisions of the business so it can better prepare itself for the future.

The dissertation consists of a substantial written report, completed by the student towards the end of their programme of studies. This report is based on a major piece of work that involves applying material encountered in the taught component of the degree, and extending that knowledge with the student's contribution, under the guidance of a supervisor. The dissertation lasts over the whole year (both semesters and into summer), and usually involves software development, experimental or theoretical research, or a substantial literature survey on a specific topic.

Machine Learning and Data Mining incorporate a large number of ways in which datasets with a variety of characteristics can be processed in order to provide for new insights and understanding. Through treatment of the principles and fundamental requirements for ML/DM, example applications, and related exercises, this module will offer coverage of a range of contemporarily important and emergent data treatments, some of which lead to deep learning approaches. The module will provide for the means to critically evaluate, extend, and apply, appropriate techniques to datasets exemplifying specific characteristics in order to derive suitable and defensible results.

In today's world where companies can amass more and more fine-grained data, it is crucial for a business to understand how this data can be used to effectively drive the business forward. Business Analytics is a set of methods and tools that can transform data into useful insights for decision-making. For example machine learning algorithms can be used to discover interesting patterns in the current market data or to predict customer behaviour (e.g. customer churn) from past data.