Program Overview

Course Overview

The Master of Data Science (MDS) is a conversion course that develops the specialist skills needed to manage and analyze different types of data efficiently. This advanced understanding of complex data will give students a head start in this dynamic field.

Start Dates

• September 2025

Degree Type

• MDS

Course Length

• 1 year full-time

Location

• Durham City

Programme Code

• G5K823

Course Structure

Year 1 Modules

Core Modules:

• Data Science Research Project: A substantial piece of research into an unfamiliar area of data science, or in the student's subject specialisation area with a focus on data science.
• Critical Perspectives in Data Science: Develops understanding of the production, analysis, and use of quantified data, and how to analyze these practices anthropologically.
• Programming for Data Science: Uses the popular Python software packages used in a wide range of industry settings.
• Ethics and Bias in Data Analytics: Introduces contemporary debates on ethical issues and bias resulting from the application of data analytics, statistical modeling, and artificial intelligence in society.
• Machine Learning: Introduces the essential knowledge and skills required in machine learning for data science using the R statistical language.
• Strategic Leadership: Develops the skills needed to understand organizations, their structure, and culture.

Optional Modules:

• Introduction to Mathematics for Data Science
• Introduction to Computing for Data Science
• Data Science Applications in Archaeology and Heritage
• Text Mining and Language Analytics
• Bioinformatics
• Multilevel Modeling
• Data Exploration, Visualization, and Unsupervised Learning
• Health Informatics and Clinical Intelligence
• Qualitative Approaches to Digital Humanities
• Computer Music

Learning

This interdisciplinary course incorporates a wide range of learning and teaching methods, including lectures, seminars, workshops, and computer/practical classes. The taught elements are further reinforced through independent study, research, and analysis, case studies, and structured reading.

Assessment

The Master of Data Science is assessed via a combination of essays, online assessments, reports, and presentations – both individual and in small groups. The course comes together with a major research project, which is conducted and written up as an independent piece of work with support from the appointed supervisor.

Entry Requirements

• A UK first or upper second-class honors degree or equivalent in ANY degree that doesn’t include a strong data science component, including those in social sciences, the arts, and humanities, business, and sciences.
• Evidence of competence in written and spoken English if the applicant's first language is not English:
  • Minimum IELTS requirement is 6.5 overall, with no component under 6.0
  • Minimum TOEFL requirement is 92 overall, with no component under 23

Alternative Qualifications

• Other UK qualifications
• EU qualifications
• International qualifications

Fees and Funding

Full-Time Fees

• Home students: £14,500 per year
• EU students: £34,000 per year
• Island students: £14,500 per year
• International students: £34,000 per year

Career Opportunities

The skills and knowledge that constitute a Master's qualification in Data Science are widely sought by employers around the globe. In today's data-driven society, the ability to capture, analyze, and communicate information and trends from the data generated by business, governments, and their agencies, communities, and organizations is highly prized.

Department Information

The Master of Data Science is part of a suite of courses that share some common modules. The course is offered as a conversion course for those who hold a first degree that doesn’t have a strong component in data science. Seven qualifications are available, including the broad Master of Data Science and specialist routes in Bioinformatics and Biological Modeling, Digital Humanities, Earth and Environment, Health, Social Analytics, and Heritage.

Facilities

Data Science is a conversion course that incorporates content from many departments across the University. This provides access to a selection of related state-of-the-art facilities from across the University, in particular, Computer Science and Mathematics. Facilities will depend on the subject specialism but include laboratories, libraries, project spaces, lecture theaters, study and networking spaces, as well as shared social spaces. Most departments are close to the historic center of Durham, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.