Top 10 Universities for Master’s in Data Science in the UK

Data Science as a field has grown significantly over the past few years. With the advent of technologies like Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, the importance of the domain is on the rise and it will continue to be like that in the foreseeable future. Today data tackling is required in every sector, and databases are required to build systems that scale to big data streams.

Top 10 Universities for Master’s in Data Science in the UK
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Apr 25, 2023 08:37 AM

Introduction

The field of Data Science has experienced remarkable growth in recent years, driven by advancements in technologies such as Big Data and Artificial Intelligence. The increasing significance of this domain is expected to persist in the foreseeable future. Data analysis is now essential across all sectors, with databases being crucial for building systems capable of handling large data streams.
The UK boasts a wide selection of over 77 institutions offering Masters in Data Science programs. These degrees typically have a one-year duration for full-time study, while part-time options allow completion within two to three years. International students can expect an average cost of approximately 25,000 GBP (equivalent to around 26,00,000 INR) per year for a full-time Masters in Data Science program in the UK.
Now, let's take a closer look at the top 10 universities in the UK that offer Master's programs in Data Science.

1. University of Edinburgh

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Source: The Times
The University of Edinburgh, the sixth oldest university in the UK, was founded in 1582. The university has five main campuses in Edinburgh itself, a lot of which are housed in historical buildings of architectural importance. The university holds a lot of significance in the city’s development, much to the tune that it became the chief intellectual centre during the Scottish Enlightenment. The university is also a member of multiple prestigious academic societies like the Russell Group, the Coimbra Group, Universitas 21 and the League of European Research Universities. The university’s Masters in Data Science program focuses on Machine Learning, Statistics and Optimization, Databases and Data Management and Applications of Data Science. The program aims to educate the students in various areas in Data Science by providing a robust technical background and research experience to solve real-world problems in this field.
University Details :
  • Course offered – M.Sc. in Data Science
  • University type – Public
  • Program duration – 12 months (full-time) ,24 – 36 months (part-time)
  • Admission semester – September

2. King’s College London

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Source: Architecture Art Designs
King’s College London came into being in 1829 and is the 4th oldest university in the UK. King’s College has a high reputation for world-class teaching and research. Notably, about 84% of its research works have been recognized as exceptional internationally. The college also accounts for 12 Nobel Prize winners. The Data Science MSc offered by the Department of Informatics provides advanced technical and practical skills in the collection and analysis of data. The program aims to provide in-depth knowledge in computational and statistical methods and techniques of data science.
Program List :
  • MSc Data Science
Course Details :
  • University type – Public
  • Program duration – 1 year, full-time
  • Admission semester – September

3. The University of Manchester

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Source: University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is located in the world's first modern industrial city, and it has a history of more than 150 years. It is one of the top research universities in the UK. It is one of the best places to study for international students as well, and it has a global reputation, multiple international collaborations, a global education system, different areas of expertise, and many more benefits for the students and employers. The University of Manchester also ranked 27th in QS World University Ranking 2021. The MSc Data Science program offered by this university is truly interdisciplinary and accepts students from a wide range of academic backgrounds like health science, computer science, geography, mathematics etc. The program strives to hone the computational, data analysis and project design skills.
Program List :
  • MSc Data Science (Computer Science Data Informatics)
Course Details :
  • University type – Public
  • Program duration – 1 year, full-time
  • Admission semester – November, January, March, May

4. University of Bristol

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Source: The Guardian
The University of Bristol was founded in 1876 as the University College, Bristol. The University of Bristol has usually been termed a red brick university, and it is a public research university located at a senate-house, United Kingdom. The Masters in Data Science offered by the University of Bristol is a promising program that aims to equip the students with skills to work across disciplines to apply and deploy data-intensive solutions in a variety of challenging situations. It also focuses on providing a deep understanding of ethical issues that could possibly arise in applying data science techniques and the potential advantages and disadvantages of using them.
Program List :
  • MSc Data Science
Course Details :
  • University type – Public
  • Program duration – 1 year, full-time
  • Admission semester – September

5. University of Glasgow

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Source: The Guardian
The University of Glasgow is a famous public research university based in Glasgow, Scotland, and it was founded in 1451 by the Papal bull. It is one of the oldest universities in the UK. The Masters in Data Science is a specialised version of the MSc (Computing Science) offered by the School of Computing Science. The school is closely associated with Data Lab, an international research and innovation centre, which holds numerous seminars on Data Science and funds several Data Science projects, which benefits the students immensely. Apart from the core courses like Programming and Systems Development and Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence for Data Scientists, there are specialist courses like Deep Learning and Information Retrieval that are on offer.
Program List :
  • MSc Data Science
Course Details :
  • University type – Public Research university
  • Program duration – 1 year, full-time
  • Admission semester – September

6. University of Birmingham

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Source : Research Professional News
The University of Birmingham is a member of the Russel group, a small set of research universities with a good quality of education system. It is one of the best universities for international students. It is ranked among the top 100 universities in the world and is the second most targeted university by leading employers. The MSc Data Science offered by the University of Birmingham is highly acclaimed as the university is a partner in The Alan Turing Institute, which is UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence. The program has been designed to teach programming and data management skills to enable the students to handle, analyse and reveal data patterns to be used for strategic decision-making.
Program List :
  • MSc Data Science
Course Details :
  • University type – Public Research university
  • Program duration – 1 year, full-time
  • Admission semester – September / October

7. The University of Sheffield

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Source : Linkedin
The University of Sheffield is a public research university in South Yorkshire, England. The Masters in Data Science program is based on three elements of Data Science, namely, fundamental data-related principles, supporting infrastructures and organisational context. The program delves deep into teaching methods to handle structured and unstructured data using analysing and visualisation techniques and the software tools used in the industry.
Program List :
  • MSc Data Science
Course Details :
  • University type – Public Research university
  • Program duration – 1 year, full-time,2 years, part-time,3 years, part-time
  • Admission semester – September

8. University of Southampton

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Source : scholarship-positions
The University of Southampton was founded in 1862 at the Hartley institute and was granted the royal charter by Queen Elizabeth II in 1952. It has five campuses in Southampton. This Data Science Masters program is focused on teaching the latest Data Science techniques and emerging topics like computational finance, the science of online social networks and intelligent agents. The program boasts of several advantages like dedicated project labs and an elaborate infrastructure for large-scale data analysis.
Program List :
  • MSc Data Science
Course Details :
  • University type – Public
  • Program duration – 1 year, full-time
  • Admission semester – September

9. Lancaster University

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Source : Lancaster University
The University of Lancaster is a public research university and collegiate university in Lancaster, Lancashire, in the United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1964; Apart from being named International University of the Year in 2019 by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide, the university has also been ranked 8th overall in the league table. This MSc Data Science program offers a flexible course structure dividing its three terms into core modules, optional modules, and dissertation and work placement. The primary focus of this program is educating the students in computing and statistics, thereby consolidating their fundamentals for understanding Data Science techniques. The highlight of this comprehensive program is the 12-week placement in the industry or an academic research project, which will give invaluable industry experience.
Program List :
  • MSc Data Science
Course Details :
  • University type – Public
  • Program duration – 12 months, full-time,24 months, part-time

10. University of Sussex

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Source : Twitter
The University of Sussex is a public research university located in Falmer, Brighton, Sussex, England. This university received its royal charter in 1959.This unique MSc Data Science program allows students to choose their area of focus from Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science and Life Sciences. After building a strong foundation in their chosen subject through core modules, the students can diversify their knowledge by opting for elective modules in different streams. The program aims to groom the students with skills to handle voluminous data in the industry and academic science, using appropriate and state-of-the-art tools.
Program List :
  • MSc Data Science
Course Details :
  • University type – Public
  • Program duration – 1 year, full-time, 2 years, part-time
  • Admission semester : September

Conclusion

So, this was our list of the top 10 universities for Masters in Data Science in the UK that an international student can consider. We have tried to be as exhaustive as possible to include all the possible universities that have ranked in recent times. These universities have a rich lineage of offering world-class education in various disciplines and pursuing a Masters in Data Science from one of them can be a true game-changer.