Overview
Data is the lifeblood of our society and mathematics is the language that underpins the science of understanding that data. From medicine to government offices, and market research to the environment, the collection and analysis of data is crucial to understanding how to improve, create and guide products and services across the globe. The techniques we use to model and manipulate data guide the political, financial and social decisions that shape our modern society and are the basis of growth of the economy and success of businesses. Technology is growing and evolving at an incredible speed, and both the rate of growth of data we generate and the devices we use to process it can only increase.
Our MSci Mathematics and Data Science is an Integrated Masters course that will cover key skills in mathematics and data science giving you the opportunity to apply theory and methods to real-world problems. You’ll foster your understanding of mathematics, develop skills to use smart devices efficiently and use statistical techniques and methods to interpret and exploit big data.
The concept and skill of a programming language are the crucial basis for skills in data base programming and management, in developing data processing pipelines and in organising and analysing large and massive data sets. This course will introduce you to programming language Python and R for statistical analysis and data visualisation. In your third year and fourth year, analysing data and methods in group projects will be essential capstone modules for the learning outcomes of the course.
Topics include:
- Mathematical skills including, applied mathematics, pure mathematics and optimisation
- Computer science and programming
- Statistics and operations research
- Artificial intelligence, databases and information retrieval
- Ethical issues around the use and processing of data
- Specialist skills in the areas of big data, data analytics and data science
Our Integrated Masters gives you the opportunity to fast track your degree and complete your final year in nine months compared to a regular MSc which usually takes twelve months. Combining your undergraduate and postgraduate study in one degree will give you a strong theoretical background as well as specialist expertise through independent research. This combination makes graduates from our course attractive candidates for many employers.
Our interdisciplinary research recognises that mathematics, including what can be very abstract mathematics, is an essential part of research in many other disciplines. You therefore can gain an exceptional range of knowledge and skills that are currently in demand in mathematically oriented employment; in business, commerce, industry, government service, education and in the wider economy.
Our expert staff
We are also home to many of the world’s top scientists, and our staff are driven by creativity and imagination as well as technical excellence. We conduct world-leading research in areas such as explorative data analysis, classification and clustering, evolutionary computation, data visualisation and financial forecasting. As well as being world-class academics, our staff are award-winning teachers. Many of our academics have won national or regional awards for lecturing, and many of them are qualified and accredited teachers – something which is very rare at a university.
We are a small but influential department, so our students and staff know each other personally. You never need an appointment to see your lecturers and professors, just knock on our office doors – we are one of the few places to have an open-door policy, and no issue is too big or small.
Specialist facilities
- In addition to teaching, we have a Maths Support Centre, which offers help to students on a range of mathematical problems. Throughout term-time, we can chat through mathematical problems either on a one-to-one or small group basis
- We have a dedicated social and study space for Maths students in the department, which is situated in the new £18m STEM Centre
- We have six laboratories that are exclusively for computer science and electronic engineering students. Three are open 24/7, and you have free access to the labs except when there is a scheduled practical class in progress
- We also have specialist facilities for research into areas including non-invasive brain-computer interfaces, intelligent environments, robotics, optoelectronics, video, RF and MW, printed circuit milling, and semiconductors
Your future
Demand for skilled graduates in the areas of mathematics, big data and data science is growing rapidly in both the public and private sector, and there is a predicted shortage of data scientists with the skills to understand and make commercial decisions based on the analysis of big data. An incredible 89% of our undergraduate maths students are in employment or further study (Graduate Outcomes 2020).
A successful career in data science requires you to possess truly interdisciplinary knowledge, so we’ll ensure you graduate with a wide-ranging yet specialised set of skills in this area. You are taught mainly within our Department of Mathematical Sciences and our School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, but also benefit from input from our Essex Business School, and our Essex Pathways Department. Mathematicians and data scientists are required in every sector, carrying out statistical analysis or mining data on social media, so our course can open the door to almost any industry, from health, to government, to publishing.
The University of Essex is bridging the gap between academia and business, and we are at the forefront of helping the UK grasp the big data opportunities to get ahead in the global race. Our graduates in data science have been very successful in finding employment in the public sector, consulting, technology, retail, and utilities, while a number have gone on to postgraduate study or research.
We have a large pool of external contacts, ranging from companies providing robots for the media industry, through vehicle diagnostics, to the transforming of unstructured data to cloud-based multidimensional data cubes, who work with us and our students to provide advice, placements and eventually graduate opportunities.
We also work with our University’s Student Development Team to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities.
Why we’re great
- You have access to our ultramodern facilities at our new STEM Centre that provide real-world experience.
- You join a community of scholars leading the way in technological research and development.
- An incredible 100% of our undergraduate maths students are in employment or further study (Graduate Outcomes 2021).
Structure
Course structure
We offer a flexible course structure with a mixture of core/compulsory modules, and optional modules chosen from lists.
Our research-led teaching is continually evolving to address the latest challenges and breakthroughs in the field. The course content is therefore reviewed on an annual basis to ensure our courses remain up-to-date so modules listed are subject to change.
Teaching and learning disclaimer
Following the impact of the pandemic, we made changes to our teaching and assessment to ensure our current students could continue with their studies uninterrupted and safely. These changes included courses being taught through blended delivery, normally including some face-to-face teaching, online provision, or a combination of both across the year.
The teaching and assessment methods listed show what is currently approved for 2022 entry; changes may be necessary if, by the beginning of this course, we need to adapt the way we’re delivering them due to the external environment, and to allow you to continue to receive the best education possible safely and seamlessly.
