2.5-Term Pathway - Pre-Master's in Science and Health - Continue to Master of Science - Applied Data Science

If students hold a bachelor’s degree or equivalent, but don’t meet the entry requirements for a master’s, a Pre-Master’s can help them gain a place on a postgraduate degree. For progression to the 1st year of a postgraduate degree at the University of Essex. Course length is determined mainly by students English language level (UKVI IELTS score).

Students on all course lengths take a set of common or similar modules to gain a solid base of skills for university. If their course is longer than 2 terms, students will take additional modules designed to improve one or more of their English language level, academic skills, and basic knowledge of particular subjects.

The University of Essex MSc Applied Data Science is a conversion course specifically designed for students with a background in humanities, social sciences, life sciences and business studies who want to be part of Essex's fast-growing digital economy. The course will build upon students' undergraduate degree in the humanities, social or life sciences, giving them postgraduate-level skills in essential data science methods with various applications, covering case studies and applications of AI and data using a balance of methods and practical application.

The course introduces students to programming with the R language and as well as text analytics. Relational databases and SQL are developed and used for relevant applications from humanities, life sciences, linguistics, marketing and social science. The course encourages statistical thinking by data visualizations and guides students to develop their creativity within a scientific framework.

Students cover topics such as: using R for statistical modelling and decision-making; linear and generalized linear models are used for experimental and observational data; artificial intelligence; deep and statistical learning; applied statistics; information retrieval; digital economy; survey sampling.

The leading department for this course, the Department of Mathematical Sciences, is genuinely innovative and student-focused. Their research groups are working on a broad range of collaborative areas tackling real-world issues. The Department of Mathematical Sciences and the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering are working together with other departments across the University to deliver optional modules and summer projects with Essex Business School, the Department of Language and Linguistics, the School of Life Sciences, the School of Philosophy and Art History, and the Department of Psychology.

The University of Essex is committed to transformational education and inclusion, focused on learning opportunities for every student, responsive to their students’ needs and aspirations. The MSc Applied Data Science reflects this by supporting every student, from every background, and removing the barriers to their education.

This conversion course is the perfect gateway for students' careers in data science and has been developed with Essex's industrial partners (who include BT, Profusion, Essex County Council, Essex Police and Suffolk County Council) with employability in mind.

Essex's graduates are highly sought after by a range of employers and find employment in financial services, scientific computation, decision-making support and government, risk assessment, statistics, education and other areas. Recent graduates have gone onto work as data scientists and data analysts in both the private and public sectors.