A person using a laptop

Course Summary

There is an increasing need for practitioners with an interdisciplinary skill set that includes computer science. Our course provides students with first degrees in another subject the opportunity to develop an interdisciplinary profile in order to meet this need. The course should also be of use to those who have worked in the field whilst holding degrees from other backgrounds.

The field of computer science has produced some of the most significant advances in technology over the last three decades and radically transformed business and industry practices on a global scale. It has applications in almost every area of study.

The course focuses on the Department of Computer Science’s strengths, providing a cutting-edge curriculum in medical graphics, cybersecurity, robotics and AI, in addition to foundational computer science topics, such as software and web development. The course is delivered over three terms and is intended to assist students from diverse academic backgrounds in becoming computer scientists.

There is also a monthly seminar programme in which leading experts present recent findings and introduce contemporary developments in the above and other areas.

There is an option to choose a Project/Placement year for this course, at an additional cost.

Switch combined course content

Optional 2-year master's to suit your needs

Choosing a Professional Placement MSc is a win-win for your career, giving you the chance to get real experience, apply your cutting-edge skills in the workplace and stand out to future employers.

In the first year you will have help from the University to find a placement, whilst developing your expertise. You will then spend your second year out in industry on placement, getting the chance to work with industry professionals and grow your network of industry contacts. Bringing your university-acquired knowledge and insights to industry, you will get to make a difference to the workplace and make lasting links with your employer.

Students need to find and secure their own placement, supported by the University. A preparation module will also help you to get ready for your placement.

Why you'll Love it


What you'llStudy

In the first term, you will learn the fundamentals of software development and research methods.
Subsequent terms offer a mixture of core and optional modules reflecting the Department’s expertise. Core modules include web systems and user experience. Options include robotics, virtual reality, biological computing and cybersecurity.
If you choose a placement or project year, the Research Dissertation module will be replaced by a placement or project module.

Module content:

Control Structures: sequence, selection, iteration and recursion

Encapsulation, code reuse, classes, objects and inheritance.

Commonly used data structures and algorithms, generic programming.

Efficiency and O-notation. 

Maintainability, software design principles and patterns.

Documentation, testing and verification.


Module aims:

The purpose of this module is to provide a solid foundation in programming for students with a range of academic backgrounds.

Module content:

  • Internet and web terminology, protocols and infrastructure
  • Web document structure and content (e.g. HTML)
  • Web aesthetics
  • Web scripting
  • Web requests (e.g. use of HTTP verbs)
  • Using Internet and Web tools (e.g. IDEs, FTP clients)
  • Web APIs
  • Common Web security issues (e.g. CSRF, XSS, SQL Injection)
  • Web hosting configuration
  • Server side scripting
  • Databases (e.g. SQL, Keys, CRUD operations)

Module aims:

  • To enable students to develop a broad knowledge of web technologies
  • To introduce the languages commonly used to structure, present, and provide interactivity within web sites
  • To give students a solid foundation in practical technical skills required to develop client-side web applications
  • To provide an overview to server-side web application development including understanding of the client-server model

Module content:

  1. Projects which will involve the application of methods and equipment introduced in taught modules, will be based on subjects agreed in principle with the Postgraduate Dissertation Coordinator and potential supervisors.
  2. The research dissertation may be University-based or carried out in the employer’s workplace, or through a work placement where a local organisation has a direct role in facilitating the project.

Module aims:

To afford students the opportunity to experience the complete life-cycle of a successful and significant research-based project

To provide real-world experience of meeting the requirements of academic and professional standards, including high-level writing and referencing skills.

To demonstrate to peers and to current and potential employers the student’s ability to carry out good quality academic research, in a particular field, which is relevant to their programme of study. This may involve the application of existing research within a novel context.

Module content:

To include:

  • Time management, library skills and literature search
  • Evaluation of information sources
  • Critical analysis of information
  • Ethical issues in science, technology and engineering research (including intellectual property and plagiarism)
  • Writing for research: styles and rules for presentation (including referencing standards)
  • Choosing a research area and evaluating source material
  • Hypothesis formation
  • Research approaches and methodologies
  • Design and application of questionnaires & interviews
  • Quantitative and statistical tools for researchers (e.g. R, Python, SPSS)

Module aims:

  • To clarify the distinctions between undergraduate and postgraduate level work and expectations
  • To increase students' experience in order to conduct a professional study and to use sampling procedures and analysing techniques.
  • To improve students' appreciation of time management and how to conduct a literature search
  • To reinforce students' research skills
  • To consolidate students' appreciation of professional issues such as copyright and ethics

Module content:

  • Applying advanced knowledge of user-centred design principles
  • Information architecture
  • Progressive enhancement
  • Applying user interface design patterns to professional standards
  • Multidisciplinary design activities, problem-solving and design iteration
  • Advanced usability testing and evaluation
  • Issues in UX and emerging technologies

Module aims:

  • To demonstrate effective use of advanced user-centred design methodologies
  • To design standards-driven and scalable information architecture for interactive systems
  • To apply progressive enhancement techniques
  • To participate in professional team-based design sprints
  • To undertake advanced usability testing and evaluation of interactive systems

Module content:

The module draws on the research expertise in bio-inspired computing that exists within the Department of Computer Science to instruct students in an exciting area of computer science that is growing in research and commercial importance. The module content will include lecture material on:

-Evolutionary and genetic algorithms.

-Swarm behaviour

-Cellular automata 

-Chaos and fractals

-Neural computation

-Agent based models

-Complex adaptive systems

-Biologically inspired optimisation and behaviour search


Module aims:

To study elements of bio-inspired computing techniques which can be applied in simulation and modelling. To provide an overview of existing platforms and frameworks for bio-inspired computing. To gain experience and practical application of research and development techniques related to bio-inspired computing.

Module content:

  • Evolution of Robotics
  • Microcontrollers: Arduino and Raspberry Pi
  • Computer Vision
  • Agents and Multi-Agent Systems
  • Machine learning and robotics

Module aims:

  • To introduce the concept of artificial intelligence (AI) and to evaluate its role in the development of robotics.
  • To introduce theoretical approaches to the development of intelligent robots.
  • To undertake practical tasks to demonstrate how AI techniques can be implemented for robotics.
  • To analyse methods for designing and deploying robotic systems.
  • To critically evaluate the ways in which intelligent robots can be used in real world situations

Module content:

  • Digital system forensics
    • Disk
    • Memory
    • Mobile
    • Cloud
  • Live forensics
  • Encryption and obfuscation
  • Malware analysis and investigation
  • Network forensics
  • Anti-forensics
  • Methodologies, approaches, and techniques
  • Cyber Threat Intelligence and attribution
  • Incident Response
  • Ethical issues in digital forensics and incident response

Module aims:

This module aims to introduce the student to the need for and uses of digital forensics and incident response from an organisational security perspective.

The aim of this module is to introduce, study, understand and practice digital forensics techniques, and to understand the limitations of common techniques.  It aims to develop in the student an appreciation and understanding of anti- and counter-forensics, including falsification of data.  Finally, it aims to build the students' understanding of malware, how it operates, and practices to deal with it.

Students will gain an understanding of Incident Response and Cyber Threat Intelligence.

Module content:

  • Network security and attacks
  • The current threat landscape
  • Social engineering
  • Penetration testing tools
  • Active defence
  • Threat hunting
  • Defensive strategies and tools 
  • Hack back and the legal implications
  • Hacker tools
  • Penetration testing; methodologies, approaches, and techniques
  • Penetration test reporting
  • Ethical issues in penetration testing and active defence

Module aims:

This module aims to:

  • introduce the student to the need for and uses of penetration testing and active defence from an organizational security perspective;
  • introduce, study, understand and practice active defence and the limitations of common techniques. This will also look at relevant tools and the legal aspect of 'hack back';
  • help the student study, understand, and practice penetration testing techniques, developing skills in 'access' over networks, and how attackers look at a target; 
  • the relevant skills, knowledge and usage of hacker tools and how to stop/deter attackers

These will be built upon to allow the student to better understand network and holistic defenses and to be able to design secure interconnected systems.

Who you'll Learn from

Dr Mike Morgan

Senior Lecturer
Dr Mike Morgan

How you'll Learn

Teaching

You will be taught using a mixture of lectures, workshops, seminars and case studies.

Contact hours will be roughly eight to nine hours per week (full time) from October to April, with a lower commitment of around three hours from April onwards.

In addition, we provide significant student support in the form of drop-in sessions with all module tutors. Additional support and formative feedback are provided for key modules in the early terms to facilitate a smooth transition into a new area of study. You may be advised regarding dissertation topics as the course progresses.

Assessment

Assessment takes place using roughly 10% exams and 90% coursework, although the precise ratio depends on module choices.

Entry Requirements

2:1 honours degree

A 2:1 honours degree or above in a discipline other than computer science is required.

Applicants may be interviewed to assess their suitability for the course.

2:1 honours degree

A 2:1 honours degree or above in a discipline other than computer science is required.

Applicants may be interviewed to assess their suitability for the course.

English Language Requirements

For those who do not have IELTS or an acceptable in-country English language qualification, the University of Chester has developed its own online English language test which applicants can take for just £50.

For more information on our English Language requirements, please visit International Entry Requirements.

Where you'll Study Exton Park, Chester

Fees and Funding

£10,215 for the full course (2024/25)

Guides to the fees for students who wish to commence postgraduate courses in the academic year 2024/25 are available to view on our Postgraduate Taught Programmes Fees page.

The professional placement/project year will cost an additional £2,650, due at the start of the second year of the course.

£14,750 for the full course (2024/25)

The tuition fees for international students studying Postgraduate programmes in 2024/25 are £14,750.

The professional placement/project year will cost an additional £2,650 (due at the start of the second year of the course), totaling £17,400 for the full course fee 2024/25.

The University of Chester offers generous international and merit-based scholarships for postgraduate study, providing a significant reduction to the published headline tuition fee. You will automatically be considered for these scholarships when your application is reviewed, and any award given will be stated on your offer letter.

For more information, go to our International Fees, Scholarship and Finance section.

Irish Nationals living in the UK or ROI are treated as Home students for Tuition Fee Purposes.

Your course will involve additional costs not covered by your tuition fees. This may include books, printing, photocopying, educational stationery and related materials, specialist clothing, travel to placements, optional field trips and software. Compulsory field trips are covered by your tuition fees.

If you are living away from home during your time at university, you will need to cover costs such as accommodation, food, travel and bills.

The University of Chester supports fair access for students who may need additional support through a range of bursaries and scholarships. 

Full details, as well as terms and conditions for all bursaries and scholarships can be found on the Fees & Finance section of our website.

Your Future Career

Job Prospects 

Potential job titles for graduating students include but are not limited to:

  • Software architect/engineer/programmer
  • Web developer
  • UX designer
  • AI developer
  • Digital analyst
  • Security manager/analyst/architect
  • VR developer
  • Robotics engineer/programmer

Careers service

The University has an award-winning Careers and Employability service which provides a variety of employability-enhancing experiences; through the curriculum, through employer contact, tailored group sessions, individual information, advice and guidance.

Careers and Employability aims to deliver a service which is inclusive, impartial, welcoming, informed and tailored to your personal goals and aspirations, to enable you to develop as an individual and contribute to the business and community in which you will live and work.

We are here to help you plan your future, make the most of your time at University and to enhance your employability. We provide access to part-time jobs, extra-curricular employability-enhancing workshops and offer practical one-to-one help with career planning, including help with CVs, applications and mock interviews. We also deliver group sessions on career planning within each course and we have a wide range of extensive information covering graduate jobs and postgraduate study.