Cardiff, United Kingdom
DURATION
1 up to 2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
GBP 30,200 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for overseas | for home: £11,700
Key Summary
Introduction
Why Study this Course
Explore the techniques and applications of artificial intelligence (AI) and develop your practical skills through exposure to real-world problems and datasets.
Learn the ethical and social impacts of AI technologies while developing your critical judgement, intellectual integrity and practical skills on client-facing projects.
This unique course provides specialist knowledge in areas such as automated reasoning, knowledge representation and machine learning. You also have the opportunity to customise your learning experience to suit your interests and career aspirations by choosing from a range of optional modules, professional work placements and projects.
You will apply for a paid 7-12 month professional work placement to be undertaken on completion of the taught phase of the program. This provides valuable work experience to develop your IT Professional skills. You will be supported in finding and applying for this placement, but it should be noted that this may not be in an AI-specific area, and the main focus for the placement is around employability skills related to your degree.
Graduates from the programme will be ideally placed to develop careers such as data scientists, artificial intelligence engineers, and data engineers.
This two-year degree falls under the umbrella of the Data Science Academy (DSA), run by the School of Computer Science and Informatics.
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
We are committed to investing up to a total of £500,000 in this high-value competitive scholarship scheme to support UK students who are planning to start an eligible Master’s programme in 2024/25.
The Scholarships are each worth £3,000 and will be awarded in the form of a tuition fee discount.
Eligibility
UK students are eligible to apply for the Scholarship. You normally need to have achieved at least a 2.1 or equivalent in your first degree to be eligible. You need to submit an application to study at Cardiff University and be made an offer to study before your fee status can be confirmed.
Curriculum
This is a three-stage full-time degree programme taught over two years. In the taught stage you will study core modules to a total of 120 credits.
If you are successful in obtaining a placement, this will be undertaken following the taught stage of the course. Most students start their placement in the summer of Year 1, though this may be delayed if the taught phase has not been completed at this point. Suppose you are unable to obtain a placement. In that case, you have the option of transferring to the MSc in Artificial Intelligence degree programme (without a professional placement year) and continuing directly with your dissertation project.
Following successful completion of your placement you will undertake a dissertation project worth 60 credits, working with and supervised by an academic supervisor within the School.
Year One
You will study four 20-credit compulsory modules to a total of 80 credits, and choose a further 40 credits from a list of carefully selected optional modules. This will be followed by a 60-credit dissertation project undertaken in the summer.
Core Modules for Year One
- Knowledge Representation
- Automated Reasoning
- Principles of Machine Learning
- Applications of Machine Learning: Natural Language Processing/Computer Vision
Optional Modules for Year One
- Penetration Testing and Malware Analysis
- Machine Learning for NLP
- Introduction to Computational Robotics
- Distributed and Cloud Computing
- Human Centric Computing
- Computer and Network Forensics
- Cybersecurity Operations
- Advanced Topics in NLP
- Programming Paradigms
- Developing Secure Systems and Applications
- Computational Linguistics
- Foundations of Operational Research and Analytics
- Foundations of Statistics and Data Science
Year Two: Sandwich Year
Your work placement will normally last between 7 and 12 months, taking place at the end of the taught phase of the course, before your final dissertation, allowing you to practice the new skills you have learned and apply the knowledge you have acquired, in the workplace.
You will return to university following the successful completion of your work placement, normally at the start of the Summer of the following year to complete your dissertation.
Core Modules for Year Two
- Placement
- Dissertation
How Will I Be Assessed?
The taught modules within the programme are assessed through a range of assessments, which typically consist of examinations and coursework, such as written reports, portfolios, timed assessments, extended essays, practical assignments and oral presentations.
Feedback on coursework may be provided via written comments on work submitted, by provision of ‘model’ answers and/or through discussion in contact sessions.
The placement is assessed through a Portfolio of Work including Employer Evaluations, SFIA Mapping Documents, a Draft Report and a Final Report. This will show how you have developed your skills whilst on placement.
The dissertation will enable students to demonstrate their ability to build upon and exploit knowledge and skills gained to exhibit critical and original thinking based on a period of independent study and learning.
Program Outcome
What Skills Will I Practise and Develop?
The Learning Outcomes for this Programme can be found below:
On successful completion of the Programme you will be able to:
Knowledge & Understanding
- Understanding of the importance of how data is represented for the success of artificial intelligence methods
- Knowledge of the key concepts and algorithms underlying artificial intelligence methods
- Understanding of the theoretical properties of different artificial intelligence methods
- Insight and foresight of how artificial intelligence methods influence the success of a given task
Intellectual Skills
- An ability to implement and evaluate artificial intelligence methods to solve a given task
- An ability to explain and communicate the basic principles underlying common artificial intelligence methods
- Critical appraisal of the ethical implications and societal risks associated with the deployment of artificial intelligence methods
Professional Practical Skills
- Capacity to formalize real-world problems in relation to chosen artificial intelligence methods
- Ability to choose an appropriate artificial intelligence method (and data pre-processing strategy if needed) to address the needs of a given application setting
- Competence in implementing artificial intelligence methods, taking advantage of existing libraries where appropriate
- Demonstrate competency as an IT Professional as part of the Professional Placement Year
Transferable/Key Skills
- Critical appraisal of your own and other’s work through written and verbal means
- Clear and efficient communication of complex ideas, principles and theories by oral, written and practical means, to a range of audiences
- Appreciation of opportunities for career development
- An ability to undertake independent study and critical reflection
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
Graduates from this programme will be ideally placed to develop careers as data scientists, artificial intelligence engineers, and data engineers.
Program delivery
How Will I Be Taught?
The School of Computer Science and Informatics has a strong and active research culture which informs and directs our teaching. We are committed to providing students with the teaching of the highest standard.
A diverse range of teaching and learning styles are used throughout the MSc Artificial Intelligence with Professional Placement Year. Modules are delivered through a series of contact sessions, which include lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials and laboratory classes as appropriate to your programme, using a mix of online and on-campus teaching. These may include:
- Face-to-face teaching sessions (e.g. lectures, exercise classes, demonstrations)
- Online resources that you work through at your own pace (e.g. videos, web resources, e-books, quizzes)
- On-line interactive sessions to work with other students and staff (e.g. discussions, live streaming of presentations, live coding, team meetings)
- Face-to-face small group sessions (e.g. help classes, feedback sessions)
Most of your taught modules will have further information for you to study and you will be expected to work through this in your own time according to the guidance provided by the lecturer for that module. Further learning and support is provided through Learning Central (Cardiff University’s Virtual Learning Environment)
You will also undertake a project and independent study to enable you to complete your dissertation. Dissertation topics may be suggested by yourself or chosen from a list of options proposed by academic staff and industrial partners, reflecting their current interests.