MSc in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence for Sustainability
Cranfield, United Kingdom
MSc
DURATION
3 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Oct 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 18,720 *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* for overseas students | £12,370 - for home students
Key Summary
The digital landscape of sustainability is fast changing - apply your digital skills to solve global sustainability issues with the Data Science and Artificial Intelligence for Sustainability MSc
Sustainability depends on areas such as energy production and environmental management, making it a complex problem. Energy supply is fundamentally important to our homes and workplaces. Future energy supply has to be affordable, stable and secure. Ecosystem management needs to account for the food, water and energy nexus and socio-political context.
Digital transformation is an emerging discipline using powerful digital tools and various digital models to solve and manage the increasingly complex problems related to sustainable energy systems. Within this discipline, digital tools and models (such as Artificial Intelligence) are used to analyse data from different energy systems and sources and drive new control and operational strategies and business models, whilst supporting key objectives such as reaching Net Zero emissions.
This course is suitable for engineering, computer science, mathematics, environmental, energy and information technology graduates wishing to pursue a technical management career in the rapidly growing area of digital transformation for sustainability.
To help students in finding and securing appropriate funding, we have created a funding finder where you can search for suitable sources of funding by filtering the results to suit your needs. Visit the funding finder.
ASEAN-UK: Women in STEM Scholarships
Cranfield University is proud to join the Women in STEM Scholarship initiative by offering six fully funded scholarships for female students from selected countries in East Asia. We are looking for women with a background in STEM who can demonstrate their need for financial support and who wish to inspire future generations of women to pursue careers in STEM.
Master's Loan from Student Finance England
A Master's Loan is now available for UK applicants to help you pay for your Master’s course.
Commonwealth Scholarships for Developing Countries
Students from developing countries who would not otherwise be able to study in the UK can apply for a Commonwealth Scholarship, which includes tuition fees, travel and a monthly stipend for Master’s study.
Lendwise Postgraduate Student Loan
The Lendwise Postgraduate Student Loan provides tuition fees and maintenance loans of between £5,000 and £100,000 for eligible applicants studying at Cranfield University.
Scottish Power Masters Scholarship
The scholarship covers tuition fees and living costs for postgraduate students in engineering, renewable energy, environmental science, cyber security and related fields.
Compulsory Modules
All the modules in the following list need to be taken as part of this course.
- Artificial Intelligence for Sustainability
- Data Analytics for Sustainability
- Energy Economics and Policy
- GIS and Spatial Data Management
- Scientific Python
- Sustainability and Environmental Assessment
- Elective modules
- One of the modules from the following list needs to be taken as part of this course.
- Computational Fluid Dynamics for Renewable Energy
- Energy Entrepreneurship
Elective Modules
One of the modules from the following list needs to be taken as part of this course.
- Energy Systems Case Studies
- Short Research Project
- Energy Economics and Policy
It develops professional engineers, scientists and practitioners with the multidisciplinary skills and ability to analyse current and future sustainability challenges across private and public sectors.
The international nature of this growing field allows Cranfield graduates to develop diverse and rewarding global careers in industry, government or research.
Example careers:
- Energy Analyst – data science
- Offshore Energy Analyst
- Energy and Sustainability Analyst
Why this course?
Countries transitioning to net-zero face a number of challenges in different sectors of their economies. At the core of this transition, affordable and secure energy supply, sustainable development, and the digital transitions aggravate these challenges for organisations to support the government towards net-zero.
You will benefit from dedicated state-of-the-art facilities, including unique engineering-scale facilities for the development of efficient technologies with low CO2 emissions.
In addition to management, communication, teamwork and research skills, each student will attain at least the following learning outcomes from this degree course:
- Design appropriate methods for data acquisition and processing
- Develop AI algorithms to create data-driven solutions, driving sustainability within organisations.
- Apply Data Science principles through simulation platforms and programming languages to sustainability problems.
The taught programme for the master's is generally delivered from October to February and comprises eight modules. Each of the first five modules is delivered over two weeks. Generally, the first week involves intensive teaching while the second week has fewer teaching hours to allow time for more independent learning and completion of the assessment.
Students on the part-time programme will complete all of the modules based on a flexible schedule that will be agreed with the course director.
Taught modules 80 credits/800 hours, Group projects 40 credits/400 hours, Individual project 60 credits/600 hours
Group Project
The group project is an applied, multidisciplinary, team-based activity. Often, when solving real-world, industry-based problems, you are provided with the opportunity to take responsibility for a consultancy-type project while working under academic supervision. Success is dependent on the integration of various activities and working within agreed objectives, deadlines and budgets. Transferable skills such as teamwork, self-reflection and clear communication are also developed.
Individual Project
The individual project is the chance for you to focus on an area of particular interest to you and your future career. You will select the individual project in consultation with the Thesis Co-ordinator, your allocated supervisor and your Course Director. These projects provide you with the opportunity to demonstrate your ability to carry out independent research, think and work in an original way, contribute to knowledge, and overcome genuine challenges in the energy industry. Many of the projects are supported by external organisations.
Demonstrate your commitment and readiness to succeed in business school by taking the GMAT exam – the most widely used exam for admissions that measures your critical thinking and reasoning skills.
Download the GMAT mini quiz to get a flavour of the questions you’ll find in the exam.