Induction

There will be various induction sessions in orientation week; see the orientation calendar for details. Attendance at all relevant sessions, including the briefing on good academic practice, is compulsory.

Masters Programmes

The School offers a number of MSc programmes in Computer Science and in Information Technology. Students are registered for one of these programmes, but it is sometimes possible to move between programmes: contact the appropriate MSc Adviser for more information.

The School also offers the European Masters in Dependable Software Systems, in which students spend one year studying in the School, and another year at another institution. Students take a total of 120 credits in the School, including a 45 credit dissertation module.

The School also offers the MSci, which is a 5-year integrated Masters undergraduate programme.

Masters Structure

The information in this section does not apply to the Erasmus Mundus MSc programme.

Each MSc programme is in two parts. In the taught phase (semesters one and two), a number of modules are taken, for a total of 120 credits. In the dissertation phase, students complete an individual or group dissertation project for 60 credits.

A student who is not allowed to, or who does not wish to, proceed to the dissertation part may be eligible for the award of a Postgraduate Certificate or Diploma in the corresponding subject.

Coursework

Students may use and are strongly encouraged to come into the School and use any of the School Computer Labs physically where it is easier to talk to and get to know your peers and receive support. It is also the case that you must ensure that code submissions compile and run on School lab PCs or teaching servers, unless otherwise instructed in the coursework specification.

The lab PCs provide all of the software required for practical work on CS modules.

The School provides a resilient storage service for files stored in a user’s network home directories.

If you are working on your own computer, you are required to backup your work regularly and at the very least every 24 hours. As a registered student, you have access to OneDrive via Microsoft 365 which may suffice for many smaller projects. CS network home directories are accessbile via SSH on the teaching servers, from the University network. Distributed version control is another option for backing-up work.

Each individual piece of coursework has its own deadline defined in MMS. After this deadline, lateness penalties apply, and work may not receive formative feedback.

As already described, failure to achieve an overall coursework average of at least 4, taking into account lateness penalties, will result in failing a module without right to reassessment.

External Examiner

The School’s External Examiner for Masters is Professor Tim Griffin of Cambridge University.

Distinguished Lecture Series

All students on MSc programmes in the School of Computer Science are required to attend all lectures in the Distinguished Lecture Series. Studenst on programmes involving multiple schools are welcome to attend as well.

Projects

As part of their studies, MSc students undertake a substantial project over the summer. More information on these can be found on the MSc Project page.

There is a project library showcasing selected MSc dissertations from previous years.

Marking and Reassessment of 5000-level modules

The policy on Taught Postgraduate Guidelines for Credits, Grades, and Awards can be found here.

Reassessment of 5000-level modules is permitted for PGT students who have failed 5000 level modules with grades between 4.0 – 6.9, other than the dissertation component. PGT students who have successfully completed module reassessments and met all other programme requirements will be able to graduate with a PGT Masters. A pass in such a reassessed module will be capped at 7.0, which will be included when calculating the credit-weighted mean for classification.

Classification of PGT Masters Degrees

PGT Masters Degree Classification is on the basis of the award of Pass, Merit, and Distinction where:

Pass is awarded on the basis of acquiring 180 credits (of which at least 150 are 5000 level, depending on programme requirements).
Merit is awarded on the basis of both fulfilling the criteria for a Pass, as well as achieving a credit-weighted mean between 13.5 and 16.4 across all taught and dissertation credits.
Distinction is awarded on the basis of fulfilling the criteria for a Pass, as well as achieving a credit-weighted mean between 16.5 and 20.0 across all taught and dissertation credits.