The aim of the programme is to develop a critical awareness of the state-of-the-art in data science and demonstrate the practical skills necessary to create value in its application to business, scientific and/or social domains. Data is being collected at an unprecedented speed and scale. 'Big data' is of little use without 'big insight'. The skills required to develop such insight are in short supply, however, and the shortage of skilled workers in the data analytics market is cited as a key barrier. This programme addresses that shortage, combining a strong academic programme with hands-on experience of leading commercial technology (and the chance to gain industry certification). The programme is run in conjunction with SAS, a market leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market.By the end of the course you should be able to: * Comprehend the key concepts and nuances of the disciplines that need to be synthesised for effective data science. * Demonstrate a critical understanding of the challenges and issues arising from taking heterogeneous data at volume and scale, understanding what it represents and turning that understanding into insight for business, scientific or social innovation (ie, data science). * Develop a practical understanding of the skills, tools and techniques necessary for the effective application of data science. * Apply a practical understanding of data science to problems in social, business and/or scientific domains. * Evaluate the effectiveness of applied data science in relation to the challenges/issues addressed.

From an industry perspective, there is an increasingly well-documented skills shortage developing in-and-around data science. From government, social networks and ecommerce sites to sensors, smart meters and mobile networks, data is being collected at an unprecedented speed and scale. 'Big data' is of little use without 'big insight', however. A core challenge in this respect is in developing and maintaining 'data capability' – as highlighted in a recent Government report 'Seizing the Data Opportunity: A Strategy for UK Data Capability' (October 2013). "A shortage of skilled workers in the overall data analytics market is cited as one of the key barriers to further data analytics activity for businesses both globally and in the UK, with one global survey finding that 46% of respondents quoted staff shortages as the most common barrier to implementing data analytics. On top of this, e-skills UK predicts an increase of between 13% and 23% per annum in demand for big data staff between now and 2017". Further, the prestigious Harvard Business Review published an article referring to the data scientist as the 'sexiest job of the 21st century' (Harvard Business Review, Data scientist: the sexiest job of the 21st century, 2012). The importance of skills development is not lost on employers. An Accenture study (Getting Serious About Analytics: Better Insights, Better Decisions, Better Outcomes, Accenture, April 2011) found that businesses that outperform competitors are five times more likely to use analytics strategically than low performers. Further, a recent report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) found that organisations that invest in analytics could help generate £216 billion for the UK economy and create 58,000 new jobs over the next five years (Data equity: Unlocking the value of big data, CEBR, April 2012). Careers Our Master's programmes aim to equip you with the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment. Each course is developed with industry in mind and has one or more industrial advisers who are involved in course development and delivery. The ability to generate effective insight and value from data is increasingly important across all industrial sectors. Data science is thus becoming a feature in a very wide range of industries, including: Automotive, Banking & financial services, Energy (eg oil & gas), Health, Management consulting, Media and new media, Retail, Transportation. Given the range of vertical sectors that data science is important to, there are a vast number of companies seeking to employ graduates in this area. These include such organisations as Accenture, AstraZeneca, AXA Insurance, British Airways, Capgemini, Experian, FICO, GE Healthcare, HSBC, nPower, Orange, PayPal, Sopra and Waitrose, etc. We expect that the roles that people will be recruited to in these organisations will include: Analytics consultant, Big data engineer/scientist, Business analyst, Clinical data scientist, Data design specialist, Data scientists, Developer/development engineer, Enterprise/technical architect, Forecast analyst, Marketing/customer and/or insight analyst, Quantitative analyst, Web analyst.