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Postgraduate

MSc Data Science and AI for the Creative Industries

CCI staff and students talk in the breakout space at CCI
CCI staff and students talk in the breakout space, 2019, UAL Creative Computing Institute, ©Ana Escobar
College
UAL Creative Computing Institute Start date
October 2024 Course length
1 year (45 weeks including summer thesis project)

We are no longer accepting applications from students for 2023/24 entry to this course. Applications for 2024/25 entry will open in Autumn 2023.

This MSc course gives you the opportunity to learn computer and data science skills, as well as introducing you to functional approaches to AI.

Why choose this course at UAL Creative Computing Institute

  • High-quality research informed teaching: the course is significantly informed by the research themes of the UAL Creative Computing Institute (CCI)
  • Critical engagement with technology: engagement with creative practice will also build your ability to self-reflect and think critically about your role in shaping the world
  • Institute environment: you will have access to purpose-built facilities and technical support, and exposure to creative computing research

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Course overview

The post-graduate conversion masters MSc Data Science and AI for the Creative Industries offers BA arts and humanities graduates the opportunity to re-orient their studies to an applied STEM discipline in a creative industries context. Designed in collaboration with the creative industries, this masters delivers applied computer science skills and data science training, introducing functional approaches to AI across multiple use cases.

This course has been developed in response to the Office for Students identifying a need for data science and AI skills in multiple sectors within the UK and internationally. It is anticipated that graduates with these skills will be in high demand. Additionally, the programme seeks to attract diverse learners so as to increase diversity within this high value and growing part of the creative technology economy.

As a student at the UAL Creative Computing Institute you will study in a specialist, research rich environment. The Institute provides dedicated technical resources, access to an Institute-wide lecture programme, and further opportunities to engage with Institute researchers and practitioners through additional events, seminars and workshops. By studying at the UAL Creative Computing Institute, you will join a network of creative researchers excited by the potential of computational technologies.

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Course units

STEM for Creatives (20 Credits)

This unit offers a conversion boot camp for STEM study for arts and humanities graduates including the maths that underpins the data science approaches later in the course. This unit is taught by a STEM academics who have worked in a creative industries setting.
 

Natural Language Processing for the Creative Industries (20 credits)

This practical class develops key coding skills to support NLP for the creative industries and introduces applied computer science concepts for arts and humanities graduates. Students will use coding languages such Python and JavaScript to develop approaches to text analysis, text generation, chatbots, conversational interfaces for sectors such as data journalism, art practice, social media analysis and bias in large language models.

 

Introduction to Data Science (20 credits)

This computing and seminar class uses programming approaches to statistics, structuring data, analysing data and explores approaches to questioning real world datasets. This units also gives a grounding in data ethics, data handling and GDPR.

 

Artificial Intelligence for Media (20 credits)

This practical class introduces students to practical Artificial Intelligence tools such as Tensorflow an pyTorch in order to do signal processing classification, regression, style transfer, image and video generation and includes exploring techniques such as, deep fakes, GANS, pix-2-pix and others. You will benefit from tuition from senior CCI researchers in this area and our relationships with industrial product teams such as Google Brain.
 

Data Science in the Creative Industries (20 credits)

This unit is taught in partnership with our current industry partner (WPP) and involves an industry case study of data science approaches to product development and applied approaches to campaign insight, customer interfaces, media analysis and generation.

 

Personalisation and Machine Learning (20 credits)

This practical class look at extending your machine learning experience to include the building and testing of recommenders and audience analysis tools. This Python and JavaScript based applied computing experience enables you to build and test systems that specifically test clustering for audience preferences.

 

Thesis Project (60 credits)

This self-directed unit ask you to build a practical project and write an associated thesis report of 8-10,000 words that documents your technical methods, process of design and development and evaluation.

Learning and teaching methods

To enable students to demonstrate achievement against the unit learning outcomes, learning and teaching methods will include:


  • Lectures and seminars
  • Studio/lab-based practice & masterclasses
  • Project work
  • Technical Tuition
  • Collaborative problem-solving & group work
  • Independent Study

Watch the online open day

Staff

Fees and funding

Home fee

£12,700 for in-person mode

This fee is correct for 2023/24 entry and is subject to change for 2024/25 entry. Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students on courses lasting more than one year. For this course, you can pay tuition fees in instalments.

Home fees are currently charged to UK nationals and UK residents who meet the rules. However, the rules are complex. Find out more about our tuition fees and determining your fee status.

International fee

£25,970 for in-person mode

This fee is correct for 2023/24 entry and is subject to change for 2024/25 entry. Tuition fees may increase in future years for new and continuing students on courses lasting more than one year. For this course, you can pay tuition fees in instalments.

Home fees are currently charged to UK nationals and UK residents who meet the rules. However, the rules are complex. Find out more about our tuition fees and determining your fee status.

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Entry requirements

An applicant will normally be considered for admission if they have achieved an educational level equivalent to an honours degree in either the broad fields of:

  • Arts and Design
  • Humanities
  • a joint computer sciences and arts/humanities degree, or related subject.

Educational level may be demonstrated by: Honours degree (named above); Possession of equivalent qualifications in a design-related or creative discipline; Prior experiential learning, the outcome of which can be demonstrated to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required. Your experience is assessed as a learning process and tutors will evaluate that experience for currency, validity, quality and sufficiency; Or a combination of formal qualifications and experiential learning which, taken together, can be demonstrated to be equivalent to formal qualifications otherwise required.

Applicants without the required qualifications, but with professional experience may be eligible to gain credit for previous learning and experience through the AP(E)L system.

Language requirements: IELTS level 7.0 or above, with at least 6.0 in reading, writing, listening and speaking (please check our main English Language requirements webpage).

Selection criteria

Sufficient prior knowledge and experience of and/or potential in a specialist subject area to be able to successfully complete the programme of study and have an academic or professional background in a relevant subject for a conversion masters.
 

Aptitude for computing study and logical methods, sometimes tested in an online aptitude test. (this test is required on a per application basis and may not always be required)

 

Also, to show a willingness to work as a team player, good language skills in reading, writing and speaking, the ability to work independently and be self-motivated.
 

We welcome non-standard applications from diverse applicants and subject fields and applications that make a strong case for how the course could be applied to the ambitions of the applicant.

After you apply

What happens next

Initial application check

We check your application to see if you meet the standard entry requirements for the course.

How we notify you of the outcome of your application

You will receive the outcome of your application through the UAL Portal.

Careers

Career paths

Graduates will be well placed to work in the following areas:

  • Software development for the creative industries
  • Customer insight and personalisation for the creative industries
  • Digital product development for the creative industries
  • Research and development for the creative industries
  • Content creation for creative industries

UAL Creative Computing Institute

Contact

Telephone

Address
UAL Creative Computing Institute
45–65 Peckham Road
London
SE5 8UF