Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Computer Science (Data Science)

at Heriot-Watt University - Edinburgh Campus United Kingdom

Cell and Molecular Biology (Biochemistry) is the basic science underpinning our understanding of all life processes. In this course, we cover cell and molecular biological aspects of animals and plants, and provide the broad understanding necessary for a career in the biomedical/pharmaceutical, food and biotechnological industries as well as providing a sound foundation for further research.

Data science today is becoming increasingly important within the actuarial field, and Heriot-Watt has developed this unique new programme to meet this growing actuarial demand.

Taking our MSc in Actuarial Management with Data Science is a great way to speed your progress to this most prestigious of careers - it's designed to take you almost all of the way to qualification. Our MSc in Actuarial Management is an established and successful programme covering the more advanced actuarial subjects.The MSc in Actuarial Management with Data Science introduces exciting new opportunities for actuaries of the future.

Entry to the actuarial profession is by a demanding series of examinations, but the rewards after qualifying are great. The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries in the UK has four levels of examinations to qualify. The first level, the Core Principles (CS, CM and CB) subjects, are taught in our BSc or MSc in Actuarial Science and lead to exemptions from subjects CS1, CS2, CM1, CM2, CB1 and CB2. Students will typically study CP1, CP2, CP3, two SP subjects (two SP subjects are needed to satisfy the profession's requirements) and two courses on data science applied to insurance.

Actuarial data science combines advanced statistical modelling and analysis with modern computational techniques in order to analyse potentially large datasets arising in insurance and finance. These analyses have the ability to improve forecasts and enhance decision making in an uncertain environment where rapid advancements in technology and data availability are transforming fields of actuarial work. Additionally, they are building synergies with new sectors such as medical and healthcare. This is an area of science and technology that is attracting significant interest and that will continue to grow for the foreseeable future, as more and more industries adopt data-driven and data-centric approaches.

Students graduating from the MSc will have excellent employment prospects that are not restricted to any one narrow sector of financial services. By their choice of IFoA subjects, they may target the life, pensions, asset management, investment and risk management sectors. They will be in demand in quantitative risk management roles in both banks and insurance companies, as well as fund management companies, hedge funds, consultancies, software vendors and regulatory authorities. The market for graduates with actuarial qualifications complemented with data science skills is growing fast and we expect that it will continue to grow for the foreseeable future.

This course offers broad-based training in modern, pure and applied mathematics, together with a sound knowledge of key areas in contemporary statistics. It allows students to study both mathematics and statistics courses in each year of the course. A blend of compulsory and optional courses in mathematics ensures a broad knowledge base, and the statistics course offers additional expertise in data analysis, rational decision making, and the modelling of random behaviour. The course develops valuable transferable skills in numeracy, analytical and logical reasoning and problem solving which lead to a wide variety of possible careers.

The world relies on digital technology more than ever before. As a result, today the prevention of cyberattacks, data breaches and identity theft are a priority for individuals, businesses and governments alike.

In order to target this growing requirement within industry and society, Heriot-Watt has designed a brand new programme for 2020: BSc Computer Science (Cyber Security). This undergraduate programme will provide students with a sound foundation and applied skills in computer science with focus on cyber security, in addition to other professional skills, enabling them to succeed in meeting the cyber security challenges facing modern organisations today.

In this programme you will learn about the foundations of networks and computer systems, thereby allowing you to understand how communications can be probed and altered, and systems can be forensically analysed. You’ll also learn about techniques for secure programming and how real-world networks and systems are protected with fundamental techniques such as access control, encryption and intrusion detection.

In each of the first three years of the programme, students take eight mandatory courses, and in Year 4 they take five mandatory courses and three optional ones.

Knowledge in operations management is an important requirement of managers across all business functions and there is an increasing demand for operations management specialists in every type of organisation.

This is a specialist MSc
MSc Operations Management is a specialist MSc programme led by academics at the Edinburgh Business School. As a specialist masters, this degree gives those who have worked in industry or studied a similar subject previously, the chance to expand, refine and enhance their knowledge.

This 1-year masters programme focuses almost entirely on the area of operations management. It blends cutting-edge academic thinking with best practice from industry to give graduates and professionals the opportunity to advance with a highly employable skillset.

This is one of the few dedicated Applied Mathematics MSc programmes in the UK. For over 40 years Heriot-Watt has been exceptionally strong in Applied Mathematics and we have world-leading researchers in many related areas and very good links with industry.

Our flexible programme is designed to equip students with the modern, transferrable mathematical and statistical skills to prepare them for careers in industry and research.

Students will gain a solid, theoretical and practical foundation through a diverse range of taught courses and applications oriented projects.

Ranked 2nd in Scotland and 10th in the UK for Town and Country Planning and Landscape in The Times / The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021.

Our MSc Spatial Planning and Real Estate Development course provides the foundation, knowledge and skills needed to work as a development surveyor or planner. On completion, graduates will be able to work either in the public or private sectors, advising on the complexities of property development to occupiers, investors, developers and planning authorities.

The course is designed to build understanding of the complex interactions and uncertainties of the development process. It provides students with the essential knowledge components of economics, valuation, planning, law, and regeneration and sustainability principles. It also develops an appreciation of the skills and tasks inherent in development projects, including community participation, satisfying the statutory planning considerations, undertaking the necessary financial appraisals, and achieving funding to make it happen.

The programme combines core elements of Mathematics, Chemical and Mechanical Engineering, Control Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Safety and Management. Successful completion of this programme will allow the graduate to become a productive graduate instrumentation and control engineer in their company.

Graduates' skillset:
The Instrumentation Measurement and Control Graduate Apprenticeship Programme aims to produce BEng (Hons) graduates who:

• Meet the educational base required by the Institute of Instrumentation, Measurement and Control for registration as an Incorporated Engineer;
• Have a good technical understanding of the essential facts across the discipline, but also an awareness of specialist application of technology;
• Are equipped with a sound basis in theoretical engineering principles and methods and their application;
• Are able to operate in team and multidisciplinary contexts;
• Have an appreciation of the wider societal and commercial influences on, and impact of, the discipline;
• Have problem-solving skills and the ability to apply such skills in developing innovative solutions to society's practical needs;
• Have developed the personal qualities and professional competencies of instrumentation and control engineers;
• Have been able to pursue their personal interests in depth in the context of the sponsoring company;
• Have the practical skills required specifically by instrumentation and control engineers and more widely by any numerate professional position.

The postgraduate course in Urban Strategies and Design is delivered jointly by the Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA) of the University of Edinburgh and Heriot-Watt University.

This course addresses the current need for interdisciplinary knowledge. It encourages the adoption of a comprehensive approach towards the delivery of socially-sustainable urban transformation, from local-specific to strategic metropolitan and regional interventions. Students study the wide and diverse range of social, economic, and political processes that determine the contemporary urban environment, and acquire the tools and skills to propose urban projects of diverse scales and specificities.

The City of Edinburgh offers an urban laboratory for project- and site visit-based exploration of current urban design issues in the UK. Furthermore, the city’s historic 'Geddesian' planning links, and contemporary international links with urban-focused institutions and bodies provide a strong platform from which to support student-led, location-based research projects.

Energy – based on fossil fuels and, increasingly, renewables – is an essential component of our existence. The cost, availability and efficient utilisation of energy are increasingly strong focal points in the strategies of governments world-wide, as they realise that the 'raw material' for most of the energy used today has a finite life.

Large industries and small households alike depend on a reliable provision of energy. Energy includes not only electricity, but also heat and transportation. The course will make you aware of the relationship between demand and supply of energy, a relationship that consists of much more than its technical component. It includes political, economic and social issues and has to be viewed on a global as well as a local scale with respect to energy provision, consumption and the costs it might incur – both in the monetary as well as environmental terms.

We have seen countries go to war over energy supplies and we can see the effect of our energy consumption on the global climate. The concept of sustainable energy moves into focus as the finite nature of our main element in our current energy chain of supply – fossil fuel – becomes more obvious. The Paris Treaty is just one example of international and national policy actions which have subsequent implications for legislation affecting industries and communities.

We try to reflect the broad range of disciplines covering energy in this multi-disciplinary degree, which offers courses relevant to energy resources, power generation, process engineering, environmental legislation and environmental impact assessment, energy in buildings, as well as business courses in collaboration with the Edinburgh Business School.

It is the aim of the Energy MSc/Diploma to provide a balanced, integrated course which will equip the participant with the tools needed to positively influence his/her organisation in to developing new business strategies relevant to 'energy', or in reacting to the growing portfolio of environmental legislation. The course is also supported by industrial suppliers and users of energy, who are committed to an ethical environmental policy.

An optional project and dissertation in an engineering subject, which might be a company-specified topic or one selected by the participant, is also available.