Master of Science in Computer Science

at Royal Holloway,University of London United Kingdom

This course is a rigorous, intensive, demanding training in theatre directing where you will work with professional actors to develop your directing skills. You will have the chance to direct in our new purpose-build performance space, the Caryl Churchill Theatre, a 150-seat flexible theatre on three levels, designed by award-winning theatre architects Foster-Wilson.

Royal Holloway's Department of Drama, Theatre and Dance is internationally recognised for the quality of its creative arts programmes. The Department has produced several theatre companies with a growing international reputation, including Ad Infinitum, Forest Fringe, non zero one and Analogue.

Our lives are shaped and mediated by the digital. Social platforms, streaming and viral media, personalisation algorithms, gaming and creative digital content have changed what it means to be a human today. This innovative degree will allow you to become an expert in the practices and cultures of digital media and to understand how they have transformed almost every industry. It will also give you the industry-standard skills to create the best digital media content in the world and prepare you for a flourishing career in the creative digital industries.

The creative industries are the UK’s fastest-growing economic sector, worth £71.4 billion a year and making up 5.6% of the work force (Department of Culture, Media & Sport), and within the creative industries, digital media looks set to grow the fastest over the next few years. Opportunities are everywhere and this degree will equip you for an exciting career in this ground-breaking field, giving you the critical and creative skills to excel in media production and an appreciation of the technologies that make it all go round.

We want you each to define and go in your own direction. Our students graduate to work in communication and social media, video games, music, TV and film, events, academia, journalism and many other fields. With digital skills–the richest currency in the world of employment today–you can take your degree in any direction you want. With that in mind, we create bespoke tailored degree pathways so that you can study the things you love and care about and develop the skills you want. Our first year gives you a taster of everything, from interactive storytelling, film-making and digital journalism to creative code, web and game design and media theory. In years two and three you can choose from a wide selection of modules to tailor your degree to your interests.

Our degree enables you to learn how media works on a number of levels that form the basis of today's digital communications. We put heavy emphasis on project-based learning and regular industry involvement and as a member of our community you can take advantage of our vast network of connections. Our broad curriculum will also prepare you for more advanced study in media arts or related fields if you decide to progress within academia.

• Emphasis on project-based learning.
• Alternative BSc (P304) pathway available taught in collaboration with the Department of Computer Science.
• Study how digital media works on both aesthetic and technical levels.
• Industry involvement from our outstanding networks.
• Immersion in 24-7 state-of-the-art media arts facilities.

Our Forensic Psychology Masters degree is jointly delivered by the Department of Law and Criminology and the Department of Psychology.  By choosing this course at Royal Holloway you will be trained in the research-practitioner model for careers either in forensic psychology or applied psychology, and gain transferable skills that provide a valuable basis for careers in a wide range for fields.  

A solid foundation in scientific research methods is developed so that you can design, conduct and analyse empirical psychological research. Teaching will be provided by academics from Psychology, Criminology and Law which will enable you develop skills in integrating concepts and communicating on multidisciplinary levels. You will be trained in qualitative and quantitative methods and in ethical issues relating to research and practice.  

Our balanced approach to research and teaching guarantees high quality teaching from both research and practice-led internal and external professionals, cutting edge materials and intellectually challenging debates. You will receive individual attention to enhance your personal and professional development.

On graduating you will have the foundation level knowledge to work towards becoming a qualified Forensic Psychologist and the understanding of the necessary interrelationship between scientific research and forensic psychological practice.

This course is accredited by the British Psychological Society. Successful completion of the course fulfils stage one of the requirements towards Chartered Membership of the British Psychological Society and full membership of the Division of Forensic Psychology.

The interactions between humans and our physical world are fascinating, from our responses to the physical features and phenomena of our planet to the interplay between regional geographical characteristics and the cultures that call those regions home. Study Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London and you’ll enjoy a universal subject, exploring topics including social development, patterns of trade and how geographic factors interact with both one another and human goals.

This adaptable course lets you choose from a range of optional modules to suit your preferences in years 2 and 3, from Political Geography to Global Warming to Post-Capitalist Cities. Fieldwork is a key part of the experience of doing Geography at Royal Holloway. As well as being excellent research training, our extensive programme of fieldwork helps bring the department together as a real community. The department offers a substantial and exciting range of field trips in the UK and overseas. Current locations include Cyprus, Spain, Malawi, Sicily, London and New York. The cost of the Year 1 fieldtrip to Spain is included in the student fee.

You’ll benefit from a renowned research culture, with the highest quality research and teaching in a supportive learning environment. You’ll acquire a broad range of skills and knowledge to take into your future career or further study and Geography graduates enjoy excellent employability prospects in a range of fields.

Study Geography at Royal Holloway at you’ll have access to state-of-the-art equipment, including world-class facilities for GIS, image analysis, advanced cartography and the physical and chemical analysis of soils, sediments and water.

Pursue your passion for Geography with us and graduate in a strong position to enjoy a rewarding career.

Our five-year integrated masters course offers a thorough grounding in the latest trends and technologies in the rapidly evolving world of computer science, with the benefits of a sought-after year in industry. You will have the chance to showcase your abilities in an extended final year project and this course is recommended if you want to go on to postgraduate research or pursue a high-level technical career, or just wish to delve deeper into the subject.

We cover all the essentials of application development and explore the fundamentals of computing, and we also introduce you to a host of advanced theories and technologies, from computer games, machine learning and digital sound and music, to intelligent agents and multi-agents, computational optimisation, advanced data communications, digital forensics and more. From the outset, you will be experimenting with programming games, robots, Gadgeteer kits, Subversion, JUnit testing, Scrum-based Agile software and more, in our well-equipped laboratories. The course’s modular structure gives you the flexibility to tailor your degree to your interests. Your supervised work placement can be completed at the end of year 2 or 3. At the end of year 1 you will have the option of transferring onto one of our specialist pathways (Artificial Intelligence, Information Security or Distributed & Networked Computing). Transferring onto our Software Engineering pathway requires previous programming experience and early permission to take the Software Development course in year 1, rather than Object-oriented Programming.

We are a highly respected, research-focused department, with a friendly approach and award-winning teaching. You will have a personal adviser to guide you through your studies. You will also be welcome to join our thriving Computing Society. We are one of only seven departments in the UK to hold the Athena SWAN bronze award for our commitment to increasing female participation in computer science. Our campus is located in the famous M4 corridor and we enjoy close links with many of its leading technology companies. If you are unable to complete a year in industry you can transfer onto our four-year MSci course.

• A flexible degree structure allows you to keep your options open and follow your study interests and career ambitions.
• You will acquire problem modelling and analysis techniques, as well as knowledge of and practical experience in modern software development methodologies and techniques.
• You will develop extensive team-work skills, excellent coding skills, good communication skills, and a strong professional ethos.
• You will have access to a very wide range of optional modules, including those highlighted in the specialist pathways.

From climate change, food and water security and sustainable urbanisation, to poverty, health inequality, and migration, responding to the world’s challenges as a global society is more important than ever, requiring new thinking that cuts across traditional subject boundaries.

This new interdisciplinary degree is designed to address 21st-century issues facing humanity and our planet. It will provide the theoretical knowledge and skillset about our environments and environmentalisms for motivated individuals to develop their careers, as policy-makers, environmental experts and scientists, and advocates for change across diverse fields.

A key feature of this innovative degree is the opportunity to take modules across the departments of Biological Sciences, Earth Sciences, Geography and Psychology, with further contributions from other disciplines including options in Politics and Business & Management. Students can choose to specialise through one of several pathways, for example, developing as skilled campaigners able to lead grassroots movements, policy-makers able to develop frameworks for governance, and scientists who are able to communicate state-of-the-art findings in accessible language and with contextual nuance.

You will be taught by international research leaders across a broad range of topics, with options to acquire real-world experience through placements as part of an embedded approach to developing your employability and transferable skills. Highlights include a social change toolkit, equipping you with practical skills and a research project, designed to apply knowledge to real-world problems, and develop your expertise to contribute to social change.

• Examine key questions about environmental challenges locally & globally
• Develop an understanding of how social change can be achieved to address these challenges
• Learn with internationally recognised experts in their fields
• Become versatile in synthesising diverse knowledge and how to communicate this effectively.

Economics is one of the most influential and liveliest disciplines in today's world, affecting the lives and fortunes of everyone on the planet. This course offers a complete education in the theories and methods of economics, with a strong focus on analytical methods. The knowledge and transferable skills gained will lead to excellent career prospects in public and private management, financial institutions and in government.

Through this course you will develop an in-depth understanding of economics at all levels – from the company to the state, and beyond; you will learn to appreciate and apply the core theories of micro and macroeconomics; gain important quantitative and computing skills that are widely applicable as well as skills and experience in logical and philosophical reasoning.

Our balanced approach to research and teaching guarantees high quality teaching from subject leaders, cutting edge materials and intellectually challenging debates. Our courses follow a coherent and developmental structure which we combined with an effective and flexible approach to study.

• In depth understanding of most recent economic theories.
• Economics is everywhere from business to beauty.
• Understand game theory and how decisions are made.
• Opportunity to undertake a placement year in business.

In recognition of current climate discussion, there is a need to expand the energy mix to low-carbon sources whilst securing supply from traditional resources. Consequently, our internationally-recognised vocational Petroleum Geoscience programme is developing into our new MSc Energy Geosciences to reflect our timely academic transition at Royal Holloway to a broader geoscience training, encompassing traditional and renewable energy resources.

The MSc in Energy Geosciences provides you with the ideal training for a career in the hydrocarbon and renewable industry and growing low carbon energy industry.

Our teaching on Energy Geosciences at Royal Holloway, University of London is informed by leading research and strong links to the international energy industry, meaning that you’ll benefit from the most relevant, up-to-date learning. The course is flexible, enabling you to select from a range of course modules to tailor your learning to your own preferences and ambitions on the Petroleum Geosciences or the Renewable Georesources stream.

A PG Certificate in Energy Geosciences is also available for direct entry.

• Benefit from a pioneering research culture.
• Study a program internationally recognised as one of the industry’s best.
• Graduate with excellent employability prospects in the UK and overseas.

This course allows you to develop your work as a writer to a professional level, going beyond the personal to write with an engaged sense of literary culture, its social role and contemporary practices. The MA is designed for students with an established writing practice who are intending to develop their creative writing beyond first-degree level. It is also designed for those students wishing to proceed to MPhil or PhD. This MA is taught in Bedford Square in Central London, in the heart of literary Bloomsbury, putting you within walking distance of publishing houses, bookshops, major UK libraries and all of the other cultural attractions of Central London.

You will take one of four distinct pathways:

• Fiction
• Literary Non-Fiction
• Poetry
• Poetic Practice

The MA ranks among the top creative writing courses in the country and is taught by leading writers whose work encompasses a wide range of approaches and styles.

• Sean Borodale’s Bee Journal was shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize and Costa Book Award.
• Lavinia Greenlaw has received a Forward Prize for Poem of the Year, the Prix du Premier Roman, a Wellcome Engagement Fellowship and the Ted Hughes Award.
• Nikita Lalwani won the Desmond Elliot Award, and was shortlisted for the Costa Prize and longlisted for the Man Booker prize.
• Nadifa Mohamed, one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists 2013, has won the Betty Trask Prize and a Somerset Maugham Award.
• Redell Olsen has been Judith E. Wilson Fellow in Poetry at Cambridge.
• Anna Whitwham’s novel Boxer Handsome was a New Statesman and Guardian Book of the Year.
• Eley Williams’s Attrib. and other stories won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Republic of Consciousness Prize.

Our prizewinning, internationally successful alumni include the novelists Sarah Perry, Tahmima Anam, Jenni Fagan and Barney Norris; short-story writer and poet Eley Williams; and the poets Liz Berry, Kayo Chingonyi, Sam Riviere and Sophie Robinson.

By combining the study of creative writing with English, you'll become an informed and critical reader as well as a confident and expressive writer - whether specialising as a poet, playwright, or author of fiction.

Studying at one of the UK's most dynamic English departments will challenge you to develop your own critical faculties. Learning to write creatively and critically analyse in tandem, you'll be exposed to a huge variety of literature while you develop your own writing practice. Studying English will allow you to place your writing within a wider cultural context of literature throughout history, considering key texts and acquiring a sound understanding of significant periods, genres, authors and ideas.

Modules are taught by nationally and internationally known scholars, authors, playwrights and poets who are specialists in their fields who write ground-breaking books, talk or write in the national media and appear at literary festivals around the world.  This means the course you take covers the most up-to-date ideas, whether in Creative Writing, Victorian Literature, Shakespearean studies or contemporary literature.

Find your voice as a writer and develop writing techniques, learn how to create, criticise and shape an artistic work: a valuable life skill with uses beyond writing poetry, plays or novels. From journalism and website creation to advertising and academic publishing – you'll be able to use the skills you pick up in character, voice, ambiguity, style and cultural context.

• Writing practice at the heart of your learning experience.
• Taught by high-profile, award-winning writers.
• Create and shape artistic work – ideal skills for a career in media or publishing.
• Choose one of three distinct pathways: fiction, poetry, or playwriting.
• Access to a thriving culture of creative writing.