Data Science in UK: Top Colleges, Courses, Fees, Eligibility, Scholarships, Jobs

Top Data Science Colleges in UK: Courses, Fees, Eligibility, Scholarships and Jobs

“Data is the new Oil” owing to this study of Data analytics and Data Science is gaining popularity among students willing to study abroad in UK. Universitites in UK offer research-led knowledge along with pragmatic skills. Over 200 data science courses in the UK are offered by more than 17 institutes. 

  • The data industry is a thriving market of $40m estimated worth. Universities in UK are catering to this demand by providing a wide range of courses at an undergraduate and postgraduate level along with specialization in Data analytics.
  • Focus areas of colleges for data science in the UK include machine learning, optimization methods, and artificial intelligence. 2.6% of all the permanent jobs advertised in the UK in 2020 were for data science.  
  • The median salary for data science jobs has also risen from 62,500 GBP in 2018 to 65,000 GBP in 2020. Amazon, Apple, Capgemini, Cisco, Cognizant are few biggies in the IT industry offering jobs in the UK to data scientists. 

Top 10 Colleges for Data Science in the UK

To become a renowned data scientist it is a necessity to get your degree from a university that promises not only proper education but also pragmatic skills. Following popular universities in the UK offering a data science degree: 

University Program QS News Rankings 2021
University of Oxford MSc in Social Data Science; MSc + DPhil in Social Data Science 4
Imperial College, London MSc Statistics (Data Science); MSc Health Data Analytics and Machine Learning 10
University of Edinburgh BSc Data Science, MSc Data Science 30
King’s College London MSc Data Science; MA Big Data in Culture & Society 36
London School of Economics and Political Science MSc Data Science; MSc Applied Social Data Science 44
University of Manchester MSc Data Science (Social Analytics) 55
University of Warwick BSc Data Science; MSc Data Analytics 77
University of Bristol MSc Data Science 87
University of Sheffield MSc Data Science 117
University of Leeds MSc Data Science and Analytics 155

Data Science in the UK : Degree Courses and Specializations

A degree from one of the colleges for data science in the UK will enable the students to gather knowledge about programming, computational principles, structuring and eventually extort knowledge from a system. A data set nowadays is being arranged by industries of every kind like molecular biology to social media.

It is to be noted that there are certain universities that accept admissions from versatile disciplines like health sciences, geography, planning, business studies, mathematics, computer science and more.

Students can study in UK at three levels:

  • Undergraduate: Degrees offered under this category are: BSc in Data Science, BSc in Data Science (Graduate Apprenticeship), BSc in Data Science and Analytics
  • Postgraduate: Degrees offered under this category are MSc in Data Science, MSc+DPhil in Data Science, MSc Health Data Analytics and Machine Learning, MA Big Data in Culture and Society, MSc Data Science (Social Analytics).
  • Doctoral: Doctoral of Philosophy or PhD

Skills which are incorporated in the course structure of data science in UK: 

  • Computational Skills
  • Data analytical Skills
  • Data stewardship skills and knowledge
  • Project Design Skills
  • Data Visualisation and Communication
  • Data Intuition

Specializations available under Data Science in the UK: 

One can choose multiple modules while pursuing the course in the colleges for data science in UK as instructed by the concerned university.

Elements of Statistical Learning Statistics in Finance
Agents and multi-agent systems Nature-inspired learning algorithms
Pattern Recognition, neural networks and deep learning Network theory
Big Data Technologies Simulation
Computer vision Machine learning

Data Science Colleges in the UK: Undergraduate Programs

The colleges for data science in the UK listed below are among the top rankers and they strive to provide the best knowledge on how the data gained from everyday lives are appreciative.

Universities Undergraduate Programs Annual Fee (in GBP) Duration
University of Edinburgh BSc in Data Science (Graduate Apprenticeship) 27,550 4
University of Warwick BSc Data Science 21,002 3
York St John University BSc Data Science 12,750 3
University of Essex BSc Data Science and Analytics 16,860 3
Aberystwyth University BSc Data Science 15,800 3

Eligibility for Bachelors in Data Science in UK Admission

The students who are interested to study in any of these data science colleges in the UK must focus on the eligibility and documents required to ensure a smooth process of admission.

  • Overall 75-80% or above with 80% in the required subjects (especially mathematics and English)
  • International students must provide proof of their excellence in English proficiency by submitting the IELTS (6.5-7.0), TOEFL iBT (90-100) scores.

Documents Required for Bachelors in Data Science in UK Admission

  • Proof of work experience
  • Details of the past qualifications
  • A personal statement of the student
  • Suitable references

Data Science Colleges in the UK: Graduate Programs

After pursuing a bachelor's, master's in data science in UK would further the scope of bagging a better job along with a good package. Some of the popular colleges for data science in the UK offering a masters degree are: 

University Program Duration Annual Fees (GBP)
University of Oxford MSc in Social Data Science 10 months 28,040
MSc + DPhil in Data Science 2 years 28,040
Imperial College, London MSc Statistics – Data Science 1 year 30,012
MSc Health Data Analytics and Machine Learning 1 year 35,600
University of Edinburgh MSc Data Science 1 32,500
King’s College London MSc Data Science 1 26,550
MA Big Data in Culture & Society 1 year 26,550
University of Manchester MSc Data Science (Social Analytics) 1 year 22,500

Eligibility for Masters in Data Science in UK Admission

Following are the minimum eligibility criteria required to apply for masters in data science colleges in UK: 

  • First-class or 70% in their bachelor’s degree
  • Proof of English proficiency. Minimum score requirement is provided below: 
    • IELTS: 6.0-7.0
    • TOEFL iBT: 80-90

Documents Required for Masters in Data Science in UK Admission

  • Previous academic qualifications
  • A personal statement up to 4,000 characters
  • Suitable references/letter of recommendations up to three
  • CV
  • Official transcript
  • One essay of around 2,000 words

Data Science Colleges in the UK: Doctorate Programs

Three universities tabulated below not only provide Ph.D. but are among elite universities in the world with Edinburgh ranking 3rd globally.

University Programs Fees(GBP) Duration
University of Edinburgh Ph.D. in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence 23,500 3
University of Bristol Ph.D. in Computational Statistics and Data Science 22,300 4
University of Essex Ph.D. in Data Science 15,460 4

Eligibility for Ph.D. in Data Science in UK Admission

Admission to the doctoral degree in any of the data science colleges in the UK has certain requirements and eligibility to be considered. It must be noted that these are mandatory for the majority of the universities.

  • Proof of English proficiency with following average minimum score: 
    •  IELTS: 6.5
    • TOEFL: 92
  • Masters degree from a recognized university
  • Must have studied mathematics or computer science

Documents Required for Ph.D. in Data Science in UK Admission

  • Submit two references with the application
  • Must submit the CV
  • A personal statement
  • Research Proposal

Scholarships for Data Science Colleges in the UK

Securing a seat in the bachelor's, masters or Ph.D. degrees can be quite a challenging factor in the data science colleges in UK. However, what can be straining is the thought of the fees and cost of living. Universities ensure numerous scholarships which enable the students to focus on their studies solely and not opt for a part-time job. 

Hereby are listed a few of the scholarships for international students in UK:

University Names Eligible Awards (GBP) Requirements
University of Edinburgh 1st Formations Business Scholarship Only for bachelor’s 652 A desire to run their own business; Should not be a past recipient of the same scholarship; Must show their need for financial support
University of Manchester Commonwealth Scholarships and Fellowships Plan (CSFP) General Scholarship Postgraduates and PhDs Varies Upper second class honors degree or 60-69%
Imperial College, London Paul Foundation Scholarships UG and PG both 15,997 Must score a first-class or 70% in UG/PG
The University of Edinburgh Edinburgh Global Research scholarship PhD Covers the excess fee of an international student Outstanding merit
University of Essex Alumni Loyalty Discount Masters/PhD Deduction of first-year tuition fee by 25% Only students who’ve successfully completed their bachelors/masters

Data Science in the UK: Scope

In the UK, the majority of people earn around 183,000 GBP annually. In the same way, a master’s degree in data science will earn 24% more than a bachelor’s student and the ones pursuing a Ph.D. earn 23% more. In the information technology sphere, an employee gets a raise of 10% every 14 months of their work life.

Diversified sectors to work after completing a degree in data science in UK:

  • Financial services: It is possible for a data science student to pursue a career in the finance industry. Renowned organizations like Barclays, Citigroup, Deloitte, J. P. Morgan is in the lookout for prospective employees having ample knowledge about artificial intelligence, virtual reality, robotics process automation and more.
  • Manufacturing: Big manufacturing companies dealing with oil, pharmaceuticals and more, are in the search for data science people who are proficient with programming skills.
  • Public sector: This sector always recruits people from the data science sphere to keep their complex systems running effortlessly.
  • Retail: Amazon, Tesco, top-notch companies like these always need people to keep up with contemporary technological developments, so data science is the only way out. 

Top Designations of a Data Science Students

Underneath are few of the designations which a student can aspire to be after passing from one of the data science colleges in UK: 

Designation Average Annual Salary (in GBP)
Data Scientist 26,000 - 61,000
Data Analyst 19,000 - 40,000
Software Engineer 25,000 - 60,000
Software Developer 22,000 - 49,000
Java Developer 23,000 - 55,000
Quantitative Analyst 35,000 - 97,000

Top Recruiters for Data Science in the UK

The names hereby are the industry giants in the data science arena. They have been the biggest in the corporate sector for a long time now. A degree from one of the above-mentioned data science colleges in the UK can bag you a job in any of these.

Splunk SPINS
Alteryx Civic Analytics
Sisense Oracle
Looker Teradata

Data Science in the UK: Job Market Scenario

AI and Data Science are one of the prime focus of UK government’s current industrial strategy to put the country at the forefront of the data revolution. State funding has been rigorously increased.

  • As per reports by Roland Burger and France Digitale Data science startups in the UK have raised $1.241 billion in the last 5 years in Europe with the highest AI related patents.
  • As per Royal society demand for data engineers has tripled over 5 years. Digital tech jobs generally pay high 42,578 pounds rather than 32,477 pounds per year (non-digital). Biggest tech giants have acquired startups like DeepMind, Evi Technology, Swiftkey, etc. 
  • The average starting salary of a data scientist with less than a year experience ranges from 25,000 pounds to 30,000 pounds per annum which increases with experience.

Data Science colleges in the UK are instrumental in providing students with theoretical as well as practical knowledge. A student wishing to study in one of these educational institutes can follow the admission process and eventually see them placed in one of the industry giants like Oracle or Teradata.

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Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne

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