Algorithmic Data Science (969G5JN)

15 credits, Level 7 (Masters)

Autumn teaching

This module teaches the computer science aspects of data science. It focuses on how data is represented and manipulated to achieve good performance on large data sets (>10 GBytes), where standard techniques may no longer apply.

You’ll learn about:

  • data structures

  • algorithms

  • systems.

This includes:

  • distributed computing

  • relational databases

  • non‑relational databases

  • parallel computing

  • cloud computing.

During labs, you’ll develop your Python programming skills and work with a variety of data sets, including large data sets from real‑world applications. You’ll also investigate how your algorithmic choices affect run‑time.

Teaching

50%: Lecture
50%: Practical (Laboratory)

Assessment

20%: Coursework (Test)
80%: Examination (Unseen examination)

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 44 hours of contact time and about 106 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We鈥檙e planning to run these modules in the academic year 2026/27. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We鈥檒l make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.