Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence MSci

The module introduces basic principles of programming and algorithms. It covers fundamental programming constructs, such as types and variables, expressions, control structures, and functions.

You'll learn how to design and analyse simple algorithms and data structures that allow efficient storage and manipulation of data. You'll also become familiar with basic software development methodology.

You will spend around six hours per week in lectures, computer classes and tutorials.

You will gain a basic understanding of the fundamental architecture of computers and computer networks.

You’ll learn how the simple building blocks of digital logic can be put together in different ways to build an entire computer.

You’ll also learn how modern computer systems and networks are constructed of hierarchical layers of functionality which build on and abstract the layers below.

You will spend five hours per week in tutorials, lectures and computer classes.

This module runs alongside 'Computer Fundamentals' and provides an expanded view by considering how real computer systems (such as ARM, x86, Linux and *BSD) and networks work.

You’ll also cover the principles of the lower level implementation of I/O using polling and interrupts, and the use of exceptions; how memory and storage are organized as well addressing the issues arising from multicore systems. 

You’ll spend around five hours per week in tutorials, lectures and computer classes.

You’ll cover the basic concepts in mathematics which are of relevance to the computer scientists.

These include:

• logic
• sets
• functions and relations
• graphs
• induction
• basic probability
• statistics and matrices

This module considers both the structure of databases, including how to make them fast, efficient and reliable, and the appropriate user interfaces which will make them easy to interact with for users. You will start by looking at how to design a database, gaining an understanding of the standard features that management systems provide and how you can best utilise them, then develop an interactive application to access your database.

Through the lectures and computing sessions you will learn how to design and implement systems using a standard database management system, web technologies and GUI interfaces through practical programming/system examples.

This module focuses on the fact that programming is only one step of the larger Software Engineering Process. To develop good software, you must gather requirements, design it well, plan the development, do the programming, have a testing strategy, test the parts and the product as a whole, and have a maintenance strategy for fixing the things that no one (even the client) imagined were important until it after it was delivered.

Software Engineering is a process that is much more than just programming. You'll spend two-three hours per week discussing the stages of the Software Engineering process in lectures, whilst carrying out activities in labs that help you understand the underlying issues.

In this module you will learn the basic principles of the object-oriented and functional approaches to programming, using the languages Java and Haskell. You will also see how they can be used in practice to write a range of different kinds of programs.

You will gain a broad overview of the fundamental theories and techniques of artificial intelligence (AI).

You’ll explore how computers can produce intelligent behaviour, and will consider topics such as the history of AI, AI search techniques, neural networks, data mining, philosophical and ethical issues, and knowledge representation and reasoning.

You will spend two hours per week in lectures for this module. 

This module covers important aspects of algorithms, namely their correctness and efficiency.

You’ll study topics such as:

• proofs in propositional logic and predicate logic
• classical vs. intuitionistic reasoning
• basic operations on types
• verification of list based programs
• introduction to program specification and program correctness

To address the issue of efficiency we cover the use of mathematical descriptions of the computational resources needed to support algorithm design decisions. The emphasis is upon understanding data structures and algorithms so as to be able to design and select them appropriately for solving a given problem.

Working in groups of around five to six people, you’ll be assigned a supervisor who will provide you with a short written description of a computer application to be designed, programmed, and documented during the course of the module.

Each group will meet twice a week, once with your supervisor and once without; you’ll also have four introductory one hour lectures.

This module covers a range of issues relating to operating systems, and distributed and parallel computing. Topics in operating systems include the architecture of operating systems, process and memory management, storage, I/O, and virtualisation. Topics in parallel and distributed computing include parallelism vs concurrency, task and data-parallel based decomposition, parallel architectures, parallel algorithms and programming.

In this module you will investigate classes of formal language and the practical uses of this theory, applying this to a series of abstract machines ultimately leading to a discussion on what computation is and what can and cannot be computed. You will focus in particular on language recognition, but will study a range of topics including: finite state machines, regular expressions, context-free grammars, Turing machines and Lambda calculus. This module builds on parts of the ACE module addressing data structures and formal reasoning and introduces concepts which are important to understand the analysis of algorithms in terms of their complexity.

This module builds on and further develops basic software design practices. It covers design patterns, data processing, regression testing, networking, and GUI programming. You'll learn how to read, understand, modify and extend a large piece of software. You'll become familiar with GUI design guidelines and usability heuristics. You will spend around six hours per week in lectures, computer classes and tutorials.

This module builds on the Fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence module. The emphasis is on building on the AI research strengths in the School.

You will be introduced to key topics such as AI techniques, fuzzy logic and planning, and modern search techniques such as Iterated Local Search, Tabu Search, Simulated Annealing, Genetic Algorithms, and Hyper-heuristics, etc.

You will also explore the implementation of some AI techniques.

This module introduces the field of digital image processing, a fundamental component of digital photography, television, computer graphics and computer vision.

You’ll cover topics including:

• image processing and its applications
• fundamentals of digital images
• digital image processing theory and practice
• applications of image processing

You’ll spend around three hours in lectures and computer classes each week.

This module will introduce you to programming concepts and structures by considering the Java Swing packages in depth. You’ll explore a wide range of components, and will consider the other APIs, which allows easy incorporation of high-quality 2D graphics, text, and images in applications, and the use of Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), which simplify the construction of graphical user interfaces. You’ll spend around four hours each week in lectures and computer classes.

Building upon the introductory Functional Programming module in year one, you’ll focus on a number of more advanced topics such as: 

• programming with effects
• reasoning about programs
• control flow
• advanced libraries
• improving efficiency
• type systems
• functional pearls

You’ll spend around four hours per week in lectures and computer classes.

You will cover the programming material and concepts necessary to obtain an understanding of the C++ programming language.

You will spend around four hours per week in lectures and computer classes for this module and will be expected to take additional time to practice and to produce your coursework.

In this module you’ll cover three main aspects of the software development process in depth: the system analysis and design process, the project management process and software documentation. You’ll spend around two hours per week in lectures.

Through a one hour lecture and a tutorial with your supervisor each week, you’ll develop your own independent research project and written report. Topics can range from purely theoretical studies to practical work building a system for a third party.

You’ll begin by considering the attempts to characterise the problems that can theoretically be solved by physically-possible computational processes.

You’ll then consider the area of complexity theory, looking at whether or not problems can be solved under limitations on resources such as time or space. A key topic is an examination of the classes P and NP and the definition of the term NP-complete.

The main aim of this module is to provide a sound understanding of wide range of fundamental concepts, techniques and methods of operational research and artificial intelligence that can help in design of automated intelligent decision support systems. The module will present a variety of applications from industrial and service sectors.

Through a two hour lecture each week, you’ll be introduced to concepts and techniques for software testing and will be given an insight into the use of artificial and computational intelligence for automated software testing. You’ll also review recent industry trends on software quality assurance and testing.

Spending four hours a week in lectures and computer classes, you’ll cover the following topics:

• security of the computer
• security of networks
• security and the internet
• software and hardware security
• mobile security
• basic cryptography

This module examines how knowledge can be represented symbolically and how it can be manipulated in an automated way by reasoning programs. Some of the topics you’ll cover include: first order logic; resolution; description logic; default reasoning; rule-based systems; belief networks and fuzzy logic. You’ll have two hours of lectures each week.

Providing an introduction to machine learning, pattern recognition, and data mining techniques, this module will enable you to consider both systems which are able to develop their own rules from trial-and-error experience to solve problems as well as systems that find patterns in data without any supervision. 

You’ll cover a range of topics including:

• machine learning foundations
• pattern recognition foundations
• artificial neural networks
• deep learning
• applications of machine learning
• data mining techniques
• evaluating hypotheses

You’ll spend around six hours each week in lectures and computer classes for this module.

In this module you’ll consider the design of collaboration and communication technologies used in a variety of different contexts including workplace, domestic and leisure environments.

You’ll consider the basic principles of such technologies, explore the technologies from a social perspective, consider their impact on human behaviour and critically reflect on their design from a human-centred perspective.

You’ll spend around two hours per week in lectures for this module. 

You’ll examine the principles of 3D computer graphics, focusing on modelling the 3D world on the computer, projecting onto 2D display and rendering 2D display to give it realism.

Through weekly lectures and laboratory sessions, you’ll explore various methods and requirements in 3D computer graphics, balancing efficiency and realism.

This module introduces the main concepts of autonomous mobile robotics, providing an understanding of the hardware and software principles appropriate for control, spatial localisation and navigation. The module consists of theoretical concepts around robotic sensing and control in the lectures, together with a strong practical element for robot programming in the laboratory sessions

You’ll review classical Boolean logic and set theory, including the common operations of union, intersection and complement.

Fuzzy Logic Systems (FLSs) will be introduced and illustrated in conjunction with examples of real-world applications in industrial control and other areas.

You’ll spend around four hours each week in lectures and workshops, and will be given the opportunity to design, programme and deploy a fuzzy logic system, providing a tangible real-world example of some underlying concepts of FLSs.

You will undertake a programming project relevant for AI for an External Client under the supervision of an academic member of staff.

The client, which can be a company, charity, research group etc., provides a problem that requires a sufficiently challenging piece of software to be developed. The client and project idea could be provided by the students or the supervisor. Each project must ultimately be agreed with the concerned Supervisor.

The main assessed outputs are the developed software, including any end-user documentation, along with a 15,000-word document that outlines the development, design and implementation of the software, highlighting the most interesting aspects.

The software must be developed in a professional and systematic manner appropriate for the problem domain.

The assessment is informed by a statement from the External Client on how well the developed software addresses the problem.

This module is very similar to that of the individual MSci project; however you are able to join into a group of at least two students to work on a project together.

The project may be based on theoretical or empirical research, or software development, and must relate to current research and/or professional practice. Agreed elements of the work must be conducted and coordinated as a group.

Collaboration with business, industry, and other outside bodies is encouraged and by the end of this module, you will have produced a 10,000-word common group project report and a 10,000-word individual report. 

You’ll explore the emerging field of ubiquitous computing, in which computation spreads away from the desktop to become embedded into the world around us, including into artefacts, furniture, buildings and ultimately into our own bodies. You’ll cover the distinctive design challenges in this field including designing for public settings, adapting to context and coping with uncertainty in positioning and wireless communications. You’ll spend around three hours in lectures and computer classes each week.  

This module will provide you with an advanced knowledge of computer communications networks, using examples from all-IP core telecommunications networks to illustrate aspects of transmission coding, error control, media access, internet protocol, routing, presentation coding, services and security. You’ll spend around three hours per week in lectures and computer classes. 

You’ll look at the development of software applications for mobile devices, with a practical focus on the Android operating system. You’ll consider and use the software development environments for currently available platforms and the typical hardware architecture of mobile devices. You’ll spend around three hours per week in lectures and computer classes.

The module provides an entry point to operations research with emphasis in techniques for computational optimisation. Operations Rresearch (OR) is a discipline that uses modelling techniques, analytics and computational methods to solve complex optimisation problems in industry and business. You will learn to interpret and create formal models of optimisation problems and to develop computer-based solutions to solve those problems. The module covers topics such as linear programming, integer programming, combinatorial optimisation, modelling and optimisation software, and multi-objective optimisation among others. You will spend around three hours per week in lectures and workshops.

This module introduces you to the theory and practice of design ethnography.

You’ll cover a range of topics including:

• origins and evolution of ethnography
• foundations and nature of the ethnomethodological approach
• ethnographic analysis
• the perceived problems with the approach

You’ll spend around two hours each week in lectures and tutorials for this module. 

You’ll examine current techniques for the extraction of useful information about a physical situation from individual and sets of images.

You’ll cover a range of methods and applications, with particular emphasis being placed on the identification of objects, recovery of three-dimensional shape and motion, and the recognition of events.

You’ll learn how to implement some of these methods in the industry-standard programming environment MATLAB.

You’ll spend around three hours a week in lectures and laboratory sessions.

Artificial intelligence is the science and engineering of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs, and covers a variety of topics including, agents, bio-inspired computational systems, computer vision, data mining, fuzzy logic, machine learning, modelling and optimization, operational research, pattern recognition, scheduling, and simulation. The module will introduce students to the latest developments and technological trends in selected topics in artificial intelligence, offered by staff in the school who are world leading researchers. 

Students taking part in activities relating to programming experience such as developing apps in their spare time, contributing to open source projects, or building things in hackathons may receive academic credit for showing they have experience and excellent development skills. The emphasis of this module is that you provide evidence of your significant extra-curricular software development experience. Students will only be able to register for this module with the approval of the convenor/school, once the material for assessment has been checked.

Students taking part in activities relating to industrial experience in a computer science or software engineering enterprise may obtain academic credit for them. A full list of approved activities is available from the School Office. Activities will be related to demonstration of involvement in development of complex software in a team situation, subject to quality control procedures of an industrial or business practice. Evidence of working to and completing tasks relating to targets set by an employer and directly related to software development/programming will be required. Students will have undertaken an agreed number of hours on the activities, identified personal goals and targets in relation to these activities and maintained a reflective portfolio as a record of evidence of their competence and achievements. The nature of the activities undertaken will be subject to the approval of the module convenor before acceptance on the module.