Computer Science scholarships
Computer Science scholarships are available to international students applying to study a Masters in Big Data or The Internet of Things, commencing in September 2017.
If you hold the equivalent of a UK First Class undergraduate degree you will automatically be considered for the scholarship, which is a £2,000 tuition fee discount.
How do I apply?
All eligible applicants are automatically considered.
Eligible programmes
The masters programmes in Big Data (with or without a year in industry) are:
- Computational Finance
- Data Science and Analytics
- Machine Learning
- The Internet of Things
- Distributed and Networked Systems.
The Internet of Things is a new and fast expanding area in Computer Science, technology and engineering: it concerns the new generation of systems of networked devices that are becoming capable of sensing, transmitting and acting on data: smart homes, smart cities, smart industries, and so on. A series of reports, among which several published by Gartner, place the IOT as a new and transformative technology domain that will require millions of developers worldwide by 2020.
The Masters in The Internet of Things at Royal Holloway will provide you with advanced knowledge and skills in three essential and critical areas:
- Data analytics is essential for getting value from the IOT. For example, in Formula One racing there are hundreds of sensors providing thousands of data points for analysis such as tyre pressure and fuel burn efficiency, which have to be collected in real-time for very quick analysis by race engineers onsite.
- Distributed computing and systems concern technical aspects such as algorithms for distributed coordination, time-synchronisation, scalable storage, virtualisation and cloud computing technologies, as well as methodological aspects such agent-based modelling and simulation.
- Cybersecurity is another essential aspect of the IOT. Recent news such as the safety recall issued by Fiat Chrysler of 1.4m vehicles in the US after tech magazine Wired reported that hackers had taken control of a Jeep Cherokee via its internet-connected entertainment system, are examples of how privacy, safety and security are major concerns for the IOT.
Royal Holloway is recognised for its research excellence in Machine Learning, Information Security, and Global Ubiquitous Computing. We work closely with companies such as Centrica (British Gas, Hive), Cognizant, Orange Labs (UK), the UK Cards Association, Transport for London and ITSO. We host a Smart Card Centre and we are a GCHQ Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research (ACE-CSR).
The programme is offered with or without a paid industrial placement (internship).
The programme can be taken part-time over two years, but without a placement.
Opportunities for on-campus part-time work are available.
Organization
The programme structure is as follows:
- Taught modules during Term One (October to December) and Term Two (January to March)
- Advanced seminars and skills workshops during Term One and Term Two
- Examinations (May)
- Industrial placement (optional, up to one year), subject to good academic performance.
- Project/Dissertation (12 weeks starting in June or after the placement)
When taken part-time, the duration will be two years, and the Project will take 24 weeks.
The programme specification is available on the following link which you can find in the "Further official information" link below this article.
- Internet of Things and Internet of Things with a Year in Industry
The core modules of the programme are (see contents below):
- In Term One: Interconned Devices, Data Analysis, and Advanced Distributed Systems
- In Term Two: Wireless, Sensor and Actuator Networks, and Embedded-Systems Security
- Students with no background in Cybersecurity will be required to take Introduction to Information Security in Term One
You will also be able to choose 30 credits (20 if you have to take Introduction to Information Security) of electives among: Data Visualisation and Exploratory Analysis; Programming for Data Analysis; Semantic Web; Multi-agent Systems; Advanced Data Communications; Machine Learning; Large-scale Data Storage and Processing; On-line Machine Learning; Network Security; Computer Security; Security Technologies; Security Testing; Software Security; and Introduction to Cryptography.
You will have 24/7-access to labs equipped with a state-of-the-art cloud computing testbedand a new generation of large-scale data processing platforms (such as Hadoop and MongoDB), which will give you the opportunity to gain hands-on experience working on real-life problems in areas as diverse as social network analytics, web data mining, and botnet detection.
Core Courses
Interconnected Devices (10 credits)
The course will first give an introduction regarding the Internet of Things by covering the applications of IoT in society, the components of typical IoT systems and the trends for the future. The course will introduce students to IoT design considerations, constraints and interfacing between the physical world and the IoT devices. After this introduction, the course will focus on how the Arduino platform works in terms of the physical board, the libraries and the IDE (integrated development environment). It will cover how to program the Arduino via C/C++ code and how to access the pins on the board via the software to control external devices. Finally, the course will provide hands-on knowledge on how to plug shields into the main Arduino board to perform other functions such as sensing and actuating.
Data Analysis (20 credits)
The course teaches fundamental facts and skills in data analysis, including machine learning, data mining, and statistics: Supervised learning: classification, regression, and ensemble methods; Algorithm-independent machine learning; Unsupervised learning and clustering. Exploratory data analysis; Bayesian methods, Bayes networks and causality; Applications, such as information retrieval and natural language processing.
Advanced Distributed Systems (20 credits)
The course covers fundamental principles of building modern distributed systems in the context of the Internet-of-Things (IoT). The specific emphasis will be on the two central components of the IoT reference architecture: cloud infrastructure and wireless networking. The course will discuss major challenges found in these environments (such as massive scales, wide distribution, decentralisation, unreliable communication links, component failures and network partitions) and general approaches for dealing with these challenges. The topics covered will include abstract models (such as the synchronous and asynchronous distributed computing models, models for wireless networks), algorithmic techniques (such as distributed coordination, fault-tolerant design of distributed algorithms, synchronization techniques), and practical case studies. The students will also have an opportunity to apply the studied material for implementing various components of a realistic distributed system through a series of formative coursework assignments, lab practicals, and a final project.
Wireless, Sensor and Actuator Networks (20 credits)
The course combines formal lectures that will focus on the algorithms and the protocols behind wireless sensor and actuator networks and lab classes that will focus on how to build wireless sensor and actuator networks for a variety of applications. The lectures will cover critical design factors for WSANs, the protocal stack, models and algorithms for WSANs, routing protocols and more advanced open research problems, such as topology control and mobility. The practical classes will cover how to design and build wireless sensor networks and intelligent interactive devices with the ZigBee wireless networking protocol.
Smart Cards, RFIDs and Embedded Systems Security (20 credits)
This course will: provide an overview of smart cards/RFIDs/Near Field Communications (NFC) and properties; introduce applications exploiting smart cards/RFID/NFC including the Internet of Things (IoT); examine benefits, threats and attacks when used as assets for Cyber Security; consider development, manufacture and management of smart cards/RFID/NFC; review related standards and security evaluation methodologies for embedded security; consider/compare related technology e.g. TEE, TPM & Android Host Card Emulation (HCE).
Fees and admissions
Applications for entry to all our degrees can be made online. General information on the application process is available here. Feel free to contact our admissions team if you require any further information.
Whilst there are no set deadlines for applications, we strongly advise you to apply as early as possible, especially if you require a visa. There are also deadlines for applying for accommodation.
Candidates should have, or expect to gain, at least a good upper second-class honours degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or other subjects that include a strong element of mathematics or computing. Industrial experience may compensate for lesser degrees or lack of technical qualification, as will demonstrated programming skills and a strong ability to learn. All applications are treated on an individual basis.
Non-native English speaking applicants should hold IELTS 6.5 or equivalent. You should visit the International pages for information on the entry requirements from your country and further information on English language requirements. Royal Holloway International offers a Pre-Master’s Diploma for International Students and English language pre-sessional courses, allowing students the opportunity to develop their study skills and English language before starting their postgraduate degree.
Fees for 2017/18 are:
-
For Home/EU students, £8,300.
- For International students, £18,500. A scholarship of £2,000 will be automatically provided (and deducted from the fees payable) if you hold the equivalent of a UK first-class degree.
- The fee for the second year for students enrolled for a Year-in-Industry pathway will be 20% of the fee for 2017/18.
- The fee for part-time students in each year depends on the number of credits taken in that year.
- Note that, if you classify as an international student, you are required to pay a deposit.
Scholarships are available.
Information on the cost of living is available in the official webpage.
Information for international students on applying for a student visa is in the official webpage – look for the step-by-step guide.
For more information click "Further official information" below.