Course description
MSc
Accredited by the British Computer Society
The world wide web continues to make a major impact on business and academia, from new ways in which companies conduct their business to new ways in which teaching and learning are supported. Large and small companies are utilising world wide web technologies to underpin their corporate information systems and to develop new ways to market and sell products and services. Demand continues to grow for people who have a sound grasp of the underlying technology and can design and develop applications for this class of distributed system.
The MSc in Web Technologies is designed to enable you to understand the most recent advances in web technologies and the conceptual foundations that underpin them, and to provide experience in the design and implementation of web-based distributed systems. It is suitable for people currently working in the computing industry who want to enhance their knowledge of web technologies, and for those who have studied computer science or a related subject at undergraduate level and who wish to enhance their career prospects with a highly relevant postgraduate qualification.
This course is based at Oxford Brookes’ Wheatley Campus and offers excellent facilities, including Linux and Windows workstations for networking and distributed computing.
Course content
The MSc in Web Technologies has a modular course-unit design. To qualify for a master’s degree you must pass all the taught modules and the Dissertation, together with the Research and Study Methods module.
Additionally, during the induction period before the formal start of the course, you may take a limited number of primer modules relevant to your course.
* Web Mark-up Principles covers the principles of web mark-up languages with an emphasis on open standards (W3C recommendations in particular) and the techniques for defining new mark-up languages.
* Web Programming Principles covers the principles and practice of web programming, covering both client side and server side programming using languages such as JavaScript and Java.
* Web Infrastructure introduces the principles of transforming one mark-up language into another and introduces some common target languages such as SVG for graphics and MathML for mathematics. The module covers transformation processors such as XSLT and Xforms.
* Web Deployment introduces the challenges and technologies for constructing advanced applications using web services, and VoiceXML. The module also covers the mobile web and security concepts for web systems.
* Semantic Web introduces the challenges of the semantic web for reasoning about web resources, using metadata and inferencing. It also introduces current research directions in this field.
The last three modules all introduce current research directions in web technologies.
Research and Study Methods is designed to underpin work carried out for the Dissertation. The module, delivered in a seminar style, will provide you with research skills, planning techniques, progress management and review, and the ability to use ICT support materials. You will be given guidance on the analysis and technical presentation of research material.
The Dissertation is a practical research project of 10,000-15,000 words, relevant to your programme of study and preferably undertaken in close co-operation with a research group in the School of Technology or another part of the University, or an industrial organisation.
The course benefits from its relationships with research interests in web technology, web accessibility and distributed systems within the University.
Teaching, learning and assessment
Teaching methods vary according to the subject and typically include lectures, which provide a theoretical basis, and practicals, which are used to strengthen your understanding by active involvement. Assessed coursework and projects form the basis for continuous assessment. These methods have been developed across all computing MSc programmes at Oxford Brookes to provide the varied support you may require, and to include opportunities for you to discuss your work directly with the lecturers.
Assessment is based on a combination of examination, coursework and dissertation.
Quality
Teaching staff are drawn primarily from the School of Technology, with additional lectures by visiting staff from research organisations and industry. All are seasoned experts in the web technologies field. The programme benefits from the rigorous validation and review processes at the University, and the external examiners are very positive about the course.
