Course description
MSc
One year full-time, two years part-time
Programme description
This MSc focuses on advanced study in the development of intelligent technologies on the web, covering web services, software agents and technologies associated with the semantic web.
Technological extensions to the current web aimed at enabling intelligent autonomous processing of web data follow a steady progression from theoretical research through to real-world applications. This creates a demand for skilled computer scientists.
This programme provides you with an understanding of the relevant standards and technologies such as XML, XSLT, RDF, RDFS, DAML+OIL, OWL, and the database technologies appropriate for the storage and retrieval of both XML and RDF. You will learn about the tools needed for working with web ontology languages, such as OWL, for analysing intelligent web technologies and supporting the semantic web.You will also gain practical experience with the relevant programming frameworks and APIs (XSLT, DOM, SAX, and Jena). You will be able to apply this knowledge in your project work, developing your own intelligent web system.
Career opportunities
The programme is aimed at preparing you both for research study and for specialist employment in a wide range of public and private sectors in web technologies. Typical jobs after graduation include web developer, web master, web architect, e-commerce programmer, portal developer, or mobile services developer.
Course content
The Research Methods double module is a compulsory component. This includes early preparation for the MSc project, which is devoted to substantial theoretical, practical or experimental work leading to the submission of a dissertation in September.
Core modules:
* Foundations of Information Retrieval
* The Semantic Web
* XML and Structured Information
* Research Methods (double module)
* MSc Project.
Study options include:
* Advanced Database Systems and Technologies
* Advanced Program Design (in Java)
* Design for Human Interaction
* Distributed Systems and Security
* Entrepreneurship in Information Technology
* Interactive Systems Design
* Multimedia Systems
* Software Risk Assessment
* Special Topics in Information Retrieval
* Specification and Verification.
Assessment
The Research Methods modules are assessed through coursework alone. All other taught modules are examined through a combination of coursework and written examinations taken in May/June. The MSc Project is assessed by written dissertation and an oral examination in September.