Subject overview

Programme outline

This MSc equips you to work with tomorrow’s computer systems. Platforms may be mobile, embedded, distributed or multi-core and require new techniques to make software efficient, correct and reliable. Networks may be wired or wireless, ad hoc or highly planned, high bandwidth or slow and unreliable – and overlaid with various applications and social connections. 

Computers are becoming aware of their surroundings: who is using them, where they are, what interfaces are available, how much energy they consume and the semantics of the data they process. Together these advances lead to challenges of a scale that dwarfs the problems computer science has solved up to now. 

In order to successfully meet these challenges, computing needs skilled scientists to be involved in system design. This programme connects with research in the Department of Informatics, while retaining very practical links with software engineering and advanced networking issues, and offers options in areas including multimedia, web systems, security and business. 

Assessment

You are assessed by coursework, unseen examinations, essays, programming projects, and a 12,000-word dissertation. 

Programme structure

We continue to develop and update our courses for 2012 entry to ensure you have the best student experience.

Autumn term: Advanced Software Engineering • Topics in Computer Science. You also choose one option from Business and Project Management • Mathematics and Computational Methods for Complex Systems • Security Systems • Web Services. 

Spring term: Distributed Systems • Limits of Computation • Pervasive Computing. You also take two options from Adaptive Systems • Advanced Digital Communication • Cryptography • E-Business and E-Commerce Systems • Internet-Based Virtual Environments • Multimedia Design and Applications • Technology-Enhanced Learning Environments • Web-Based Commerce. 

Summer term: you undertake supervised work for the MSc dissertation. This may be research or commercially driven, but will usually require background research and a significant practical element, which may be focused on a software development, an experimental study or theoretical analysis. 

Not all options are available every year. Additional options may be available. Computer science graduates who have substantial overlap between prior courses and those offered should enquire about an appropriate selection of options. 

The part-time structure for each programme is as follows: 

Year 1
In each of the autumn and spring terms you take two courses. In the summer term you undertake work on the dissertation. 

Year 2
You take two courses in the autumn term. In the spring and summer terms you complete work on the dissertation. 

Entry requirements

UK entrance requirements

A first- or upper second-class undergraduate honours degree in computer science or a closely related discipline. Applicants with a science, mathematics or engineering background with significant computing experience will also be considered, as (on a case-by-case basis) will those with suitable, relevant industrial experience.

Overseas entrance requirements

Please refer to column A on the Overseas qualifications table.

If you have any questions about your qualifications after consulting our overseas qualifications table, contact the University.
E pg.enquiries@sussex.ac.uk

Related programme

• Scientific Computation MSc

Fees and funding

Fees

'Home' UK/EU students: £4,950
Channel Island and Isle of Man students: £4,950
Overseas students: £15,400

For more information, visit Fees, Fees by programme, Living expenses, and Other costs.

Funding

Refer to Funding, and find out more about our extensive range of scholarships and bursaries in our online funding guide.

Faculty interests

Research groups 

Research is a core activity of the Department of Informatics and is organised around four interdisciplinary research groups. Our research often entails collaborations between the groups, as well as with other academic schools at Sussex and external academic, institutional and commercial partners. The research groups are briefly described below (for more details, visit the Department of Informatics people page.) 

Cognitive and Language Processing Systems

The research of this group addresses the science and engineering of complex systems for cognitively demanding and language-intensive domains, including the application of methods from cognitive science and natural-language engineering. The group focuses on searching and classifying free text (eg medical records) in large quantities, cognitive processes of writing and drawing, cognitive modelling of processes such as attention and graphical production, and cognitively informed interactive tools for complex problem-solving, decision-making, instruction and learning. 

Faculty research interests include: 

Professor John Carroll Hybrid linguistic/ statistical approaches to disambiguation of text; efficient parsing; tools for natural language grammar and lexicon development. 

Professor Peter Cheng The nature of representational systems (diagrams for complex problem-solving, discovery and conceptual learning); processes of writing and drawing. 

Bill Keller The use of language technology to support communication and interaction; language-aware technology; applications of distributional models of natural language semantics. 

David Weir Controlling non-determinism in natural language generation; language in pervasive computing environments; efficient parsing; inferring knowledge about words from raw text. 

Sharon Wood Multi-agent systems. Cognitive modelling, in particular information acquisition through cognitively plausible visual attention processes, and knowledge-based reasoning. 

Evolutionary and Adaptive Systems (EASy) 

The EASy group has been internationally prominent since it was established in the early 1990s. It is concerned with the interfaces between the biological and computational sciences, particularly with reference to furthering understanding of brains and minds. The group’s research is highly interdisciplinary and involves many strong links with other departments at Sussex. Research foci include adaptive and cognitive robotics, artificial life, bio-inspired computational methods, computational neuroscience, creative systems, history and philosophy of AI and ALife, clinical applications of neural modelling, machine learning, scientific studies of consciousness, and synthetic neuroethology. It runs the highly successful Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics (CCNR) jointly with the Neuroscience group in the School of Life Sciences. Members of the group also direct the Centre for Research in Cognitive Science (COGS) and the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science (SCCS), both important cross-campus initiatives. 

Faculty research interests include: 

Luc Berthouze Motor development in infants and in machines; EEG-based brain-machine interfaces; epigenetic robotics; and modelling cognitive development with robotic systems. 

Professor Margaret Boden Computational approaches in the philosophy of mind and psychology; purpose and creativity; philosophy of AI and ALife; and social implications of AI. 

Ron Chrisley Non-conceptual representation; philosophy of cognitive science, AI, mind, consciousness, computation; computer/robotic models of visual experience, emotion, creativity. 

Professor Phil Husbands Evolutionary and adaptive robotics; evolutionary computation; ALife; computational neuroscience; adaptive systems; neuro-modulation; history of AI; creative systems. 

Thomas Nowotny Information processing in nervous systems; sequence learning in neuronal systems; accurate conductance-based neuron models; and hybrid systems. 

Andy Philippides Computational neuroscience and neuroethology; evolutionary robotics; insect visual homing strategies; and gaseous neuromodulators in neural networks. 

Anil Seth Theoretical neuroscience and evolutionary and adaptive systems; time-series analysis of neural dynamics, neurorobotics; and evolutionary theory and ecological modelling. 

Chris Thornton Computational learning using symbolic algorithms and connectionist mechanisms; and theories of creativity. 

Foundations of Software Systems

This group is interested in the theory and practice of future computation and communication. We build mathematical theories of computation and use such models to inform the design of programming languages and compilers. We design and evaluate distributed applications and services that provide the foundations of the pervasive computing infrastructure and other software systems. We model and analyse data representing system configurations, social networks, trust, and provenance.

Faculty research interests include:

Martin Berger Concurrency theory, semantics and pragmatics of programming languages, program logics, metaprogramming, computer science methods in theoretical biology.

Dan Chalmers The design of pervasive computing systems, particularly those which process and consider emotion, social networks, trust and context to enable efficient and usable system behaviour.

Ian Mackie Foundations of programming languages and models of computation. Applying techniques from mathematical logic and quantum mechanics to programming language implementation.

Bernhard Reus Mathematical semantics of programming languages; their foundations; constructive logic; and techniques and tools supporting program analysis, design and verification.

Ian Wakeman Networks and distributed systems, emphasis is on design from the user perspective; pervasive computing; computational trust.

Interactive Systems

This research group operates at the intersection between people and digital technology. We are interested in interaction in the broadest sense and consider it in relation to both traditional desktop-based technologies and more novel digital technologies, including mobile, immersive, ubiquitous and pervasive technologies. 

We are interested in users of all kinds, ranging from experts using technology in their work (such as medical professionals) and experts developing technology for their work (such as programmers) to novices of all kinds (from children using educational technology through to adults using social technology). 

Our research focuses on human-computer interaction, accessibility, music informatics, learning with and through technology (including social networks), technology-enhanced social interaction, new models of e-business, e-government and e-citizenship, tangible and embodied interaction, motion capture techniques, building virtual worlds for digital heritage and other applications, real-time animation, digital content creation and digital video.

Faculty research interests include:

Natalia Beloff New models of e-business; business models for small and medium digital enterprises; adver-gaming; advertising for social networks; education and social networks.

Nick Collins Electronic and computer music including interactive music systems; sound analysis/synthesis; performance, composition and modelling of music. 

Judith Good Constructivist learning environments; game-based learning; technology toolkits for learning; visual programming languages; learner-centred and participatory design methodologies.

Paul Newbury Multimedia systems, in particular virtual prototyping, ubiquitous systems and digital content creation. Technology-enhanced learning and video techniques for distance learning. 

Phil Watten Software development; virtual prototyping; high-level design; system modelling; display systems; interface design; and media production, new media and web broadcasting.

Martin White 3D graphics; virtual, augmented and mixed reality; animation; motion sensing; motion gaming; digital heritage systems; interaction; work flows.

Cross-disciplinary research centres

The Department of Informatics plays a central role in the following major cross-campus research centres:

Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Robotics (CCNR)

CCNR is a collaboration between the Department of Informatics and the School of Life Sciences. This thriving centre seeks to explore and exploit the interfaces between the biological and computational sciences. CCNR is jointly run with the Evolutionary and Adaptive Systems group.

Centre for Research in Cognitive Science (COGS)

COGS is an internationally recognised centre for interdisciplinary investigation into the nature of cognition, be it natural or artificial. Staff of the Department of Informatics and Psychology, as well as Sussex linguists, focus on teaching and research.

Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science (SCCS)

SCCS is a new venture between the Department of Informatics, the School of Psychology, and the Brighton and Sussex Medical School. The Centre’s aim is to unravel the complex neural mechanisms underlying conscious experience by bringing together computational modelling, cognitive neuroscience, and clinical applications. 

Careers and profiles

This programme equips you with the skills for a career in software and systems design, including roles requiring cutting-edge specialisation such as in mobile computing or taking leadership in complex problem solving. It is also an ideal route into research in academia or industry. 

Jing's perspective

‘I chose to do an MSc in Advanced Computer Science at Sussex because of the excellent links that the School of Engineering and Informatics has with industry and government, and the high quality of education on offer. As well as getting a good grounding in the fundamentals of advanced computing practice, I’ve  also focused on interesting research fields such as pervasive computing, multimedia and web applications.

‘The tutors at Sussex are at the forefront of their fields and have excellent teaching skills. Their patience and kindness has helped me to grasp key concepts in advanced computer science and to keep up to date with technology.

‘The facilities within the School of Engineering and Informatics are very student friendly with great support on offer, and computers available 24/7.

‘As an international student, for whom English is a second language, I was offered a pre-sessional English course, which has really helped me to adapt to study in the UK and has been invaluable for writing assignments and essays in appropriate academic language throughout my degree.

‘I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Sussex and after I graduate I hope to continue to work in the field of IT development.’

Jing Zhao
MSc in Advanced Computer Science

School and contacts