Data Science
Entry requirements
A level
To include B in A-level Mathematics.
The University welcomes undergraduate applications from students studying the Access to Higher Education Diploma, provided that relevant subject content and learning outcomes are met. We are not able to accept Access to Higher Education Diplomas as a general qualification for every undergraduate degree course.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
To include 5 points in Mathematics at Higher Level.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
With a specified subject.
UCAS Tariff
To include B in A-level Mathematics.
Aberystwyth University welcomes the Welsh Baccalaureate as a valuable qualification in its own right and considers completion of the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate to be equivalent to an A level grade.
About this course
Data Science is an exciting new discipline where Computing and Mathematics meet, and graduates with Data Science skills are in great demand. It addresses how we can make sense of the terabytes of information that our computers collect every day. It can be used to predict what people will want to buy, or where we need to put more money into the National Health Service to make it more effective, or the best ways of tackling global warming. Demand is growing rapidly for people who can use computers to analyse and make sense of the data that is now available. A degree in Data Science is an ideal start to working in this area.
Data Science at Aberystwyth University is jointly taught by the Computer Science Department and the Department of Mathematics and gives you a strong grounding in the underlying theory of Data Science as well as the practical skills to be able to apply that theory in real-world data analytics. It provides both the underlying mathematical understanding and the practical computing skills needed to be able to design and carry out analysis of large sets of data and to draw implications from the results.
A Data Scientist needs both mathematical and computing skills so you will divide your time between the two subjects. In the first year, you will be introduced to programming, operating systems, and software development, and no prior knowledge is necessary although students will be expected to already have a reasonable A-Level in Mathematics. In the second year, you will begin to specialise in your chosen subject area and elect for more specialised statistics modules. On the Computing side, students participate in the Software Development Lifecycle module which includes a group project where, taking one of the roles which exist in the industry, such as project manager, designer, or quality assurance manager, you will produce a working software product. All this experience is brought together in the final year in a major individual project which should apply all the knowledge of realistic data analysis.
Studying for a degree with us will equip you with a range of transferable skills which are highly valued by employers. Employability skills are a recurring theme during your degree. Our departmental careers adviser works closely with us to ensure you have appropriate CV and interview skills training, careers education, and visits from employers and recent graduates to let you know what opportunities await after graduation.
The final year project demonstrates your ability to work independently (under supervision), and brings together your technical skills with your knowledge of statistics, applying data science to a practical problem. Finally, you'll also need to describe your work in a final written dissertation report that presents your achievements in a professional manner.
Almost all companies are beginning to examine the data that their customers provide, and to use it either to improve services or for marketing purposes. It involves finding and interpreting patterns in Big Data and needs an excellent understanding of statistics and good computing skills. The shortage of skilled Data Scientists means that graduates in this area are expected to be in great demand over the next few years - one study estimates that around 200,000 Data Scientists will be needed. BSc Data Science gives an excellent experience of both the Statistics and the Computer Science needed by Data Scientists.
Tuition fees
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Extra funding
Aberystwyth University offers a valuable package of scholarships and bursaries to support students. Our long-established Entrance Examination competition means you could get up to £2,000 a year towards your living and study costs. You can combine that with any or all of our other awards, to make your financial package more valuable. Our awards include Sport and Music Scholarships, Bursaries for Care Leavers/Young Carers/Estranged Students and a range of department specific awards. Please visit our website for full details.
The Uni
Main Site (Aberystwyth)
Department of Computer Science
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Computer science
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Mathematics
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Computer science
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
This is a newly-classified subject area for this kind of data, so we don’t currently have very much information to display or analyse yet. The subject is linked to important and growing computing industries, and over time we can expect more students to study them — there could be opportunities that open up for graduates in these subjects as the economy develops over the next few years.
Mathematics
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
Want to feel needed? This is one of the most flexible degrees of all and with so much of modern work being based on data, there are options everywhere for maths graduates. With all that training in handling figures, it's hardly surprising that a lot of maths graduates go into well-paid jobs in the IT or finance industries, and last year, a maths graduate in London could expect a very respectable average starting salary of £27k. And we're always short of teachers in maths, so that is an excellent option for anyone wanting to help the next generation. And if you want a research job, you'll want a doctorate — and a really good maths doctorate will get you all sorts of interest from academia and finance — and might secure some of the highest salaries going for new leavers from university.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Computer science
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£27k
£32k
£36k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Mathematics
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£19k
£22k
£27k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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