Bachelor of Science - Data Science and Analytics (Including Year Abroad) (I1GC)

At Essex, they help students to understand how utilizing the speed and processing-power of computers can assist in using data to make better decisions. Students discover the new methods and the smart, unusual questions needed to make sense of both numerical and textual data. Their course balances solid theory with practical application through exploring topics including: • Mathematical skills • Computer science and programming • Statistics and operations research • Artificial intelligence, databases and information retrieval • Ethical issues around the use and processing of data • Specialist skills in the areas of big data, data analytics and data science

A successful career in data science requires students to possess truly interdisciplinary knowledge, so they ensure that students graduate with a wide-ranging yet specialized set of skills in this area. Students are taught mainly within our Department of Mathematical Sciences and the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, but also benefit from input from the Essex Business School, and the Essex Pathways Department.

Data scientists are required in every sector, carrying out statistical analysis or mining data on social media, so the course can open the door to almost any industry, from health, to government, to publishing.

The Department of Mathematical Sciences is genuinely innovative and student-focused. Their research groups are working on a broad range of collaborative areas tackling real-world issues. Here are a few examples:

• Their data scientists carefully consider how not to lie, and how not to get lied to with data. Interpreting data correctly is especially important because much of the data science research is applied directly or indirectly to social policies, including health, care and education. • They do practical research with financial data (for example, assessing the risk of collapse of the UK’s banking system) as well as theoretical research in financial instruments such as insurance policies or asset portfolios. • They also research how physical processes develop in time and space. Applications of this range from modelling epilepsy to modelling electronic cables. • Their optimization experts work out how to do the same job with less resource, or how to do more with the same resource. • Their pure maths group are currently working on two new funded projects entitled ‘Machine learning for recognizing tangled 3D objects’ and ‘Searching for gems in the landscape of cyclically presented groups’. • They also do research into mathematical education and use exciting technologies such as electroencephalography or eye tracking to measure exactly what a learner is feeling. Their research aims to encourage the implementation of ‘the four Cs’ of modern education, which are critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity.