The online Data and Decision Analytics MSc is delivered part-time with a start date in September each year. The programme takes 24 months to complete and combines academic study with practical application.
Please note that live sessions will be scheduled to take place on Mondays and Tuesdays during term time (c.20 weeks each year). These live sessions will be a maximum of 4 hours per week and scheduled 09:00–18:00 GMT.
Planned Live Sessions Timetable for year 1 in 2023/24
| Semester | Course code | Course name | Day and time (GMT) |
| Semester 1 | CMSE11615 | Data Analysis and Statistics for Business | Mondays 12:00-14:00 |
| Block 1 (Sem 1) | CMSE11616 | Python Programming | Tuesdays 10:00-12:00 |
| Block 2 (Sem 1) | CMSE11611 | Storytelling in Data and Decision Analytics | Tuesdays 12:00-14:00 |
| Semester 2 | CMSE11612 | Applied Decision Optimisation | Mondays 9:00-11:00 |
| Semester 2 | CMSE11614 | Applied Machine Learning | Tuesdays 9:00-11:00 |
| *There may be revisions due to unforeseen circumstances to this schedule and the schedule for 24/25 entry may vary. | |||
The programme encompasses a number of core and option courses and your studies will culminate with a dissertation.
In year 2, through the selection of various option courses, you can tailor your studies towards your career interests. Your MSc dissertation brings all of the year’s learning together in a piece of work unique to you. The dissertation is an in-depth study of a topic in which you are particularly interested in within the field of Data and Decision Analytics. Undertaking the dissertation requires you to develop a deep level of analysis and understanding of the theory and processes of organisations and the business environment through the completion of a piece of individual research.
Timetable for year 1 and year 2 in 2024/25
Year 1
Semester 1
September–December
Semester 2
January–May
Year 2
Semester 1
September–December
Option courses
Choose 1, 2 or 3
Semester 2
January–May
Option courses
Choose 1, 2 or 3
Please Note: Courses have pre-requisites and some also have co-requisites.
Semester 2
May–August
*We will notify applicants of any changes to the programme structure and courses by 15 June in the year of entry to the course. We cannot guarantee that all option courses will run each year and occasionally there will be last minute amendments after this date due to unforeseen circumstances such as staff illness.
The content of individual courses and the programme for any given degree are under constant academic review in light of current circumstances and may change from time to time, with some programmes and courses being modified, discontinued, or replaced.
Due to high demand we cannot guarantee students a place on the optional course of their preference. Equally, if there is not enough interest in a given year for an option course then it may not be viable for us to run that particular option course. Some combinations of option courses may not be possible due to scheduling constraints.
Core and elective courses
Full programme details, including all available core and elective courses can be found on the University Degree Programme Tables website.