A message from the course tutor for Data Analytics
Dr Mark Stevenson explains what data analytics is and what we teach you here at Sheffield.
In our modern digital world, vast amounts of data are being created from a diverse range of sources such as sensor networks, medical tests, scientific experiments and the use of social media.
The phrase big data has recently become a popular way to refer to this mammoth amount of information. However, the data needs to be analysed for it to be transformed into actionable knowledge.
It has been described as being like oil since it can be viewed as a vast resource which is often unexploited but needs to be refined before its true value can be realised.
Deriving information from big data has become one of the key challenges within computer science. Data analytics focuses on this challenge.
Data analytics is an exciting new field. Graduates with skills in this discipline are in high demand with a wide range of opportunities open to them.
Dr Mark Stevenson
Course tutor for MSc Data Analytics
Data analytics is an emerging field that makes use of techniques developed within a range of disciplines, including computer science, artificial intelligence, maths and statistics. It focuses on developing practical techniques to manage vast amounts of information and transform it into actionable knowledge.
What you learn
Our course in data analytics aims to provide students with the skills required to analyse and interpret data. One of the most important of these is to develop expertise in machine learning. However, simply applying machine learning algorithms without understanding them does not allow data analysts to gain true insight. So, our course also covers the mathematical and statistical background necessary to master these techniques.
The course also teaches programming skills using the languages Python, R and Scala. It also provides the opportunity to learn how to process different types of data, such as text, images and audio, and the skills necessary to work in collaborative environments by participating in a significant group project on an industrially relevant problem. Lastly, our course teaches the regulatory and ethical background associated with working with data.
Where you work
Graduates with qualifications in data analytics are in high demand in the current job market with good starting salaries available. A wide range of opportunities are open to data analytics graduates and roles exist in both the public and private sectors. Large corporations such as Amazon, Microsoft and Thomson Reuters recognise the need to recruit those with data analytics skills.
Roles in commercial organisations are likely to involve exploring problems such as analysing customer interactions with an e-commerce platform to increase sales or sensor data produced by a jet engine to improve fuel consumption.
Roles in the public sector and science are also available through employment by government organisations, universities or research institutes. Data analysts working in these types of roles may find themselves exploring problems such as analysing traffic flow through a city to decrease journey times or exploring the output from scientific experiments to identify the genes that cause particular diseases.
MSc Data Science
International postgraduate taught scholarships
We offer a generous package of financial support for international postgraduate taught students, including scholarships worth £10,000 towards the original tuition fee.
Applications are open for existing offer holders for a postgraduate taught programme starting in September 2025.