Computing: Postgraduate Education
 Computing is becoming an increasingly popular subject for international students. At postgraduate level there are many options that students can take in order to fund a computer course that suits their specific needs.
Student numbers in the UK have seen a massive expansion over the last ten years. The most significant increases have been in the numbers of students undertaking postgraduate taught courses and research, growing at about twice the annual percentage rate of undergraduate numbers.
There are various types of postgraduate degrees and diplomas in computing. First, taught courses can be distinguished from degrees by research, although many research degrees have a taught component. Second, specialist (or advanced) taught courses can be distinguished from conversion taught courses.
Taught Courses
Taught courses are offered as Postgraduate Diplomas or Master's programmes (normally MSc). A Postgraduate Diploma is frequently offered as a subset of an MSc, and equates to the taught element without the project and dissertation necessary for the master's qualification. Thus a Postgraduate Diploma might be seen as a stepping stone towards an MSc, or as a fallback position for someone who is unable to complete the MSc. or as a qualification in its own right. Usually the Postgraduate Diploma has a duration of one academic year (or equivalent when part‑time).
An MSc in computing would involve, in addition to the taught programme, a project leading to the writing of a dissertation. This major piece of individual work is expected to involve in the region of 400‑500 hours of effort, and should tackle a reasonably complex problem, apply the disciplines of the course, and produce an academically rigorous report (this applies both to conversion and specialist master's programmes).
Conversion Programmes
Conversion Master's courses were developed as a response to the shortage of workers skilled in information systems. Graduates of disciplines other than computing learn via a demanding programme delivered over one calendar year. It is expected that by the end of the course, the graduates will be performing at the level of an honours graduate in computing, though over a narrower range of material. The courses move at a fast past, since it is assumed that the good honours graduates who enter them have learnt through their first degree how to learn, how to get the most from the teaching, and how to manage their time.
The subject coverage of conversion courses is necessarily broad, and you will find variation in the focus of particular courses. There are some which are mainly concerned with software engineering, others with systems analysis and design, others with artificial intelligence, others with the hardware side of information systems, and so on. You need to look carefully at the particular course to be sure it matches your needs and interests.
These courses have been very successful in achieving their purpose, and many thousands of graduates have found jobs in computing.
Specialist or Advanced Programmes
The entry qualification for a specialist or advanced Master's course is a good honours degree in computing or closely related discipline. Such taught courses are designed to build on the first degree by taking the student to greater depth in a narrower area of the discipline. Courses might focus, for example, on Human-Computer Interaction, Robotics, or Distribution Systems. The expectation is that the student will already have studied at honours level in the area that is to be pursued in greater depth.
There are far fewer places on specialist or advanced master's courses. Continuing professional development means that increasing use is being made of postgraduate courses/units for professional updating as part of Continuing Professional Development schemes, either at conversion or specialist levels. Many people in the industry need regular skill updating, and course/ units at postgraduate level are a good way of meeting the requirement. Units may be offered as blocks (involving one week's study at the university, preceded by pre‑course reading and followed by an assessment in some form), or over a semester of 12-15 weeks on a part-time basis. It is possible through credit accumulation and transfer schemes to gain credit towards a qualification via these units.
Professional Accreditation of Taught Postgraduate Courses
The British Computer Society maintains a list of approved postgraduate programmes. Appropriate conversion courses are approved for exemption from Part 1 of the Society's examinations, thereby providing a route to full membership, after suitable experience and training, for honours graduates of disciplines other than computing. In order to receive approval, courses will be examined to ensure that they offer sufficient breadth of study, significant practical work, treatment of professional issues, emphasis on engineering principles and especially design.
Specialist or advanced courses are usually approved for exemption from Part 2 of the Society's examinations. Usually this is not particularly relevant to the graduates, because in most cases they will already be exempt from Parts 1 and 2 on entry by virtue of their first degree in computing. However, it can be useful for those who enter with a Part 1 exempting qualification.
Degrees By Research
The main degrees by research are MPhil and DPhil or PhD, though some institutions offer a research MSc. Applicants need to have a very good first degree in computing or a closely related discipline, as there are not many funded research studentships available, so competition is fierce.
Most candidates register first for an MPhil, and transfer after about two years to a PhD if the research looks as though it will reach a sufficiently innovative level. The expected period for a PhD is three years full time; usually this period is extended by the writing of the dissertation. Research students, for whom the research for the degree is the main focus of activity, are funded by a grant (often called a bursary), whereas research assistants, who are assisting in research on a particular project, are paid a salary. In either case, the researcher will have a director of studies and one or more supervisors who will help to provide guidance and direction for the research, obviously the research has to be largely self‑propelled, exploring ideas of the student's own. Increasingly, universities are expected to provide some training in research for students and assistants.
Research in computing is very wide‑ranging because of the continually expanding areas of application for computers. Those interested are advised to talk to staff at university during their first degree.
Author: Barry Lee, British Computer Society
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