The Student Room Group

Online Data Science MSc - University of London, Goldsmiths

Hi all - Happy New Year!
I've seen a few posts about different online Data Science Masters options, with names such as York, Bath, Keele, Sunderland, etc. coming up. But recently, University of London has started offering a Data Science Masters, with options to specialise in Fintech or AI. Has anyone else taken a look at this, or has any thoughts about the course?
At first glance, the range of modules looks great, with enough flexibility to specialise. Also, the University has created MOOCS and online teaching before, so it should be good at online teaching. The price is slightly cheaper than Bath, but more expensive than York.
There's a £101 application fee however, which is pretty sneaky.
Any thoughts?

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
I am studying Online MSc Data Science and AI at UoL/Goldsmith, I started doing the MSc in April 2020...The first two courses I did were 1) Maths and Stat for Data Science and 2) Data Programming in Python. Here are the pros and cons based on my study experience:

Pros:
The discussion forum in each course was quite active, you can find support among other students.... sometimes (not very often though) from tutors...
The course contents (with videos and text) were well structured and you would receive a weekly newsletter (from the so-called Student Relationship Team) about the course so you know whether you are on schedule or not.
The workload is reasonable - I spent around 5 hours per week for each course but I am in Computer Science background, with 1 graded assignment and 1 graded quiz plus a final exam (now in online mode due to Covid-19)

Cons:
Videos were too short and too simple, you need to look for another reference elsewhere occasionally, or external youtube may be more useful for the same topic.
Not much support from tutors - there were discussion activities for each topic in the courses, most feedbacks from students but only a few from tutors

I am now working on the Machine Learning and Big Data Analysis courses, and the above does still apply...
(edited 3 years ago)
Reply 2
Hi @pkse4080, could you elaborate on the video content and reading content please?

I'm currently doing an online MSc in Computer Science through the University of York (worst mistake I've ever made) and looking to move to UoL.

The biggest issue at York is there are effectively no lectures at all. Just a 1-2min video introducing the topic, then they tell you to read 1-2 chapters from a textbook. Next video is "Great, no you understand the topic! We're moving on to another one". In other words, there's effectively no teaching at all. It's 98% reading and takes me 20+ hours to get through it. Same issues you mentioned with tutors etc. but I can deal with it if they teach well.

So is UoL like that or do you feel like they actually teach you? How long are the videos at UoL and how many are there per week? Also how much reading is there at UoL per week? Sorry for the questions, just want to make sure it's not as bad as York if I'm going to transfer there.
Reply 3
Original post by bal063
Hi @pkse4080, could you elaborate on the video content and reading content please?

I'm currently doing an online MSc in Computer Science through the University of York (worst mistake I've ever made) and looking to move to UoL.

The biggest issue at York is there are effectively no lectures at all. Just a 1-2min video introducing the topic, then they tell you to read 1-2 chapters from a textbook. Next video is "Great, no you understand the topic! We're moving on to another one". In other words, there's effectively no teaching at all. It's 98% reading and takes me 20+ hours to get through it. Same issues you mentioned with tutors etc. but I can deal with it if they teach well.

So is UoL like that or do you feel like they actually teach you? How long are the videos at UoL and how many are there per week? Also how much reading is there at UoL per week? Sorry for the questions, just want to make sure it's not as bad as York if I'm going to transfer there.

in the case of UoL, i think it should be better than your case; each module/course (e.g. Machine Learning)... would have around 10 topics, and each topic should have around 30min video lecture.... so that you can at least grab the basics of the topic... but you still need to look at their required readings... at the end of each topic, they will have a quick quiz (do not count towards to your final grade)

apart from the video, end of the topic quiz, they also have 1 graded online quiz and 1 graded assignment and 1 online timed exam... (may need to go back to a physical exam centre for an exam after Covid-19.... which i really do NOT prefer...)....

personally, I think UoL should be better in term of video content... but UoL did not offer MSc in Computer Science, only MSc in Data Science... or MSc in Data Science and (AI or Financial Technology)... and if you are a CS graduate, perhaps you should also consider online MSc in Artificial Intelligence offered by U of Liverpool, U of Leeds or U of Bath... I think they may be a much better alternative..
(edited 3 years ago)
Hi @pkse4080. I'm thinking of applying for the UoL MSc in Data Science to start in October so it's really helpful to read your comments. Can I ask you how the course materials are released? Do you get them all at the start of the module or are they released weekly? Thanks.
Reply 5
Original post by phi_phi_d
Hi @pkse4080. I'm thinking of applying for the UoL MSc in Data Science to start in October so it's really helpful to read your comments. Can I ask you how the course materials are released? Do you get them all at the start of the module or are they released weekly? Thanks.

I studied 4 modules already, roughly speaking, each module should have around 10 topics. The course materials were released in full for two modules on their first days... for the remaining two modules... only 5 topics were released initially, then the other 5 topics were released in the middle of the course...
Reply 6
Original post by pkse4080
in the case of UoL, i think it should be better than your case; each module/course (e.g. Machine Learning)... would have around 10 topics, and each topic should have around 30min video lecture.... so that you can at least grab the basics of the topic... but you still need to look at their required readings... at the end of each topic, they will have a quick quiz (do not count towards to your final grade)

apart from the video, end of the topic quiz, they also have 1 graded online quiz and 1 graded assignment and 1 online timed exam... (may need to go back to a physical exam centre for an exam after Covid-19.... which i really do NOT prefer...)....

personally, I think UoL should be better in term of video content... but UoL did not offer MSc in Computer Science, only MSc in Data Science... or MSc in Data Science and (AI or Financial Technology)... and if you are a CS graduate, perhaps you should also consider online MSc in Artificial Intelligence offered by U of Liverpool, U of Leeds or U of Bath... I think they may be a much better alternative..

Thanks @pske4080. Your feedback has been really helpful! I understand the course isn't perfect but think it's a hell of a lot better than what we're got. Several of my friends and I have decided to make the change to UoL.
Original post by pkse4080
I studied 4 modules already, roughly speaking, each module should have around 10 topics. The course materials were released in full for two modules on their first days... for the remaining two modules... only 5 topics were released initially, then the other 5 topics were released in the middle of the course...


That's really helpful. Thanks.
Reply 8
Original post by pkse4080
I am studying Online MSc Data Science and AI at UoL/Goldsmith, I started doing the MSc in April 2020...The first two courses I did were 1) Maths and Stat for Data Science and 2) Data Programming in Python. Here are the pros and cons based on my study experience:

Pros:
The discussion forum in each course was quite active, you can find support among other students.... sometimes (not very often though) from tutors...
The course contents (with videos and text) were well structured and you would receive a weekly newsletter (from the so-called Student Relationship Team) about the course so you know whether you are on schedule or not.
The workload is reasonable - I spent around 5 hours for each course but I am in Computer Science background, with 1 graded assignment and 1 graded quiz plus a final exam (now in online mode due to Covid-19)

Cons:
Videos were too short and too simple, you need to look for another reference elsewhere occasionally, or external youtube may be more useful for the same topic.
Not much support from tutors - there were discussion activities for each topic in the courses, most feedbacks from students but only a few from tutors

I am now working on the Machine Learning and Big Data Analysis courses, and the above does still apply...


Hi, I am also thinking to apply for this online program. Your information are very detailed and useful. May I know whether the assignment/quiz and final exam are difficult? what kinds of questions they have - Multiple choice, written questions or others? How frequent and how to book the exam?
Reply 9
Original post by CISI
Hi, I am also thinking to apply for this online program. Your information are very detailed and useful. May I know whether the assignment/quiz and final exam are difficult? what kinds of questions they have - Multiple choice, written questions or others? How frequent and how to book the exam?


I think the exams are not difficult provided that you really did the assignments and the end of topic activities on your own... on the other hand, the tutors would provide webinars to walk through the mock exam papers (of course you could revisit the recorded webinars later on)... at the moment, due to Covid-19, you do not have to book the exam since it is now arranged in Online mode. The online exam (online timed assessment - 3hours and 30 minutes) breaks down into two sections, section 1 is likely Multiple choices (~30%-40% of total marks), section 2 is a written exam (60%-70%) and you will have to download the exam paper and write your answers on their worksheet provided and then upload to the virtual learning environment (VLE)...

Not sure if this arrangement will be the same after COVID-19, the format of the real exam is quite similar to the mock one, the content is totally different surely but the scope (e.g. topics, the question format) is quite similar so that you can really focus on the topics appeared in the mock exam for the real exam preparation.

For the graded online quiz, it is an open booked, so that even though it may be difficult, you can still look for the answers in the Internet and get 100% correct I believe.

Lastly, there are other online MSc Data Science (see below - both are from well known US universities) available may be of your interest... the good thing about them is they DO NOT HAVE exam, i.e. the assignment based, which is a good approach coz I think the assignment approach is much better as I can learn more from the assignment but not much from exams...
1. https://www.coursera.org/degrees/master-of-science-data-science-boulder
2. https://www.edx.org/masters/online-master-data-science-utaustinx

Lastly, I think 1 or 2 modules offered by UoL/Goldsmith are now purely assignment based which is good in the sense, and they are changing the syllabus and coursework/exam structure from time to time, hope more modules can be pure assignment based later on.

Hopes the info is useful for you.
Reply 10
Original post by pkse4080
I think the exams are not difficult provided that you really did the assignments and the end of topic activities on your own... on the other hand, the tutors would provide webinars to walk through the mock exam papers (of course you could revisit the recorded webinars later on)... at the moment, due to Covid-19, you do not have to book the exam since it is now arranged in Online mode. The online exam (online timed assessment - 3hours and 30 minutes) breaks down into two sections, section 1 is likely Multiple choices (~30%-40% of total marks), section 2 is a written exam (60%-70%) and you will have to download the exam paper and write your answers on their worksheet provided and then upload to the virtual learning environment (VLE)...

Not sure if this arrangement will be the same after COVID-19, the format of the real exam is quite similar to the mock one, the content is totally different surely but the scope (e.g. topics, the question format) is quite similar so that you can really focus on the topics appeared in the mock exam for the real exam preparation.

For the graded online quiz, it is an open booked, so that even though it may be difficult, you can still look for the answers in the Internet and get 100% correct I believe.

Lastly, there are other online MSc Data Science (see below - both are from well known US universities) available may be of your interest... the good thing about them is they DO NOT HAVE exam, i.e. the assignment based, which is a good approach coz I think the assignment approach is much better as I can learn more from the assignment but not much from exams...
1. https://www.coursera.org/degrees/master-of-science-data-science-boulder
2. https://www.edx.org/masters/online-master-data-science-utaustinx

Lastly, I think 1 or 2 modules offered by UoL/Goldsmith are now purely assignment based which is good in the sense, and they are changing the syllabus and coursework/exam structure from time to time, hope more modules can be pure assignment based later on.

Hopes the info is useful for you.


Yes. It helps indeed. Thank you~~
Original post by phi_phi_d
Hi @pkse4080. I'm thinking of applying for the UoL MSc in Data Science to start in October so it's really helpful to read your comments. Can I ask you how the course materials are released? Do you get them all at the start of the module or are they released weekly? Thanks.

Hey hello. Have you join UoL in October already ? Just need some advice and info from your side.
Hi. Yes, I started five weeks ago. I'm just doing one module at the moment (Introduction to programming with python). I have mixed feelings so far. I'm not from a computing/programming background and I'm finding it a lot of work and quite a steep learning curve. Every course is made up of ten topics and each topic lasts for two weeks. You get a combination of required reading, mini lectures, quizes and programming exercises for each topic. I got on fine with the first two topics but am struggling a bit with the third one now.

Happy to try and answer any questions you might have.
Original post by phi_phi_d
Hi. Yes, I started five weeks ago. I'm just doing one module at the moment (Introduction to programming with python). I have mixed feelings so far. I'm not from a computing/programming background and I'm finding it a lot of work and quite a steep learning curve. Every course is made up of ten topics and each topic lasts for two weeks. You get a combination of required reading, mini lectures, quizes and programming exercises for each topic. I got on fine with the first two topics but am struggling a bit with the third one now.

Happy to try and answer any questions you might have.

Hey :smile:. Yeah it can be hard at first but I can help you if you want. I am from a computer science background.
If I have any query, I will surely ask you. Your advice will be very appreciated and helpful for me.
Reply 14
Original post by phi_phi_d
Hi. Yes, I started five weeks ago. I'm just doing one module at the moment (Introduction to programming with python). I have mixed feelings so far. I'm not from a computing/programming background and I'm finding it a lot of work and quite a steep learning curve. Every course is made up of ten topics and each topic lasts for two weeks. You get a combination of required reading, mini lectures, quizes and programming exercises for each topic. I got on fine with the first two topics but am struggling a bit with the third one now.

Happy to try and answer any questions you might have.

Still having mixed feelings? And how one question I have is how many hours per week people without a technical background are spending per module??
Reply 15
Original post by pkse4080
I am studying Online MSc Data Science and AI at UoL/Goldsmith, I started doing the MSc in April 2020...The first two courses I did were 1) Maths and Stat for Data Science and 2) Data Programming in Python. Here are the pros and cons based on my study experience:

Pros:
The discussion forum in each course was quite active, you can find support among other students.... sometimes (not very often though) from tutors...
The course contents (with videos and text) were well structured and you would receive a weekly newsletter (from the so-called Student Relationship Team) about the course so you know whether you are on schedule or not.
The workload is reasonable - I spent around 5 hours per week for each course but I am in Computer Science background, with 1 graded assignment and 1 graded quiz plus a final exam (now in online mode due to Covid-19)

Cons:
Videos were too short and too simple, you need to look for another reference elsewhere occasionally, or external youtube may be more useful for the same topic.
Not much support from tutors - there were discussion activities for each topic in the courses, most feedbacks from students but only a few from tutors

I am now working on the Machine Learning and Big Data Analysis courses, and the above does still apply...

Very informative to know many things you stated, along with the fact that you're spending roughly 5 hours a week per course with a comp sci background. How many hours per week per course are students without any technical background spending, in your estimate??
Hi. I'm still going with my first module (Introduction to programming) which I've been doing whilst working full time (plus I have one child). They recommend around 7 hours of study per week. My module is assessed by two pieces of course work each of which they suggest will take 20 hours and this is on top of the usual 7 hours per week. We also had no break at all for Christmas and the first assignment was due in on the 4th of January (so Christmas was a bit stressful for me). As someone from a non-programming background, I'd say that it has definitely been more than 7 hours per week to do it properly (properly study all of the materials, do all of the recommended reading and attempt the programming exercises). It has definitely felt a bit stressful at times but I've also really enjoyed it and definitely learned loads.
Original post by AL202
Still having mixed feelings? And how one question I have is how many hours per week people without a technical background are spending per module??

There is quite a mixture of people on the course. Some from programming/relevant backgrounds and some of us are not. Those of us who aren't have definitely had to put quite a lot of work in but we have managed it. We've recently had the results back from our first course work and lots of people from a non-programming background have done very well. My advice would be to ensure you have more than 7 hours a week to spend on the programming module (can't speak for the other modules as I haven't done them yet). It's definitely doable without a technical background though.
Reply 18
Original post by phi_phi_d
Hi. I'm still going with my first module (Introduction to programming) which I've been doing whilst working full time (plus I have one child). They recommend around 7 hours of study per week. My module is assessed by two pieces of course work each of which they suggest will take 20 hours and this is on top of the usual 7 hours per week. We also had no break at all for Christmas and the first assignment was due in on the 4th of January (so Christmas was a bit stressful for me). As someone from a non-programming background, I'd say that it has definitely been more than 7 hours per week to do it properly (properly study all of the materials, do all of the recommended reading and attempt the programming exercises). It has definitely felt a bit stressful at times but I've also really enjoyed it and definitely learned loads.


Thanks for both your very informative comments, which I'll offer two separate responses for... That seems like quite the hectic schedule (i.e., working full time, one child, plus the program)!! I'm someone without any technical background, so it's very helpful when you suggest that non-techies (like me) may certainly want to make more space than seven hours a week. It's also nice to hear that despite the stress at times, you're enjoying and learning loads. (On a side note, I can't believe there was no break at all for Christmas!)
Reply 19
Original post by phi_phi_d
There is quite a mixture of people on the course. Some from programming/relevant backgrounds and some of us are not. Those of us who aren't have definitely had to put quite a lot of work in but we have managed it. We've recently had the results back from our first course work and lots of people from a non-programming background have done very well. My advice would be to ensure you have more than 7 hours a week to spend on the programming module (can't speak for the other modules as I haven't done them yet). It's definitely doable without a technical background though.

It's great to hear that among the students without programming/relevant backgrounds, the results from the first coursework assessment have been very good. Also, you nailed the crux of my question: is this doable, while putting in a reasonable amount of hours, for people who have absolutely no background... Thanks again for addressing the questions head on, as I contemplate which (first) module to enroll for this upcoming April. Finally, I know this is the only module you can speak directly to (in the sense that this is the only one you have direct experience with so far). But, if you're hearing anything from people without a tech background with regards to any of the other modules, or have any other advice/comments in general, please feel free to make them. Thanks again.

Quick Reply