MSc Data Science..KCL, city or Queen Mary?

thank you!! actually i had some doubts about KCL's computer science department. Now I'm definitely leaning towards City. Are you going to attend this MSc too?

Considering all these courses are either just introduced this/last year, we have limited inputs on career impact. But Following are my observations:

KCL: Great Brand Name. Will open door for you. However King's department of Informatics is not as well known as opposed its other departments. So if you will be seeking a Job where employer is more interested in Brand Name than Content/Structure of the program KCL is a winner! Also their program is launched this year, so limited info on class profile/experience (Fees: 21,000)

City: City Launched its program last year and got some good candidates, who have already secured positions with Google, Data Genics and other firms. It is consistent with City's reputation of having very close ties with the industries. Moreover, looking at the content and structure this program seems to have more cross-disciplinary approach than programs in other universities, who are still looking at solving Big Data as a computer science program rather than a 'Business Problem' (Fees 14,500)

Queen Mary: This is going to be first cohort for the program, so that is a disadvantage. Also, the course seems very conventional in nature. With highly academic approach. (Fees 16,500)

I am leaning towards City!

- One cohort already graduating, so reduced administrative, academic risk. Things will be better streamlined
- Content seem very much towards application than purely academic pursuit
- City's close affiliation with industry - Enabling better Internships
- Better Value for Money (14K Vs 21K)

Hmm..if you're not considering City, why post here?

Also, those are very different courses ... What do you actually want out of the degree? Is it just the university name, as, to be honest, there are stronger data science research centres out there than your list. Kings, for example, has an excellent but very narrow range of expertise. It's certainly good but unless you want their specific method, there are better choices. Surrey is hardly known for its data science research unless something changed overnight.

If a course opened its books two years ago, there won't be employment data yet. City has just had its first data, and it came before the others.

I would suggest you need to do more research on the institutions if you are after a good course. City's had strong research in data analytics, data mining, AI and visualisation for years. Manchester and Warwick are both good institutions with some relevant research, but it's not truly the core of their CS research portfolio. (And FWIW I know both places well...funded research at one many years ago, and know the former Head of Dept at the other). Both have created umbrella data science institutes across the university, but that is a common trick by universities to make them look much bigger in an area (I know..I started my PhD in such an institute).

If you want a soundly CS degree, you'll need to check how the teaching is delivered too. Many are CS Msc with a couple of distinct modules. One thing about City's degree is that it is almost the only, if not the only, purpose built course.

In any case, all the best, but in a new field you need to be wary of "me too" courses ... And also overly narrow ones. City is not the only good choice, but your list could be improved a lot.