Having a hard time with my Master's (MSc) U.K.

There’s always light at the end of the tunnel 🙂

So I just started a master’s this September in AI and Biosciences, which involves a lot of coding, and I’m finding it really hard. It’s an intense course, with modules being completed every two weeks with one week to finish the coursework.
My first module went well — it wasn’t too bad, and I could understand and complete the coursework. But I had a really hard time with the second coursework, which was Python coding. I struggled to understand how to write the code, and I feel like I would miss small but important parts of it while working on the assignment. I’ve already submitted it so I can't really change anything anymore, but it was really difficult for me as someone who has no coding experience beyond one UNIX module.
I’m scared I failed the coursework, and apparently it gets harder as the course goes on. I also can’t switch courses now — it’s too late. I actually did have interest in this program when I was reading up about it, but learning all these new skills is really stressing me out. I know most master’s courses are intense, and I applied because I didn’t want to spend a year just sitting at home applying for jobs. And what I learn in these modules will give me a boost as someone with a biomedical science background so I think it's a really good Master's course.
Most of my posts are like this; I often come here to vent and get some advice, just need some words of encouragement from people who have been through a situation like this.

Hey,
It sounds like you’ve been thrown into a very steep learning curve. You’re definitely not alone in feeling overwhelmed.
A lot of students who start these interdisciplinary degrees struggle with the first coding module. The jump from to writing full Python scripts, understanding logic, debugging, and figuring out why something isn’t working is huge. It’s also common to feel like you’re “missing small but important details.” That’s basically the entire early coding experience, noticing syntax errors, missing colons, wrong indentations, forgetting to convert data types, etc. It gets easier over time because your brain starts recognising patterns rather than reading everything line by line.
The fact that your first module went well is a good sign. Usually the first Python-heavy assignment is where people panic, and that doesn’t mean you’ve failed or even done badly. It just means you’re learning something completely new.
These courses are intense because they’re conversion-style degrees. They assume you’ve never coded before, but the speed is high, so people can finish with employable skills. Feeling stressed or behind doesn’t mean you’re not capable, it just means you’re normal.
Some things that genuinely help students in your situation:
Try to regularly practise small coding exercises (even 15–20 minutes a day). Coding is a long-term skill; you build it through repetition.
Use official documentation or beginner-friendly tutorials (Python docs, W3Schools, GeeksforGeeks). They help you understand why something works, not just how to copy it.
Go to every lab, workshop, or office hour your course offers. Master’s cohorts often include people with zero coding experience, so lecturers really do expect these questions.
Don’t be afraid to ask your course mates, a single conversation can save you hours of stuck frustration.
Make use of your uni’s academic skills or tech support services if they have them. Most students wait too long before asking.
And just to be clear: one hard assignment doesn’t mean you’re doomed. Most people feel exactly like this in weeks 2–6 of these courses. By December/January, the panic usually drops because things start clicking into place, even if slowly.
You picked this course for good reasons, and it will give you a much stronger profile as someone from a biomedical background. It’s okay to vent, and it’s okay to feel unsure right now, it’s still the very beginning, and you’re learning a completely new discipline under intense pressure. You’re not failing; you’re adjusting, and it’s allowed to take time.
Good luck 😊
Arslan – University of Salford Student Representative

Thank you so much for the reply.
The thing is the first assignment was on UNIX (which I had a bit of experience in), next Python and now we just recently finished a module on RStudio and all these modules were basically taught in 10 days (weekdays over 2 weeks) before we had a week to do the assignment. I'll be honest these last two modules have been really difficult because I did not put in enough effort because I got depressed that I couldn't understand it or how to do it so I lost all motivation and also wasn't motivated to do anything once I got home. And also for all these modules everything's going by really fast, I now only have one last module to do and I am really going to try my best (hopefully it doesn't end up like the last one's) so I can really see if it's just me not putting in enough effort or if it's just hard.