Behavioural and Data Science

Entry requirements

Applicants are required, at a minimum, to have a degree in a relevant subject, e.g. Psychology, Computer Science, Mathematics, Economics etc., equivalent to a UK 2:1 or greater in order to be considered. As we anticipate receiving a large number of applications, preference will be given to those with the strongest quantitative or social sciences backgrounds. Evidence of experience with programming in Python or R is also preferred—at a minimum, students should have online or university instruction in programming in at least one programming language. The MSc in Behavioural and Data Science is a quantitative degree and students should feel comfortable taking a mathematical approach to their thinking before they join the course. The course requires students to undertake programming assignments and long-form essay assignments and so requires students to be comfortable in programming and to have very good written communication skills in English.

On the MSc, we cover the use of statistics and computational approaches to make sense of behavioural data (e.g., regression, t-tests, machine learning). We cover R, Python, and Matlab programming languages for statistics and mathematical modelling. We also use maths in psychological and computer science models.

English language requirements

You can find out more about our English language requirements. This course requires the following:

• • Band B
  • IELTS overall score of 7.0, minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above.

Months of entry

September

Course content

This course offers training in the foundations of psychology, decision-making, behavioural economics and behaviour change. It will also develop your understanding of state-of-the-art methods in data science and data analytics, focusing on statistical methods, machine learning, and data visualisation.

You will gain an understanding of large-scale patterns in data, with an eye to comprehending the underlying factors driving human behaviour. This can be used to understand consumer behaviour, economics, politics, history, wellbeing, and many other large-scale patterns at national and international levels. Previous experience in behavioural science is not necessary, but you should have programming skills in at least one programming language (e.g., R, Python, Matlab, or others).

Skills from this degree

Graduates will be able to:

• Use data to understand how and why people make the choices they do, and understanding the consequences of their choices in relation to public policy (e.g. encouraging people to save for pensions or change to low-carbon behaviours), industry (e.g. understanding how to place a new product in the market), and individual behaviour (e.g. understanding why people drink and eat too much)
• Access and analyse large-scale datasets
• Utilise state-of-the-art techniques in data analysis and visualisation
• Design and conduct studies using data analysis to understand behaviour

Fees and funding

See University website