Data Science

Data science is the discipline concerned with extracting knowledge and insight from data, combining statistical methods, programming, and domain understanding to address questions that range from predicting consumer behaviour to diagnosing disease, detecting fraud, and modelling the effects of climate change. It sits at the intersection of mathematics, computer science, and applied problem-solving, and the demand for people who can work fluently across all three has grown dramatically as organisations of every kind have become data-rich but remain challenged to make that data genuinely useful.

At Plymouth this three-year full-time programme includes a sandwich year and a work placement, ensuring you develop professional experience in a data-focused role before you graduate. You will learn how to build programmes that solve real-world problems, exploring how computers make decisions, process data, and support analytical workflows. You will develop skills in programming languages used in data science, in the professional tools and techniques for writing clean and testable code, and in the statistical and machine learning methods that allow patterns to be found in data.

The programme develops both the technical depth and the applied orientation needed to function effectively in data science roles from the start of your career, with the placement providing crucial industry context and the professional connections that support career entry.

Data science graduates are among the most in-demand professionals in the current economy. Roles in data analysis, machine learning engineering, business intelligence, data engineering, product analytics, and research are accessible across technology, finance, healthcare, retail, government, and virtually every sector that generates and uses data. The sandwich year experience is a significant advantage in competitive graduate recruitment in this field.

Many graduates also continue to postgraduate study in data science, machine learning, statistics, or artificial intelligence, or pursue specialist certifications aligned to particular areas of practice.