Big Data and High Performance Computing MSc at University of Liverpool

The MSc in Big Data and High Performance Computing provides students with an in-depth understanding of big data analysis and processing using high performance computing technology. Run in conjunction with the STFC Hartree Centre, this MSc programme enables students to gain a specialist qualification in an area of computing that is in great demand worldwide.

Big data is commonly described as data that is so large that it cannot be readily processed using standard techniques. Our current global ability to collect data is such that “big data” sets are becoming common-place.

The most obvious example of this is the exponential growth of the World Wide Web; however there are many public and private enterprises where the analysis of large-scale data sets is critical to growth. Although significant computer power exists, the necessary skills-base is lagging behind the technology.

There is an employment gap looming in the field of big data, especially in the context of the skills required with respect to the application of High Performance Computing (HPC) capabilities to address big data problems.

The MSc in Big Data and High Performance Computing is designed to address this anticipated skills gap and provide those completing the programme with the necessary abilities (abilities which will be highly desirable within the employment market) to address big data centric problems in the context of HPC.

The Hartree centre is underpinned by £37.5 million of Government investment and hosts the UK’s premier supercomputing environment. This partnership provides a unique and unrivalled MSc programme and ensures that students completing the programme have a ready route into employment, facilitated by commercial contacts provided as part of the individual project.

You may also be interested in our Business Analytics and Big Data MSc, Geographic Data Science MSc and Risk and Uncertainty MSc.

This programme is also available as Big Data and High Performance Computing with a Year in Industry MSc.

The programme is organised as two taught semesters followed by an individual project undertaken over either the summer or, if desired, during the following year of study. Within each semester students study a number of modules adding up to 60 credits per semester (120 in total). This will be followed by a project dissertation, also 60 credits, making an overall total of 180 credits.

Career prospects

The MSc in Big Data and High Performance Computing (HPC) is specifically designed to fill a "skills gap" in the employment market. More specifically it is designed to provide students with the necessary skills to allow them to apply Big Data and HPC concepts to real problems. The programme has been structured to facilitate the practical application of this "cutting-edge" technology to real-world problems. The intention is that at the end of the programme students will be able to apply the knowledge gained on the programme specifically to real-world big data and HPC problems. However, the programme is also designed to furnish students with a set of transferable skills that are of particular relevance across the IT industry.

The programme has been developed, and is delivered, in close collaboration with the Hartree Centre at Daresbury which operates the UK's largest supercomputer (capable of a thousand trillion calculations per second). Hartree have close links with industry, and provide assistance with respect to the group and final individual projects, the latter conducted in partnership with commercial and/or non-commercial organisations.