Entry requirements

Applicants will require at least a B- average grade in the 90 points

of the most advanced courses they have taken in their entry
qualification;
and either
an undergraduate degree and at least two years relevant
workplace experience;
or
a four-year undergraduate or honours degree in a quantitative
discipline;
or
an undergraduate degree and a postgraduate diploma, either
in a quantitative discipline like Computer Science or Statistics.

All applicants whose first language is not English will be required

to provide satisfactory evidence of their proficiency in English, i.e.,
an IELTS score with an overall score of 6.5 and all bands 6.0 or
better.

Application
Applications for the following year close on the 8th of December.
Applications should be made using the University of Aucklands
online application system. See www.auckland.ac.nz/apply_now.
Applicants will be required to submit verified copies of their
passport and relevant visas, transcripts of previous academic
study (translated if necessary) and a CV. You will be contacted to
set up an interview time once the application has been processed.

Career
opportunities
Graduates of the programme will have a unique combination of
skills in statistics and data management. These skills allow them to
comprehend, process, and manage data effectively and efficiently,
to extract value from data, to visualise it, and to communicate it.
The programme serves increasing demands from industry which
relies upon massive volumes of data. Companies such as IBM,
Infosys, Oracle and Orion increasingly need specialists in this field.
Analysts, data administrators, software developers, managers,
programmers and scientists could all benefit from the programme
to further their careers.

Master of
Professional Studies
in Data Science:
a taught masters for industry

More information
Web: www.science.auckland.ac.nz/data-science
Email: enrolment@cs.auckland.ac.nz
Phone: (09) 373 7599 ext 85720
Physical Address:
Department of Computer Science
Level 3, Science Centre Building 303S
The University of Auckland
38 Princes St
Auckland 1010
Apply: www.auckland.ac.nz/apply_now

Information about language requirements is at

www.auckland.ac.nz/english-language-requirements.
Fees information is available at www.auckland.ac.nz/fees.

www.science.auckland.ac.nz/data-science

The MProfStuds in
Data Science

Programme
structure

Courses

The last decade has seen an explosion in the amount of data

available. Data has evolved into the most important asset
for many companies and people. The ability to turn data into
information, knowledge and innovative products often separates
success from failure. Data scientists have the skill set to drive
innovation and affect the success of start-ups, established
businesses and organisations, governments, science projects, as
well as media, broadcast and cultural events.

This is a taught masters programme that runs over the normal

semester period of The University of Auckland. This is a oneyear programme which can be taken full-time or can take up to
four years part-time. The core courses will be offered during the
semester period at a time that is convenient for working students.

The core of the programme consists of postgraduate Computer

Science and Statistics courses.
At least two Computer Science courses must be chosen from:
COMPSCI 751 Advanced Topics in Database Systems
COMPSCI 752 Semantic Web Technologies
COMPSCI 753 Uncertainty in Data

The Master of Professionals Studies (MProfStuds) in Data Science is

a new taught degree designed to address a need for professionals
with a specific skill set. It uniquely draws together strands from
the fields of Computer Science and Statistics. The qualification
enables graduates to be readily identifiable as holding the skills to
participate in the field and to contribute to its advancement.

COMPSCI 760 Data Mining and Machine Learning

and at least two Statistics courses from:
STATS 762 Statistical Modelling
STATS 782 Statistical Computing
STATS 784 Statistical Data Mining
In addition to the core courses, up to two courses can be chosen
from selected courses in Computer Science, Statistics, Information
Systems, Operations Management and Science Enterprise. Details
of the courses can be found in the departmental handbooks of
Computer Science and Statistics on their department websites.
The programme is made up of 120 points with each course
being worth 15 points. A normal full-time course load is eight
courses per year - for example, three courses and one half of the
dissertation per semester.
The programme is made up of the following courses:

The specialisation has three components:

At least 30 points from COMPSCI 751, 752, 753, 760

A data management stream and a statistics stream,

At least 30 points from STATS 762, 782, 784

consisting of at least two courses in each

The development of particular specialist strengths alongside

the core knowledge, such as entrepreneurial and business
skills, or further depth in Statistics or Computer Science

A research project under supervision of an academic and/or

practitioner from industry

Up to 30 points from courses relevant to the area of study

from SCIENT 701, 702, COMPSCI 705, 711, 720, 732, 734,
INFOSYS 720, 722, 726, 727, 737, 740, OPSMGT 760, 762,
764, STATS 779, 783

30 points from COMPSCI 791 Dissertation

All students must complete COMPSCI 791 Dissertation which

counts as two courses (30 points). This is a non-timetabled twosemester research course under the supervision of a staff member
from a relevant discipline. It can be spread over two consecutive
semesters or completed in a single semester.