Master of Informatics (G500)

To decode this a little, think of artificial systems as meaning computers (though not necessarily packaged up in form you might recognise), and natural systems as meaning living things (particularly those with brains!) which behave in ways which suggest that they are using, reacting to and processing various kinds of real world information.

Our vision of Informatics is that it is much more than just the sum of these diverse parts, but a discipline in which radical and exciting insights are offered by sharing, reassessing and combining the best ideas from all of them. For example, ideas from traditional Computer Science on how to understand what happens when many computers operate concurrently, sharing and manipulating information at the same time, can be usefully applied to trying to model and understand similar effects in natural world, whether inside a brain, or between the members of colony of ants. In the other direction, understanding more about how our brains process information, how we think and communicate using language, can inform new developments in the design of software and hardware technologies.

Why study it at Edinburgh?

Quite simply, Edinburgh is at the forefront, on the world stage, of the development of this new scientific discipline. This is no surprise. Over the past forty or so years, Edinburgh has played a recognised and leading role in defining and developing the subjects of Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science and Computational Linguistics, with a steady flow of new research ideas, which translate into innovative degree programmes. If you skim our research pages you will find that we have spent the last few years building new ideas in Informatics, which inform our undergraduate teaching. The time is now right for a new degree which recognises the growing maturity of the discipline. We are so convinced that this is the right path for the future that we named our school after it!

An Undergraduate Masters Degree - how does that work?

In a nutshell, the Master of Informatics (MInf) is a five year degree, with scope for direct entry to second year. The first three years are largely shared with those of our BSc/BEng degrees, building up your knowledge across the range of component areas of the discipline. The final two years are characterised by an emphasis on personalised project work and the study to Masters level of course-based material, allowing you to develop both breadth and depth in those areas which interest you most. Upon completion of the degree, you will be qualified for entry to PhD (doctorate) should you wish to pursue a career in research.

For details of degree structure and content, please see degree programme specification.