Student case study: Postgraduate conversion courses in artificial intelligence and data science

James Birchall: MSc Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence student, University of York

What inspired you to study a postgraduate course in AI and/or data science?

I had an undergraduate degree in psychology, where I learnt research methods, data science, and statistics. I enjoyed the data science and research methods modules better than the other general psychology modules therefore I looked at courses focused on data science.

When researching courses, I randomly came across the OfS scholarships and decided to apply at a few universities. I hit a few of the selection criteria that they were looking for.

I was from a low-achieving school, got free school meals, and none of my parents went to university, among others. I thought that someone must get these scholarships, so why not me? I will not know unless I apply.

I was extremely grateful to be accepted for the scholarship. I was always interested in computers from when I was young and wanted to learn more about how they worked, so I decided to apply for a computer science/data science masters. 

What have you enjoyed most about the course?  

I was accepted to a few courses but I chose York because it was completely online and had lower tuition fees than the other courses.

Studying totally online means that I can do my work from home instead of commuting.

The other universities I was accepted for were on campus or blended learning with a commuting time of sometimes two hours there and two hours back so studying completely online was what I was looking for, and I was therefore glad I got accepted to York’s fully online course. I have enjoyed mostly learning about software engineering and how software is developed. I have also enjoyed getting back into learning and giving myself a focus (I am unemployed currently).  

Where do you hope your course learning will take you?  

I am hoping to do a PhD in computer/data science or psychology. Luckily, psychology is research and data-heavy so having an MSc in computer science will make my application stand out compared to those with a straight psychology degree. I would eventually like to work for a mental health company or charity, pharmaceutical company, or the NHS conducting research into mental health and helping with clinical trials.