Postgraduate conversion courses in data science and artificial intelligence

• The programme has exceeded its target to deliver 2,500 graduates into the UK AI and data science workforce by autumn 2023:
  • 7,600 students were enrolled up to September 2023
  • it's expected that the programme will produce at least 6,000 new graduates in total.
• More than 950 of 1,000 scholarships available were awarded to students from groups considered to be underrepresented in higher education.
• The programme has driven increased diversity - a high proportion of scholarships were awarded to underrepresented students who are:
  • female (72 per cent)
  • black (35 per cent)
  • disabled students (25 per cent).
• Evidence suggests most students are successfully completing their degrees with the majority of graduates securing jobs using data and AI skills.

• Read the final report, published in February 2024
• Read the interim report, published in March 2023
• Read the interim report, published in June 2022.

The programme has reached significant scale, with 70 AI and data science postgraduate conversion courses delivering scholarship funding. These courses account for around one third of all masters' level AI and data science provision in England.

• Between 2023 to 2025, over 8,700 students have enrolled on these courses, which exceeded the targets across both academic years.
• Student demand for scholarships remained strong with 810 out of a target of 818 scholarships awarded to underrepresented students in 2024-25, representing 99 per cent utilisation of available funding, higher than in 2023-24. 
• The programme has driven increased diversity. A higher proportion of students from underrepresented groups are on the programme’s courses than on comparable masters’ level AI and data science courses not supported by the programme, who are:
  • Female (41 per cent compared to 33 per cent)
  • Black (25 per cent compared to 14 per cent)
  • Disabled (10 per cent compared to 6 per cent).
• There is also a higher proportion of students who haven’t previously studied science, engineering, mathematics or technology on the programme’s courses.
• Early evidence suggests many graduates, particularly those from the UK, are securing jobs using AI and data skills or going onto further study.  

• The programme has potential to contribute towards meeting the aim of increasing the supply of digitally skilled workers through conversion courses, with 57 courses taking part in the programme. Nine of these courses are newly developed.  
• Demand for courses involved in the programme has been high, with over 4,700 students already enrolled and 5,000 students predicted to enrol within the 2023-24 academic year, which exceeds original projections. The programme has awarded over 90 per cent of the 818 scholarships available for delivery in 2023-24 academic year to students from target underrepresented groups.
• Initial survey data suggests that the programme’s targeted scholarships are having the desired effect of increasing the diversity of students on these courses. The proportions of female disabled and Black students among scholarship holders are all significantly higher than among students without scholarships within the course cohorts.
• A total of 26 scholarships have been co-funded by the industry partners. The extent of industry co-investment leveraged for scholarships has remained below the level anticipated. However, the amount of in-kind support from industry partners, such as providing placements and employer mentoring, remains substantial, currently standing at £6.3 million.

• Read the third interim evaluation report, published in February 2026
• Read the second interim report, published in September 2024
• Read the first interim report, published in November 2023