Overview
Our BSc (Hons) Graduate Apprenticeship in Data Science degree will give you an in-depth awareness and appreciation of the underlying computing and mathematical principles driving data science technologies. It is a practical degree focusing on the mathematical and analytical skills needed to begin a career as a data scientist or analyst.
What is a Graduate Apprenticeship?
It is a Scottish Government priority to increase workforce skills through graduate-level qualifications such as Graduate Apprenticeships. Graduate
Graduate Apprentices work for their employer whilst studying and developing their skills at the University of Stirling. It means that work undertaken for the employer counts towards a Graduate Apprentice's qualification.
All tuition fees for the apprentice are funded by the Scottish Government and places are available for companies with a facility in Scotland, where the apprentice is employed at that facility and domiciled in Scotland.
The BSc (Hons) Graduate Apprenticeship in Data Science course involves attending 1 day of online classes and 4 days work with the employer on a weekly basis.
Benefits to the employer
Our graduate apprenticeships have been designed to tackle the challenges of current and emerging skills gaps. Find out how our apprentices can help your business.
Hear from Andy, a current Graduate Apprentice, and his employer, Student Loans Company
Entry requirements
- BBB at SQA Higher or equivalent qualifications
- Relevant Foundation Apprenticeship and 2 Highers
- Relevant Modern Apprenticeship (SCQF Level 6)
- Applicants with non-standard qualifications including SVQs/NVQs and access programmes will be considered on an individual basis
- Applicants with work experience and/or professional qualifications can be considered through Recognition of Prior Learning. This is the process for recognising learning that has its source in experience and/or previous formal, non-formal and learning contexts.
Mathematics competency
Where there is no evidence of competency in mathematics either in a formal or informal context, candidates will be required to undertake a short test. This can be administered by the University or the Graduate Apprentice employer.
Applicants must also be:
- living and working in Scotland
- at least 16 years old
- working for an employer based in Scotland in an area related to one of the programmes
- recommended by the employer
Contact us for application and course queries
If you are looking to upskill your workforce, recruit new apprentices, or find out more about our Graduate
If English is not your first language you must have one of the following qualifications as evidence of your English language skills:
- IELTS Academic or UKVI 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each sub-skill.
- Pearson Test of English (Academic) 60 overall with a minimum of 59 in each sub-skill.
- IBT TOEFL 78 overall with a minimum of 17 in listening, 18 in reading, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing.
See our information on English language requirements for more details on the language tests we accept and options to waive these requirements.
Pre-sessional English language courses
If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this course, our partner INTO University of Stirling offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for entry to this degree.
Find out more about our pre-sessional English language courses
Course details
On our BSc (Hons) Graduate Apprenticeship in Data Science degree, you'll study modules from Computing Science and Mathematics and will be introduced to both data science theory and applications.
Subjects at the core of data science include script programming, machine learning, artificial intelligence and statistics. Students will be introduced to database technologies and learn cutting edge technology such as computer vision and natural language processing.
Our BSc (Hons) Graduate Apprenticeship in Data Science degree will also teach you how to collect, manage and analyse big, fast moving data for science or commerce.
Modules
The module information below provides an example of the types of course module you may study. The details listed are for the academic year that starts in September 2024. Modules and start dates are regularly reviewed and may be subject to change in future years.
Course details
In the National Student Survey (NSS) 2021 computing science at Stirling was ranked top 5 in Scotland, and top 10 in the UK. Computing Science at Stirling also ranked top 10 in the UK and 3rd in Scotland in the 2022 Guardian University Guide. Furthermore, the University of Stirling was awarded five-star excellence for teaching in the QS Stars University Ratings 2024.
Computing Science at Stirling is part of the Scottish Informatics and Computer Science Alliance (SICSA) Scotland-wide pooling initiative in research and knowledge exchange, as well as The DataLab, Scotland's Innovation Centre for data and AI.
Our research-led teaching is at the core of your learning as our staff conduct world-leading research. Our staff are engaged with funded research from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), as well as funding from other UK Research Councils and funding agencies.
Our BSc (Hons) Graduate Apprenticeship in Data Science degree will use coursework assignments, class tests and exams to assess your work. Work-based learning elements will be assessed through reports and demos of code implementation. Assignments will vary from module to module, with several technical assignments, some essay writing and some presentations. The honours project will be assessed by dissertation.
The course is taught over three semesters: autumn, spring and summer. The timetable below provides the modules that will be taught throughout the duration of the course.
Year 1
Autumn
- Introduction to Computing Science
- Introduction to Mathematics
- Work-based learning
Spring
- Introduction to Data Science
- Programming and User-Interface Design
- Work-based learning
Summer
- Work-based learning
Year 2
Autumn
- Scripting for Data Science
- Introduction to Relational Databases
- Work-based learning
Spring
- Practical Statistics
- NoSQL Databases+ Data Warehousing
- Work-based learning
Summer
- Work-based learning
Year 3
Autumn
- Introduction to Machine Learning
- UX Design
- Work-based learning
Spring
- Data Strategy
- Natural Language Processing and Computer Vision
- Work-based learning
Summer
- Work-based learning
Year 4
Autumn
- Data Science Applications
- Security
- Artificial Intelligence
- Honours Project
Spring
- Honours Project
- Distributed Data Science Systems
Summer
- Honours Project
The BSc (Hons) Graduate
Fees and funding
This course is only available to students domiciled in Scotland.
You should apply to the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) for funding.
Additional costs
There are some instances where additional fees may apply. Depending on your chosen course, you may need to pay additional costs, for example for field trips. Learn more about additional fees.
Students domiciled in Scotland
The University of Stirling offers undergraduate funding opportunities for students domiciled in Scotland. To find out if you’re eligible to apply for an award, use our scholarship finder.
See what funding opportunities and loans are available to help you with tuition and living costs.
If you’re domiciled in the UK, you can typically apply to your relevant funding body for help with living costs. This usually takes the form of student loans, grants or bursaries, and the amount awarded depends upon your personal circumstances and household income.
International (including EU) students won’t normally be able to claim living support through SAAS or other UK public funding bodies. You should contact the relevant authority in your country to find out if you’re eligible to receive support.
**The information below is not applicable to students taking the BSc (Hons) Graduate Apprenticeship in Data Science degree.**
We aim to be as flexible as possible, and offer a wide range of payment methods - including the option to pay fees by instalments. Learn more about how to pay.
After you graduate
Demand for workers with specialist data skills like data scientists and data engineers has more than tripled over five years (+231%), according to a labour market analysis commissioned for Dynamics of data science skills, a new Royal Society report published in May 2019.
The types of skills most frequently required by British employers include scripting languages, big data, SQL databases and machine learning.
