Data Science and Analytics (BSc)

At essex, we help you to understand how utilising the speed and processing-power of computers can assist in using data to make better decisions. You discover the new methods and the smart, unusual questions needed to make sense of both structured and unstructured data. 

Data is the lifeblood of our society. From medicine to government offices, and market research to the environment, the collection and analysis of data is crucial to understanding how to improve, create and guide products and services across the globe.

Harvard Business Review recently described the job of Data Scientist as “the sexiest job of the 21st century”. Data science is about doing some detective work and carrying out the investigations needed to inform important decisions and to predict new trends. Technology is growing and evolving at an incredible speed, and both the rate of growth of data we generate and the devices we use to process it can only increase.

Your course balances solid theory with practical application through exploring topics including:

• Mathematical skills
• Computer science and programming
• Statistics and operations research
• Artificial intelligence, databases and information retrieval
• Ethical issues around the use and processing of data
• Specialist skills in the areas of big data, data analytics and data science

A successful career in data science requires you to possess truly interdisciplinary knowledge, so we ensure that you graduate with a wide-ranging yet specialised set of skills in this area. You are taught within our School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science and our School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering.

Data scientists are required in every sector, carrying out statistical analysis or mining data on social media, so our course can open the door to almost any industry, from health, to government, to publishing.

Why we're great.

• You join a community of scholars leading the way in technological research and development.
• We’re ranked 25th in UK for mathematics (The Guardian University Guide 2025).
• You have access to our ultramodern facilities at the STEM Centre that provide real-world experience.

Study abroad

• Your education extends beyond the university campus. We support you in expanding your education through offering the opportunity to spend a year or a term studying abroad at one of our partner universities. The four-year version of our degree allows you to spend the third year abroad or employed on a placement abroad, while otherwise remaining identical to the three-year course.
• Studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised.
• If you spend a full year abroad you'll only pay 15% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year. You won't pay any tuition fees to your host university

Placement year

• Alternatively, you can spend your third year on a placement with an external organisation, learning about a particular sector, company or job role, applying your academic knowledge in a practical working environment, and receiving inspiration for future career pathways. You will be responsible for finding your placement, but with support and guidance provided by both your department and our placements team.
• Students are provided with support to secure a placement. Recent placements undertaken by our students have been with ARM, Microsoft, Intel, Nestlé, British Aerospace, and the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, as well a range of SME software and hardware companies.
• If you complete a placement year you'll only pay 20% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year.

Your future

• Demand for skilled graduates in the areas of big data and data science is growing rapidly in both the public and private sector, and there is a predicted shortage of data scientists with the skills to understand and make commercial decisions based on the analysis of big data.
• Essex is bridging the gap between academia and business, and we are at the forefront of helping the UK grasp the big data opportunities to get ahead in the global race. Our graduates in data science have been very successful in finding employment in the public sector, consulting, technology, retail, and utilities, while a number have gone on to postgraduate study or research.

Our recent graduates have gone on to work for a wide range of high-profile companies including:

• Aviva
• AXA
• BT
• Profusion
• EDS
• Mondaq
• IBM
• Royal Bank of Scotland
• Accenture
• Buck Consultants
• Google

Our Schools have a large pool of external contacts, ranging from companies providing robots for the media industry, through vehicle diagnostics, to the transforming of unstructured data to cloud-based multidimensional data cubes, who work with us and our students to provide advice, placements and eventually graduate opportunities.