Overview

The MIT (Stream C: Big Data Science) degree is multi-disciplinary and spreads across a number of academic faculties and departments. It is administered by the Department of Computer Science. The degree’s focus is to provide postgraduate opportunities to big data science researchers and practitioners who are aware of the data needs on the South African landscape. Graduate professionals from industry can leverage this degree to re-skill themselves in the foundational building blocks of big data science, while researchers can excel in big data and data science as research disciplines.

A blended mode of delivery will be followed. For each module, instructors facilitate discussions in face-to-face classes. Assignments proportional to the number of credits are assigned to each module. These assignments may be based on individual or group activities, such as writing reports and participating in online discussions.

Duration

The MIT (Stream C: Big Data Science) degree is multi-disciplinary and spreads across a number of academic faculties and departments. It is administered by the Department of Computer Science. The degree’s focus is to provide postgraduate opportunities to big data science researchers and practitioners who are aware of the data needs on the South African landscape. Graduate professionals from industry can leverage this degree to re-skill themselves in the foundational building blocks of big data science, while researchers can excel in big data and data science as research disciplines.

A blended mode of delivery will be followed. For each module, instructors facilitate discussions in face-to-face classes. Assignments proportional to the number of credits are assigned to each module. These assignments may be based on individual or group activities, such as writing reports and participating in online discussions.

Curriculum

The curriculum contains 180 credits, half of which are required courses and the other half is a research-based mini-dissertation. One of the key features of the MIT (Stream C: Big Data Science) curriculum is a practical project, which makes the theoretical big data science knowledge gained in the programme operational in the real world. Apart from the core component, students will also be able to choose from electives offered by all the participating departments. This master’s degree programme is only presented in English.

The core modules include the following aspects:

• Big Data Science and its application in different domains
• Machine and statistical learning
• Hands-on experience in technologies such as R, Python, Spark, and Hadoop
• Information ethics and its place in Big Data Science
• Mathematical optimisation for Big Data Science
• Governance, administration and organisation of large volumes of both structured and unstructured data
• Different architectures available for the processing of Big Data
• Research methods for Big Data Science
• Big Data Science project, which provides a hands-on experience of the entire big data lifecycle.
• Research-based mini dissertation:
  • Students may choose a Big Data Science-related research topic and subsequently be assigned a supervisor or co-supervisor from any of the participating departments across various faculties. These departments include, but are not limited to: Computer Science, Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Informatics, Information Science, Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, Statistics, Health Science departments and various Institutes at UP.

Admission Requirements

A limited number of applicants are selected for admission into the MIT (Stream C: Big Data Science) programme every year. Applicants should take note of the following admission requirements:

• An appropriate honours degree
• A minimum pass rate of 65% for the honours degree
• A pass mark in the following first-year level higher education modules:
• Mathematical Statistics or Statistics or at the discretion of the Programme Organiser
• Mathematics (preferably Calculus and Linear Algebra) or at the discretion of the Programme Organiser
• Programming or at the discretion of the Programme Organiser

A selection process will take place. The result of the selection is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Success in the selection process is based on previous education and passing an English test.

Please note that even though the entrance requirements are met this does not guarantee acceptance into the program as a limited number of applicants are accepted.

Conferment of the Degree

The MIT (Stream C: Big Data Science) degree is conferred on a student who successfully completes the following:

• Mini-dissertation: 90 credits
• Core modules: 55 credits
• Research methods: 5 credits
• Project: 20 credits
• Elective modules: 10 credits Total: 180 credits

Contact Information

Abiodun Modupe (MIT Coordinator):

• IT Building, Room 4-35
• Tel: 012 420 5232
• Email: mitc@cs.up.ac.za

Overview

In this degree a student works under the guidance of a supervisor and is expected to identify and pursue a research project. Research results are to be fully reported in an MSc dissertation.

The department thus follows the system of MSc’s by research only, i.e. the degree is not module-driven, as is sometimes the case elsewhere. In particular, the Department does not offer an MSc degree that has the flavour of a conversion degree from some other discipline into computer science.

Since a pure Computer Science research-oriented student does not have daily commitments (classes, etc.) it is not absolutely necessary to do this degree on a fulltime basis. However, it is highly desirable to do so, even if only for a limited period in order to get the research process going. Whatever mode of study the student chooses (full- or part-time), regular discussions and interaction with the supervisor are important. While this can sometimes take place electronically, it is also important to hold regular across-the-table discussions. Thus, staff will not normally enter into a supervisory relationship with a student who is not physically resident within reasonably proximity of the university.

The minimum registration period for an MSc is one year. In practice, almost all part-time students will take at least double this minimum time. Many full-time students, for one or other reason, also take a few months more than the minimum time.

The outcome of an MSc is a dissertation that demonstrates to an examination panel that that the student has the ability to plan, initiate, carry out and report on a scientific investigation. An article should have been submitted to an ISI journal on completion of the dissertation

Fees

Please view the University of Pretoria Postgraduate Fees page for the latest information on fees.

Funding & Assistantships

For information on postgraduate funding, navigate to the UP webpage

The department has available a limited number of teaching and research assistantships that may be filled by South African citizens, or international citizens with valid work permits.

Admission Requirements

The entry requirement for an MSc degree is a four-year BSc(Hons) degree in Computer Science, with a 65% average (or demonstrably equivalent qualifications). Note that even though many foreign degrees may use the nomenclature BSs(Hons), may take four years to complete, and may even be assessed by SAQA (see below) to be the equivalent of a South African BSc(Hons) degree, the degrees are in fact not quite of the same standard. Students who do not qualify directly may find it advantageous to complete the CS Honours degree before attempting an MSc. Students who formally qualify, but do not have the necessary background or experience may be required by the supervisor to take some undergraduate or honours modules. Full-time study is strongly encouraged, even if only for part of the study period.

Students from outside South Africa who apply for either PhD or MSc admission need to have their highest university qualification certified by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). This will indicate SAQA’s estimate of the qualification’s level, relative to similar South African qualifications. This certificate should be included in the documentation that is to accompany your application. Note, however, that in the light of the department’s high standards, SAQA’s assessment is not regarded as binding. The department reserves the right to make a more thorough assessment of the applicant’s academic transcript and to form an independent view of the applicant’s suitability for postgraduate studies, should this be deemed necessary.

Admission Procedure

If you want to do an MSc degree in this department, and if you meet the criteria for admission, then your immediate task is to identify a research area and potential supervisor. If you do not have a specific area that interests you, then you should spend time browsing through academic journals, the web, etc, until you identify some general area of interest. You might even identify some specific research project that you particularly want to undertake.

Once you have identified your chosen research area(s) and/or project, you should look for a potential supervisor who has appropriate interests and expertise. You should get in touch with that person and investigate the possibility of doing post graduate studies under his/her supervision. Some supervisors are in a position to propose specific research projects within their domain of expertise, while others might expect you to come up with a proposal for a research project on your own.

The relationship between student and supervisor is usually a reasonably close one, and it is important that the parties involved should get along. Because of this, there is a fairly widely accepted international protocol about how that relationship should proceed:

• A potential supervisor has a perfect right to turn down your request for supervision without being obligated to give reasons for doing so. These reasons may be work-load related; the supervisor may simply not feel comfortable with you as a person, or may not feel at ease with your proposed project. Whatever the case, most academics will not easily reject the opportunity of supervising post graduate studies, so be assured that you will not be rejected for trivial reasons.
• However, if your request is accepted, then the supervisor will continue to serve you in that capacity unless you withdraw and seek out someone else. Again, a student has a perfect right to withdraw in the early phases of a research project, perhaps moving on to some other supervisor. However, the student does not have the right to migrate work that might relate to a larger research project of one supervisor over to some other supervisor, unless there is general agreement amongst all parties about the matter. Thus, changing your supervisor may also mean starting over with a new research project.

Once you have found a supervisor, then and only then, should you start the more formal university application and registration processes:

• You first have to go through the process of applying for admission.
• Once your admission is formally approved by the department, then you will be able to register, and study fees will have to be paid.
• You can go through these processes online, or you can visit the Engineering, Built Environment and IT faculty administration offices in the Engineering Building 1, floor 6.
• Whatever formal route you choose for your application / registration, kindly inform the postgraduate coordinator of the fact that you will be applying, and indicate which person has agreed to be your supervisor. Applications received by the department that are not specifically linked to a supervisor in this way, will not be approved.

Overview

In this degree a student works under the guidance of a supervisor and is expected to identify and pursue a research project. Research results are to be fully reported in an PhD dissertation.

The department thus follows the system of PhD’s by research only, i.e. the degree is not module-driven, as is sometimes the case elsewhere.

Since a pure Computer Science research-oriented student does not have daily commitments (classes, etc.) it is not absolutely necessary to do this degree on a fulltime basis. However, it is highly desirable to do so, even if only for a limited period in order to get the research process going. Whatever mode of study the student chooses (full- or part-time), regular discussions and interaction with the supervisor are important. While this can sometimes take place electronically, it is also important to hold regular across-the-table discussions. Thus, staff will not normally enter into a supervisory relationship with a student who is not physically resident within reasonably proximity of the university.

The minimum registration period for a PhD is two years. In practice, almost all part-time students will take at least double this minimum time. Many full-time students, for one or other reason, also take a few months more than the minimum time.

The outcome of a PhD is a thesis that demonstrates to an examination panel that the student has the ability to independently plan, initiate, carry out and report on a scientific investigation. The research work done should be a significant and original contribution to the body of knowledge in the area of specialisation. Two articles should have been submitted to ISI journals before the end of the research period.

Fees

Please view the University of Pretoria Postgraduate Fees page for the latest information on fees.

Funding & Assistantships

For information on postgraduate funding, navigate to the Fees and Funding article on the UP webpage

The department has available a limited number of teaching and research assistantships that may be filled by South African citizens, or international citizens with valid work permits.

Admission Requirements

The prospective student should have passed an MSc degree in computer science (or equivalent) from an accredited university and should have obtained a mark of 70%.

N.B. Students from outside South Africa who apply for either PhD or MSc admission need to have their highest university qualification certified by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). This will indicate SAQA’s estimate of the qualification’s level, relative to similar South African qualifications. This certificate should be included in the documentation that is to accompany your application. Note, however, that in the light of the department’s high standards, SAQA’s assessment is not regarded as binding. The department reserves the right to make a more thorough assessment of the applicant’s academic transcript and to form an independent view of the applicant’s suitability for postgraduate studies, should this be deemed necessary.

Admission Procedure

If you want to do a PhD degree in this department, and if you meet the criteria for admission, then your immediate task is to identify a research area and potential supervisor. If you do not have a specific area that interests you, then you should spend time browsing through academic journals, the web, etc, until you identify some general area of interest. You might even identify some specific research project that you particularly want to undertake.

Once you have identified your chosen research area(s) and/or project, you should look for a potential supervisor who has appropriate interests and expertise. You should get in touch with that person and investigate the possibility of doing post graduate studies under his/her supervision. Some supervisors are in a position to propose specific research projects within their domain of expertise, while others might expect you to come up with a proposal for a research project on your own.

The relationship between student and supervisor is usually a reasonably close one, and it is important that the parties involved should get along. Because of this, there is a fairly widely accepted international protocol about how that relationship should proceed:

• A potential supervisor has a perfect right to turn down your request for supervision without being obligated to give reasons for doing so. These reasons may be work-load related; the supervisor may simply not feel comfortable with you as a person, or may not feel at ease with your proposed project. Whatever the case, most academics will not easily reject the opportunity of supervising post graduate studies, so be assured that you will not be rejected for trivial reasons.
• However, if your request is accepted, then the supervisor will continue to serve you in that capacity unless you withdraw and seek out someone else. Again, a student has a perfect right to withdraw in the early phases of a research project, perhaps moving on to some other supervisor. However, the student does not have the right to migrate work that might relate to a larger research project of one supervisor over to some other supervisor, unless there is general agreement amongst all parties about the matter. Thus, changing your supervisor may also mean starting over with a new research project.

Once you have found a supervisor, then and only then, should you start the more formal university application and registration processes:

• You first have to go through the process of applying for admission.
• Once your admission is formally approved by the department, then you will be able to register, and study fees will have to be paid.
• You can go through these processes online, or you can visit the Engineering, Built Environment and IT faculty administration offices in the Engineering Building 1, floor 6.
• Whatever formal route you choose for your application / registration, kindly inform the postgraduate coordinator of the fact that you will be applying, and indicate which person has agreed to be your supervisor. Applications received by the department that are not specifically linked to a supervisor in this way, will not be approved.