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MASc in Data Visualisation

In a digital, visual and rapidly changing world, data and data visualisations are key to how we know nature and society, communicate in science and organisations, and engage with publics. Visualisations - graphs, charts, networks and maps - are transforming how we understand data and algorithms, and they are today being positioned as key interfaces for communication, decision-making and engagement across media, science, industry, policy and advocacy. As a result of these developments, there is today growing demand for data visualisation expertise across science, business, media, tech, policy and advocacy sectors.

CIM’s new Data Visualisation MASc addresses this demand, opening-up new career opportunities through an interdisciplinary degree that connects technical and scientific aspects of data visualisation creation with socio-cultural, critical understanding. MASc students will learn how to design, develop, deploy and interpret data visualisations through methodological, conceptual and practice-based learning. During the degree, students build a data visualisation portfolio, demonstrating to employers how they can work with visualisation in, for example, data-intensive research, policy communication and/or public engagement.

During the programme you will develop:

  • End-to-end skills and joined-up understanding that enable you to design, create and code visualisations, work with data, and analyse and understand your data visualisations and those of others.
  • Critical, interdisciplinary perspectives required by employers, integrating expertise in tools, techniques, knowledges and methods of analysis which lead to a 360 view of what data visualisations are and do, and the limits of this medium.
  • A portfolio of work to kickstart your career progressed through diverse projects in your modules, a practice- or theory-led dissertation, and within the Data-Design Camp.
  • Expertise in the interactions between Data + Code + Design + Theory developed through learning to code as a basis for creating visualisations, as well as furthering your understanding of visualisations through critique and analysis.

What is an MASc?

The MASc is a flexible degree where students can customise their learning trajectory through interdisciplinary topics and modules that might usually be isolated to either MA or MSc qualifications. Through optional module choices, individual projects and the final project, you can tune your degree to suit your learning and career goals.

The core modules – 1. Visualisation Foundations, 2. Data Visualisation in Science, Culture and Public Policy and 3. Advanced Visualisation Design Labs – engage students with the diverse knowledge and skills required for designing, developing, deploying and interpreting data visualisations. Your studies will bring together topics from the Sciences, Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, drawing from fields as diverse as data science, digital humanities and human-centred design.You can find more information on core and optional modules below, alongside information on your 4. Final Project (Practical)

By studying Data Visualisation(s) as objects, methods and a subject, you will develop a range of skills:

  • Coding and software skills for visualisation
  • Design and visual analysis skills building on the fundamentals of data visualisation
  • Substantial design experience through project work
  • Analytical skills to conceptually frame and relate visualisation designs to wider societal, cultural, and political debates
  • Writing and communication skills for analysis/discussing technical content
  • Critical academic research skills with an interdisciplinary focus

Data Visualisation

(MASc/PGDip)

CIM’s new Data Visualisation MASc opens up new career opportunities through an interdisciplinary degree that connects technical and scientific aspects of data visualisation creation with socio-cultural, critical understanding.

Our other courses:

MA Digital Media and Culture

MSc Big Data and Digital Futures

MPhil/PhD Programmes

What our current students say:

By Wendy,
MASc Data Visualisation student 2023-24

"......The Data Visualisation MASc has opened up exciting pathways for my future career. Within two months of starting the degree, I had the opportunity to work as a Research Assistant at the University of Warwick and the University of Northampton, drawing me closer to my career aspirations. The support I have received at CIM has not only nurtured my personal confidence and development, but has also contributed to a new way of perceiving the world around me.

The comprehensive teaching methods and diverse range of topics explored within the Visualisation Foundation and Advanced Visualisation labs have encouraged the development of my unique academic identity, and equipped me with skills in R. I am confident that the unique blend experiences in the Data Visualisation MASc will enable me to offer an unparalleled perspective to my future career, and I am very grateful for having the opportunity to study at CIM.....''