Postgraduate Study
The courses offered by the Programme may be used as credit towards a Masters' degree (MSc) from University of Oxford. There are two Masters' awards available, the MSc in Software Engineering, and the specialised MSc in Software and Systems Security. Both awards require the successful completion of 10 courses, together with a Masters'-level project and dissertation.
Any course in the Programme can be used towards either MSc; however, candidates will need to choose the majority of their courses from their chosen theme, and complete a project and dissertation in the same area. Candidates may ask to transfer between the two qualifications during their period of study: the initial choice of award aim is not binding.
Applications are invited from anyone with sufficient experience or proven ability in the relevant field. A typical applicant in SE might have an undergraduate degree in a related subject, and at least two years' experience of software development in an industrial context; a typical applicant in S&SS might have a similar background in systems security. However, relevant experience can compensate for a lack of any formal qualifications, and vice versa.
Both MScs are accredited by the British Computer Society, The Chartered Institute for IT for the purposes of partially meeting the academic requirement for registration as a Chartered IT Professional and Chartered Engineer. Individual courses can be used as credit in the IEE, IAP and BCS continuing professional development schemes; they also have a CATS value of 15 points for credit transfer between postgraduate programmes.