Computing Science and Digital Media

We aim to push the boundaries of theoretical and practical knowledge in Computing and offer novel thinking on how technology can enrich society and enable businesses to operate at the highest level.

Staff and research students engage in leading-edge research and commercial technology projects. Recent successes include work in areas of cloud computing, computational intelligence, data science and image analysis. Our world-class research is often in direct collaboration with industry, including major oil, pharmaceutical, and software companies. 

Multidiscipline Collaboration

Research and Teaching are inexorably linked and therefore we ensure that our high-quality research is integrated within our undergraduate and postgraduate teaching portfolios. This thereby allows those students to not only see the larger picture but also delve down into the science of novel knowledge creation. We also work closely with the School of Engineering. 

We welcome proposal submissions from students to undertake research in the following indicative areas, although other areas will be considered: 

• AI and  reasoning, text mining,​Human activity recognition - Professor Nirmalie Wiratunga         
• Computational Intelligence, Optimisation - Professor John McCall
• Information Retrieval - Dr Stewart Massie
• Big Data / Security / Machine Learning - Dr Hatem Ahriz
• Gaming / Gamification / Accessibility / Usability / Narrative / Ethics - Dr Michael Heron
• IR / Machine Learning - Dr Robert Lothian
• Constraint Programming - Dr Ines Arana
• Machine Learning, Image Processing Vision, Big Data Analytics - Dr Eyad Elyan
• HCI - Professor Patrik Holt
• Data Visualisation / IOT - Dr John Issaacs
• Computer Graphics - Dr Yang Jiang
• Wireless Communication - Dr Omar Al Kadri
• Computer Graphics/ Vision - Dr Yann Savoye

Normal entry requirements are a first or upper second class honours degree from a University of the United Kingdom, or from an overseas University, or degree equivalent qualification, subject to the approval of Robert Gordon University. Applicants holding qualifications other than those above shall be considered on their merits and in relation to the nature and scope of the proposed research programme. 

Applicants holding qualifications other than those above shall be considered on their merits and in relation to the nature and scope of the proposed research programme. Applicants will normally register for an MSc/PhD or MRes/PhD with transfer to PhD dependent on satisfactory progress. However, applicants who already possess a Master’s degree which includes a significant research component could be registered directly for a PhD, subject to a satisfactory research proposal, and clear evidence of research expertise. 

English Language

Any applicant whose first language or language of previous University-level instruction is not English must normally demonstrate competence in English. This should be a score of IELTS 6.5 or equivalent.

We accept a variety of in-country and secure English language tests, find out more:

Our Pre-Sessional English Programme (PSP) is available for students who have not yet reached the required English level and those who would like to improve their language competency.

Please note, some courses may require a higher standard of English than stated in this page. Contact admissions@rgu.ac.uk for further information.

For Academic Year 2021/2022

All UK/EU Students

• Full-time - £4,500 per academic year
• Part-time MPhil/PhD - £2,700 per academic year
• Part-time MRes/MSc by research - £2,250 per academic year

International Students

• Full-time - £16,510 per academic year
• Part-time MPhil/PhD - £9,906 per academic year
• Part-time MRes/MSc by research - £8,255 per academic year

For Academic Year 2020/2021

UK/EU Students

• Full-time - £4,407 per academic year
• Part-time MPhil/PhD - £2,645 per academic year
• Part-time MRes/MSc by research - £2,205 per academic year

International Students

• Full-time - £16,510 per academic year
• Part-time MPhil/PhD - £9,906 per academic year
• Part-time MRes/MSc by research - £8,255 per academic year

Additional Costs

The following course-related costs are not included in the course fees:

• The cost of books that you may wish to purchase
• Costs associated with your placement / study abroad
• Accommodation and living costs
• Printing

Alumni Discount

Robert Gordon University is delighted to offer a 20% loyalty discount on course fees for all alumni who have graduated from RGU.

Student Funding

Postgraduate students will normally make their own arrangements for payment of fees. However, there are a limited number of SAAS funded places on certain postgraduate courses.
There are also sources of funding that are applicable to categories of student.

Scholarships and Financial Awards

You may also qualify for a scholarship or financial award:

Disclaimer 

For new intakes course fees are reviewed and published annually for each mode of delivery. Tuition fees are fixed for the duration of a course at the rate confirmed in the offer letter.  For further information see:

All applications should be made via the University's online application for research students.

Our Research degrees usually start in February and October each year. There is no official deadline for you to submit your application, though we recommend you submit it as early as possible in order to ensure we can help you join us at your preferred time.

• Two academic references
• A transcript or mark sheet for all graduate qualifications
• A draft research proposal, or at least a short summary to indicate the potential area of research (Refer to Section 8 of the Application Form)

For applicants whose first language or language of university education is not English, applications must include:

• Certificate of English language competency score of IELTS 6.5 in each of the four test components (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking).
• Students who can demonstrate successful completion of tertiary (university or college) studies in a country whose national language is English, may be exempted from this requirement.