2021/22 Taught Postgraduate Programme Catalogue

MSc High-Performance Graphics and Games Engineering

Total credits: 180

Entry requirements:

First degree in Computer Science at 2(i) classification or higher.

School/Unit responsible for the parenting of students and programme:

School of Computing

Examination board through which the programme will be considered:

School of Computing

Relevant QAA Subject Benchmark Groups:

All students will also meet the requirements set out in the QAA Computing Benchmark, being able to:
- present proficiently to a range of audiences (orally, electronically or in writing) rational and reasoned arguments that address a given information handling problem or opportunity.
- recognise the professional, economic, social, environmental, moral and ethical issues involved in the sustainable exploitation of computer technology and be guided by the adoption of appropriate professional, ethical and legal practices.
- evaluate systems in terms of general quality attributes and possible trade-offs presented within the given problem.
- proficiently analyse and apply a range of concepts, principles and practice of the subject in an appropriate manner in the context of loosely defined scenarios, showing effective judgement in the selection and use of tools and techniques
- produce work involving problem identification, the analysis, the design or the development of a system, with accompanying documentation, recognising the important relationships between these.
- apply appropriate practices within a professional, legal and ethical framework and identify mechanisms for continuing professional development and lifelong learning
- explain a wide range of applications based upon the body of knowledge.

Programme specification:

Games development is a major international industry with an annual turnover estimated £100B worldwide, with £2B in the UK. Compared to competitor nations (US, Canada, Australia), the UK has very few graphics groups in Universities, with even fewer in Russell Group institutions: one estimate is that there are ~20 research-active UK academics in graphics. The largest concentration of these is in UCL, Bath and Bournemouth whose programmes are primarily aligned with the visual effects (VFX) and production industry. While there is overlap in fundamental skills, the two industries also have quite distinct sets of training requirements.

This gap is critical, because changes in computer hardware and the need to deliver new experiences means that there is a skills shortage - worldwide - in graduates who have the expertise in graphics and parallel hardware to drive future success of the industry. The effect of this gap on the UK industry was highlighted back in 2011 by a NESTA report by the games and VFX industries, but the very low numbers of academics with the expertise to deliver in this space has limited the response from possible competitors.

Year1 - View timetable

[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]

Compulsory modules:

Candidates will be required to study the following compulsory modules:

Optional modules:

Candidates will be required to study 30 credits from the following optional modules:

Last updated: 22/10/2021 17:11:36

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