NCI Course Details

This honours degree will equip students with the skills to apply computing and analytical science in the pursuit of discovering new information by identifying patterns in data.

The course is practical in nature, providing you with knowledge of the way data science can solve real problems and facilitate business decisions based on evidence. It also incorporates work placement in a company, which will significantly improve your skills and enhance your employability. Due to the shortage of suitably qualified data science professionals in Ireland and internationally, this degree offers exceptional job prospects for graduates.

As a graduate of this course you will be able to:

• Understand how data can be valuable and can help solve business problems and facilitate business decisions.
• Apply data transformation, modelling, mining and machine learning techniques to analyse and derive new knowledge and insight from data.
• Design and implement data science algorithms and applications that solve real-world problems.
• Effectively visualise and communicate the results of data analysis to support business decision-making.
• Adopt appropriate professional, ethical, legal, security and privacy principles in the construction and implementation of data science solutions.

Dr. Arghir-Nicolae Moldovan, Programme Director of the BSc (Honours) in Data Science at National College of Ireland, discusses the structure of the course, the benefits of studying data science, the employment opportunities the course offers along with the support the college provides for our students in the video below.

Year 1

Semester 1

• Computational Thinking
• The Computing Industry
• Problem Solving and Programming Concepts
• Discrete Mathematics
• Introduction to Data Science

Semester 2

• Introduction to Data Modelling & Databases
• Computing Systems
• Programming I
• Statistics I

Year 2

Semester 1

• Programming II
• Advanced Databases
• Data Visualisation
• Statistics II

Semester 2

• Linear Algebra
• Data Mining & Machine Learning
• IT Project Management
• Programming III

Year 3

Semester 1

• Data Architecture
• Scalable Data Analytics
• Advanced Machine Learning

One elective from the following:

• Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence
• Artificial Intelligence

Semester 2

Work Placement* *Full six months within an organisation

OR

Academic Internship

Year 4

Semester 1

• Data Science Project

Two electives from the following:

• Systems Modelling, Simulation & Optimization for Analytics
• Strategic Data Analysis • Neural Networks and Prescriptive Analytics
• Text Analytics

Semester 2

• Data Science Project
• Data Governance, Security & Ethics

One elective from the following:

• IoT Real Time Analytics
• Time Series and Financial Analytics
• Healthcare Analytics

Electives may include prerequisites, are subject to change, and availability is subject to class sizes.

For information on the modules taught on this course view our module descriptors.

This course will appeal to students who are interested in developing computing and numeracy skills and pursue a career in data science. The course is for school leavers, mature students, and graduates of QQI level 5/6 programmes who wish to embark on a course of full-time study.

This undergraduate course is a four-year honours degree. The course is run over eight semesters with continuous assessment held throughout and examinations at the end of each semester.

On completion you will receive a QQI BSc (Honours) Degree in Data Science at level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications. The course also prepares students for industry-recognised certification in leading technologies.

The course is industry focused with a six-month work placement in the third year. NCI students are highly sought after and complete their work experience in companies like Microsoft, Eir, AIB, Irish Life, Vodafone, Intel, Citi, SAP and Workday.

Graduates from the BSc (Honours) in Data Science will complete a six-month work placement in industry and on graduation can go on to work with a variety of organisations including multinationals, financial services and professional services companies. Related data science roles include data scientist, business intelligence analyst, customer insight lead, risk analyst, knowledge engineer, and data programmer.

According to a recent Higher Education Outcomes Report released by the CSO, ICT graduates in 2010 had the highest median earnings 10 years after graduation compared to other sectors based on the analysis of the destinations of students who graduated between 2010 and 2019

Upon successful completion of the BSc (Honours) in Data Science, graduates can progress to postgraduate courses in computing at level 9 on the National Framework of Qualifications such as the MSc in Data Analytics, MSc in Cybersecurity, MSc in Cloud Computing, MSc in Fintech or the MSc in Artificial Intelligence at National College of Ireland.

CAO Points Guide:* 260 AQA**

*For each course we have given a guideline based on our points over the past 3 years. This is a guide only, points vary each year.

**This course was listed under CAO’s Available Places facility in 2022. All applicants who met the entry requirements could apply for the course regardless of points achieved. To find out more about Available Places visit cao.ie.

The CAO course code is NC025.

Students must obtain a minimum of 3 distinctions and a full award and meet the CAO points requirements to apply for this Level 8 course. 

Visit our QQI Applicants page for further information.

Minimum entry requirements are a grade H5 and above in two higher level subjects together with a minimum of O6 in four other subjects. A minimum of grade H5 must be obtained in Mathematics. A minimum of grade O6 must be obtained in English.

For applicants whose first language is not English, please note the English language entry requirements.

Mature applicants, applicants with a disability or those apply through the DARE or HEAR access schemes can find out more information on the application process. 

Please note that exams can be scheduled during the morning, afternoon or evening Monday to Saturday.

Alternative Maths Exam

NCI will be offering a mathematics qualifying exam for students who would like to pursue the BSc (Honours) in Data Science. This provides prospective students a second chance or an alternative way to meet the required mathematics standard of H5 in Leaving Certificate Maths for the BSc Honours in Data Science.

NCI strongly advises that all students should have access to a suitable laptop for their course. A student Laptop Loan Scheme may be available for certain eligible students.

The College recommends the following laptop requirements for students joining this course:

Processor:

Intel 7th (or higher) generation processors (Core i-3, i-5, i-7,i-9-7x)
or AMD Ryzen 3rd generation processors, running at 2.0GHz and above (Intel Atom/Celeron or AMD Athlon/Sempron Processors may cost less, but may not meet your requirements)

Random Access Memory (RAM):
8 GB minimum

Solid State Drive (SSD) Capacity:
256 GB minimum

Wireless Card:
802.11 a/b/g/n compliant with Bluetooth Capability (incompatibilities have been noted with the Qualcomm Atheros Wireless Adapters and software device drivers)

Graphics Card:
Direct X9 or later

Supported Operating Systems:
Windows 10 Home/Pro

This course qualifies under the Free Fees Initiative and the Student Grant Scheme.

Did you know you can apply for a Sports Scholarship at NCI?

Watch this video to hear from our current sports scholars Stephen Achukwu (basketball) and Adam Leonard (football):

The fees for this course for international students is €10,000 per year.

Find out more about studying here as an international student.