Postgraduate study
Edinburgh: Extraordinary futures await.

School: Informatics

About the School

Informatics is the study of natural and engineered computational systems. It encompasses the academic disciplines of computer science, software engineering, artificial intelligence and cognitive science.

Edinburgh’s School of Informatics is the largest academic centre of its kind in Europe and one of the UK’s most successful informatics research institutions. We have consistently been a leader in the field since the 1960s, when our first Professor of Computer Science was appointed and the Department of Artificial Intelligence was founded. You will join an exciting and vibrant academic community and develop the foundations for a successful career.

In the last Research Excellence Framework we were ranked first in the UK for research power in computer science and informatics (Research Fortnight REF 2014) with 85 per cent of our research rated 4* world leading or 3* internationally excellent on the overall quality profile. We're ranked in the top 30 in the world for computer science in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2018. Our size and strength support unparalleled breadth in our taught courses.

Making an impact

We lead the way in an exciting discipline that is central to a new enlightenment in scholarship and learning. Informatics is critical to the development of science, technology, culture and society. As a postgraduate student you will have the opportunity to make your own mark in the area that most interests and excites you.

Inspiring people

At the School of Informatics you can join in a collaborative learning environment with our distinguished staff, many of whom are world leaders. Our academics include Fellows of the Royal Society, the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Royal Academy of Engineering. We boast recent winners of the most prestigious awards in the field, including the Herbrand Award, the Blaise Pascal Medal and the Yangtze River Scholar award.

Exciting careers

Graduates from our programmes enjoy career success in a wide array of roles that shape our society, from developing the latest mobile technology to creating intelligent infrastructure. Many go on to work as project managers, researchers, software developers and consultants in the commercial sector (at firms such as Google, Amazon, Skyscanner or Adobe) or take up academic posts, often in Russell Group and US research universities such as MIT and Stanford. Some of our graduates have found success through start-up companies.

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About our degrees

We offer a range of options for postgraduate study: from professional qualifications to independent research, on-campus taught programmes to part-time, online study. Find out which graduate study option is right for you: