Disclosure: Class Central is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

News

Imperial Announces Machine Learning Online Master’s on Coursera

Imperial College London, one of the world’s top-ten universities, has announced it will be launching an online master’s degree program in machine learning on Coursera, starting fall 2020.

Imperial College London building entrance

Today, Imperial College London announced it will be launching an online master’s degree in machine learning. The program will be offered on Coursera and will welcome its first learners cohort in fall 2020.

Imperial is ranked among the world’s top ten universities by QS and Times Higher Education. The degree will be the second offered by Imperial on Coursera: a year ago, they announced an online master’s degree in public health that is set to start in fall 2019.

Focus

The program will be the first MOOC-based degree fully dedicated to machine learning. Its closest competitor is Georgia Tech’s OMSCS, which leads to a degree in computer science but allows learners to specialize in machine learning.

The goal of Imperial’s degree will be to train engineers and researchers to meet the growing demand for machine learning specialists in fields ranging from analytics to bioinformatics.

Courses

The curriculum will cover fundamentals, such as computing and math; machine learning concepts, such as deep learning and statistical modeling; and tools, such as PySpark and PyTorch. The program will also delve into the ethics of machine learning applications.

Specific courses haven’t been revealed yet. But Imperial offers three Specializations on Coursera. The first and second cover public health and are part of their upcoming public health degree. And the third covers machine learning. So it’ll likely be part of their machine learning degree.

Admission & Cost

To be admitted, applicants will need a bachelor’s degree in computer science, math, physics, or economics. They’ll also likely have to submit academic transcripts, recommendations, and English proficiency scores.

Imperial will allow learners to complete relevant MOOCs on Coursera then transfer them for credit if they later join the program. This will likely apply to their existing Specialization, but it may also extend to other, yet-to-be-launched online courses or microcredentials.

Applications start dates haven’t been announced yet. But Imperial’s machine learning degree seems to follow the same schedule as their public health degree, just one year later:

Public Health MS Machine Learning MS
Announcement March 2018 March 2019
Applications Open January 2019 TBA
Launch September 2019 September 2020

 

So assuming this one-year lag is maintained, Imperial should start accepting applications for its machine learning degree around January 2020.

Fees haven’t been disclosed either. But, again, assuming Imperial prices its second degree like the first, it should cost around $15K in the UK and EU, and $25K elsewhere.

Manoel Cortes Mendez Profile Image

Manoel Cortes Mendez

Software engineer and online graduate student in computer science passionate about education, technology, and their intersection.

Comments 6

  1. Steve

    R U kidding me. It will cost 2/3 more if you are outside of the EU or UK!!!!!! If all of this can in fact be completed online then I smell greed pure and simple. A $10K premium for not being in the UK or EU is an insult to intelligence. I have a Masters in Computer Information Systems and have been the IT Manager for a NATO facility that war games WW III (Nuclear War) and this is the background from which I make the statements I have.

    Reply
  2. Arrow

    Very funny 25k , I think the school must think this stuff is a joke, I hope nobody registers for their shit

    Reply
  3. Radu Savutiu

    The whole point of earning a degree online is cost, in money and time.
    How on Earth has anyone come up with a 10-15-20-25k price for a few ONLINE classes. Let’s assume there are 8 (there won’t be) classes per semester. According to Coursera prices for each, it’s 50euro/month/course * 8 courses * (3.5+3.5 months) = 2,800 euro for the 1 year privilege of having a diploma.

    Let’s round that up to 3, 4, 5k at the most.
    Normally, we should be rounding up at the lower spectrum, since you should get a discount, but since it’s a diploma involved we can say 3-4k is enough.

    Reply
  4. KATLEHO

    THIS IS A DISADVANTAGE FOR THE POOR, ITS BAD!!

    Reply
  5. Roger

    Just terrible. They are literally abusing the current machine learning hype to fill up their greedy pockets. The prices are really outrageous.

    Reply
  6. Patrick O'Connor-Read

    Fee is £28,000 – https://www.coursera.org/degrees/msc-machine-learning-imperial

    This is is strategic mistake that doesn’t stack up against comparable programs.

    Reply

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. All comments go through moderation, so your comment won't display immediately.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Browse our catalog

Discover thousands of free online courses from top universities around the world like MIT, Stanford, and Harvard.

Browse all subjects