Course Information course information
About
We are offering a limited number of free places on our Postgraduate Certificate in Artificial Intelligence, fully funded by the Department for the Economy.
Artificial Intelligence is a core discipline within Computer Science; however, it has applications in almost every industry sector including, but not limited to, Health, Financial Technology, Advanced Manufacturing, Media, Energy, Civic Society and Public Policy.
The UK will need a larger workforce with deep AI expertise, and more development of lower level skills to work within the domain. This specialist programme has been developed in response to evidence of demand from industry and business for upskilling of staff in the area of AI and addresses a clear gap in the marketplace for postgraduate study.
The PgCert Artificial Intelligence programme is aimed to provide students with a deep understanding of a number of fundamental Artificial Intelligence topics both in theory and practice, as well as providing the opportunity for students to experience advanced and emerging Artificial Intelligence techniques, the potential of Artificial Intelligence and its effective deployment in a wide range of systems and applications.
There are also opportunities for graduates from the PgCert Artificial Intelligence to embark on further research by enrolling for PhD study affiliated with the research centres within the School of Computing.
The course content has been informed by internationally leading research being conducted in the School and by our strong industry partnerships. The UK will need a larger workforce with deep AI expertise, and more development of lower level skills to work within the domain.
The School of Computing at Ulster University holds Athena Swan Bronze Award since 2016 and is committed to promote and advance gender equality in Higher Education. We particularly welcome female applicants, as they are under-represented within the School at postgraduate taught courses.
Attendance
Each module is timetabled 5 hours per week, typically starting mid-afternoon on a weekday including lectures, tutorials and practicals for the taught components of the course. Student can undertake 1 or 2 module(s) to study per semester.
Start Date
September 2025 (Part-Time)
Duration
Part-Time: Two semesters (8 months study)
Teaching, learning and assessment
Teaching is delivered through lectures, directed tutorials, seminars, and practical sessions, some of which are by industry professionals / researchers.
The course is assessed by 100% coursework
Career Options
Graduates from the course, with the advanced computing skills, will be well placed to progress into a wide variety of careers, across a range of industrial settings and application domains.
There are also opportunities for graduates from this course to embark on further study by continuing to MSc in Computer Science or enrolling for PhD study affiliated with the research centres within the School of Computing.
Contact
Dr. Shuai Zhang - Course Director
Email: s.zhang@ulster.ac.uk
Modules
The Postgraduate Certificate award consists of three compulsory taught modules (totalling 60 credits)
Data Science and Machine Learning
This module provides an overview of Data Science process/pipeline. It provides systematic understanding of mathematical and statistical knowledge for explorable data analysis (EDA) and to understand the foundations of supervised and unsupervised machine learning algorithms, and with the practical programming skills to apply them to real world datasets. The module discusses the constraints that needs to be considered when designing, implementing, evaluating and visualising solutions to real-world complex problems.
Knowledge Engineering
This module will cover modern topics in a classical field of artificial intelligence, including knowledge representation and reasoning (deductive and inductive), and their effective utilisation in e.g. decision making, automated reasoning and formal verification, and semantic web. Students will gain deep understanding of key concepts and principles, and gain practical skills in critically evaluating and effectively building knowledge-based applications.
Emerging and Advanced Topics in AI
This module will cover cutting-edge topics in the field of artificial intelligence, including recent advances in AI theory, algorithms and applications, as well as issues such as privacy, fairness and ethics in artificial intelligence. In doing so a number of examples of advanced AI systems and applications are reviewed. Students will gain deep understanding of key concepts, principles, and challenges, and gain practical skills in critically evaluating and effectively building AI-based applications. The module will also help students develop their skills in independent learning, research skills, writing, as well as practical skills in using software to reproduce results from the literature.
Entry Requirements
Academic qualifications
Applicants must:
(a) have gained
(i) a second class honours degree or better, in the subject areas of Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, Physics or closely related discipline, from a university of the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland, or from a recognised national awarding body, or from an institution of another country which has been recognised as being of an equivalent standard; or
(ii) an equivalent standard (normally 50%) in a Graduate Diploma, Graduate Certificate, Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma or an approved alternative qualification excluding Conversion courses; and the qualification must be in the subject areas of Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, Physics or closely related discipline.
and
(b) provide evidence of competence in written and spoken English (GCSE grade C or equivalent). For applicants whose first language is not English the minimum English language requirement is an Academic IELTS 6.0 with no band score less than 5.5, Trinity ISE: Pass at level III or equivalent English language tests comparable to IELTS equivalent score.
Eligibility
Places are limited and open to applicants who:
- are over 18 years of age;
- are eligible to work in Northern Ireland;
- are ‘settled’ in Northern Ireland, and has been ordinarily resident in the UK for at least three years; or
- are a person who has indefinite leave to enter or remain in the UK.
- meet the course specific entry requirements. See course pages for requirements.
- meet the Ulster University general entry requirements
Applications will open on 2 June and will close on 22 June
There are a limited number of places on the course. Offers will be extended to those applicants who meet the entry requirements following successful completion of the application process. Applications will no longer be accepted or processed once all offers are extended.
When creating your application you will need to have the following documents saved electronically as they need to be uploaded as part of the application process:
- Passport
- Evidence on meeting three year residency in NI/ROI
- Degree Certificate
- English Competency (If you have a degree from UK/ROI, you don't need to provide anything else)
- Statement of Purpose*
- BRP - If applicable
* Statement of Purpose - this should be no more than an A4 page and should provide details of what you hope to gain from studying this course. This may be to used to assist the course team in the allocation of places, in the event that the number of applicants who meet all other requirements exceed the number of available funded places.
