Cardiff Metropolitan University MSc Data Science 2026:Admission,Fees,Scholarship and Placement

Cardiff Metropolitan University Master of Science in Data Science and Analytics is a 12 to 18-month full-time course at Llandaff Campus in Cardiff. For January 2027, entry requires a relevant United Kingdom 2:2 equivalent degree, approximately 50% to 60% in India, and tuition is £17,600 (INR 22.34 Lakhs).

The curriculum combines big data systems, predictive modelling, programming, visualisation, information security and a 40-credit technology dissertation using applied datasets. It best suits computing or information-systems graduates who want project-based preparation and can manage coursework, presentations, practical assessments and independent dissertation work.

• BCS (The Chartered Institute for IT) accreditation partially meets the academic requirement for Chartered IT Professional registration.
• IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology) accreditation provides Further Learning for Chartered Engineer registration with an appropriately accredited first degree.
• September and January starts create scheduling choice, while a separate three-year part-time route supports applicants who need slower progression.

Also Check: Cardiff Metropolitan University Data Science admission

Cardiff Met Data Science Fees and Living Costs 2027

The January 2027 international course fee is £17,600 (INR 22.34 Lakhs) for this 180-credit master’s route. Cardiff Met publishes this amount for 2026/27 postgraduate master’s courses lasting one to two years.

Target cycle: The table uses the official 2026/27 international fee applying to the January 2027 intake.

All INR conversions in the article use a conversion rate of £1 = INR 126.94 as of 25 October 2026. Rates fluctuate daily, verify before applying.

Source: Cardiff Metropolitan University international fee schedule for 2026/27.

The published tuition is the gross liability because scholarship awards are confirmed only at offer stage. Applicants should therefore arrange funding against £17,600 (INR 22.34 Lakhs) and treat any later award as a reduction.

Cost of Living in Cardiff for Data Science Students

Cardiff Met’s 2026/27 planning guide gives a self-catered Plas Gwyn hall example plus essential spending estimates. The guide is undergraduate-labelled, so it is a budgeting reference rather than a postgraduate cost guarantee.

Official planning basis: Accommodation covers 42 weeks, while the published annual essential-cost figures cover 39 weeks.

The calculated first planning-period budget is £27,158.63 (INR 34.48 Lakhs). It combines £17,600 tuition (INR 22.34 Lakhs) with £9,558.63 (INR 12.13 Lakhs) in published living estimates.

This planning illustration excludes any living months beyond the source periods, visa charges and travel to India. Applicants must price those items separately before accepting an offer.

Read More: cost of living in the United Kingdom

ROI reality: Budget at least £27,158.63 (INR 34.48 Lakhs) for tuition and the official first planning period, then fund any uncovered months before accepting the offer.

Cardiff Met Data Science Admission 2027

Admission requires a relevant undergraduate degree at UK 2:2 level or a suitable professional qualification. The Programme Director judges subject relevance from the transcript and may request an interview.

January 2027 entry: Cardiff Met publishes no work-experience, Graduate Management Admission Test or Graduate Record Examinations requirement for this course.

Cardiff Met’s India guidance recognises bachelor’s degrees in Arts, Science, Commerce, Engineering, Law, Education and other professional subjects from recognised institutions. However, the Data Science programme still requires relevance, so recognition alone does not establish subject fit.

Applicants from adjacent quantitative fields should identify programming, databases, statistics or analytical projects already visible in their record. That evidence helps the selector assess readiness for big-data technologies, predictive modelling and the 40-credit dissertation.

English Language Requirements

The course requires International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic 6.0 overall with no component below 5.5 or an accepted equivalent. Cardiff Met also publishes revised Test of English as a Foreign Language scores.

Current test policy: The scores below are the published route for courses carrying the IELTS 6.0 requirement.

• Secure English tests must come from a United Kingdom Visas and Immigration-approved centre and remain within two years of the course start date.
• Applicants using an unlisted Indian board must take an accepted secure English language test.
• Applicants without a bachelor’s degree cannot use the postgraduate school-English exemption and must submit a secure test.

The English waiver can remove testing cost, but it creates a document dependency because the school result and degree attestation must support the same application. Secure both before submission if using this route.

Tip for Indian students: Treat the approximate 2:2 conversion as planning guidance because Cardiff Met makes the equivalency decision. Show technical relevance through transcript evidence and project detail.

Cardiff Met Data Science Application 2027

Applications for January 2027 are open, and international postgraduate applicants apply directly to Cardiff Met. The final course-application deadline is 20 November 2026 at 12 noon United Kingdom time.

January 2027 Application Timeline

Cardiff Met publishes four international deadlines before the postgraduate start date of 25 January 2027. Each noon cutoff equals 17:30 IST, but the university’s United Kingdom time controls portal acceptance.

Confirmed international schedule: Every date below belongs to the January 2027 intake and applies across regions.

• Prepare final transcripts and English evidence before 20 November because the condition deadline follows only seven calendar days later.
• Keep deposit funds liquid before the offer arrives because the payment amount and exact deadline will appear in that offer.
• Allow visa-document time before 18 December because Cardiff Met requires the application record in CAS Shield before enrolment.

September 2027 Alternative Intake

The second live start has India-specific postgraduate deadlines and begins on 20 September 2027. Its published noon cutoffs equal 16:30 IST during British Summer Time.

Confirmed India schedule: This alternative is useful when January preparation is too compressed, although courses may close earlier if capacity is reached.

Documents and Submission Route

The international student application form accepts the application and supporting uploads. Cardiff Met requests academic certificates, transcripts, a personal statement, English evidence and one educational reference.

Applicants relying on professional experience provide two employer references, while sponsored students add funding evidence. Hard copies are unnecessary unless Cardiff Met requests them after reviewing the electronic file.

The university publishes no decision date for this intake, so the four operational cutoffs should drive preparation. A relevant transcript and evidence-led statement reduce the risk of an avoidable condition near the later deadlines.

Application tip: Submit before 20 November 2026 with academic relevance already documented. The seven-day condition window leaves little room to retrieve missing Indian university records.

Cardiff Met Data Science Scholarships 2027

Cardiff Met automatically considers international applicants for its 2026/27 scholarships, with any award confirmed in the offer letter. Applicants do not submit a separate scholarship form.

The two broadly usable reductions have different conditions, so neither should enter the initial funding plan before written confirmation. Both require full-time on-campus study and compliance with the offer’s deposit deadline.

Target-cycle funding: The published values below apply to eligible international entrants paying the 2026/27 postgraduate master’s fee.

The Vice Chancellor Scholarship is restricted to taught postgraduate courses carrying the £17,600 (INR 22.34 Lakhs) fee, including this MSc category. Recipients must be self-funded and cannot hold another Cardiff Met scholarship.

Cardiff Met alumni studying a campus master’s may instead receive a 20% Alumni Scholarship, including eligible graduates of transnational education partners. Its alumni condition makes it unsuitable for a first-time Cardiff Met applicant.

• Budget the full £17,600 (INR 22.34 Lakhs) until the offer letter confirms an award and its conditions.
• Use academic results, relevant projects and professional evidence to strengthen automatic Vice Chancellor Scholarship consideration.
• Plan any early full-fee payment only after confirming that the discount remains compatible with the awarded scholarship.

A calculated maximum combination of the first two reductions is £4,500 (INR 5.71 Lakhs), leaving £13,100 (INR 16.63 Lakhs) tuition. This is a best-case calculation, not a promised award.

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Scholarship reality: Automatic consideration simplifies the process, but funding is confirmed only in the offer. Keep £17,600 (INR 22.34 Lakhs) available until that written decision arrives.

Cardiff Met Data Science Salary 2027

Cardiff Met publishes no course-specific salary, offer rate or sector mix for this MSc. The closest official evidence combines university-wide 2025 Graduate Outcomes with a separate United Kingdom data-scientist market range.

Employment Evidence and Scope

The university-wide survey measures graduates 15 months after completion, so it demonstrates institutional outcomes rather than this course’s placement probability. It should not replace role-specific research.

Published 2025 cohort evidence: These measures cover Cardiff Met graduates across subjects and are not Data Science cohort outcomes.

Source: Cardiff Metropolitan University report on the 2025 Graduate Outcomes release.

The curriculum supports roles such as data analyst, data scientist, data engineer and information officer through predictive modelling, programming and visualisation. However, these are stated pathways rather than reported placements.

Salary Benchmark and ROI

The United Kingdom National Careers Service reports a £32,000 to £83,000 range (INR 40.62 Lakhs to INR 1.05 Crore) for data scientists. This external benchmark spans starter to experienced workers and is not Cardiff Met graduate pay.

External labour-market benchmark: The range describes the occupation nationally, not the January 2027 MSc cohort.

Source: United Kingdom National Careers Service data scientist profile.

The first planning-period cost is £27,158.63 (INR 34.48 Lakhs), before visa charges, travel and uncovered living months. Course-specific salary evidence is absent, so a defensible payback period cannot be calculated.

• The 2025 university-wide 94.4% outcome cannot predict MSc placement, so request course-level destination evidence before paying the deposit.
• The £32,000 starter benchmark (INR 40.62 Lakhs) is gross market evidence, so test realistic take-home pay against the verified budget.
• The 18-month Graduate visa window applies after this course, so begin portfolio building during taught modules rather than after graduation.
• A maximum £4,500 reduction (INR 5.71 Lakhs) depends on award confirmation, so assess ROI using gross tuition first.
• An India-return plan needs Indian role and salary evidence because the United Kingdom benchmark cannot support that decision.

Actual take-home pay depends on tax code, pension choices and earnings; use the official income tax estimator before modelling cash flow. Do not treat the experienced salary endpoint as an entry outcome.

Read More: Data Science master’s options in the United Kingdom

ROI reality: The curriculum targets relevant technical roles, but published course-level outcomes are missing. Commit only if the gross cost remains workable without assuming the external salary range.

UK Visa for Cardiff Met Data Science Students 2027

The Student visa costs £558 (INR 70,833), while the Immigration Health Surcharge is £776 yearly (INR 98,505). Applicants must separately evidence £10,827 (INR 13.74 Lakhs) for nine months outside London and hold it for 28 consecutive days.

• Degree-level Student visa holders can work 20 hours weekly during term, but that income should not fund the required maintenance evidence.
• Graduates applying after 1 January 2027 receive an 18-month Graduate visa, so January 2027 entrants should schedule their job search within that window.
• Switching to Skilled Worker status generally requires £41,700 yearly (INR 52.93 Lakhs) or the applicable occupation rate, followed by five qualifying years for settlement.
• Taught master’s students generally cannot bring dependants unless they qualify under the government-sponsored course exception lasting more than six months.

Read More: United Kingdom Student visa process

Visa reality: The 18-month post-study window is shorter than the former two-year route. Build a portfolio and employer pipeline before completing the 40-credit dissertation.

Cardiff Met Data Science Ranking 2027

Cardiff Metropolitan University is 101st of 118 institutions in the Complete University Guide 2027 Computer Science table. This is a broad subject ranking rather than an MSc Data Science ranking.

Published subject evidence: The previous edition placed Cardiff Met 93rd, making the current movement visible without implying a course-level change.

The eight-place movement does not establish weaker teaching in this specific master’s course because the table aggregates broader Computer Science measures. Prioritise module fit, accreditation and course-level career evidence when deciding.

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Honest take: Use the 101st subject position as context, not as an MSc outcome measure. The applied 180-credit curriculum is more directly relevant to academic fit.