AI and Society (MASc/PGDip)

General entry requirements

Minimum requirements

2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent). As an interdisciplinary course, we welcome applications from diverse academic backgrounds.

English language requirements

You can find out more about our English language requirementsLink opens in a new window. This course requires the following:

• Band B
• IELTS overall score of 7.0, minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above.

International qualifications

We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications.

For more information, please visit the international entry requirements pageLink opens in a new window.

Academic References

We typically ask for one academic reference for taught courses.

You will be asked to include an email address for your referee(s) when submitting your application and we will contact them for you.

View our guide to academic references.Link opens in a new window

Additional requirements

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

Core modules

The course provides training in the foundations of deep learning - the use of multi-layered artificial neural network architectures in machine learning - enabling students to critically analyse and interrogate AI through working hands-on with AI models and systems.

This is combined with an introduction to social science and humanities research on the impacts of AI on contemporary society and culture, as well as the relevance of contemporary AI developments for these research fields themselves.

Students will be trained in the use of interdisciplinary methods like data mapping to analyse the interaction between AI science & innovation and society and culture.

Finally, the course will introduce students to the state-of-the-art in public policymaking and engagement in relation to AI tech innovation and its social impact. The training is enriched by a wide range of options that the students can choose from to tailor a trajectory that will suit their profiles and career plans.

Optional Core Modules

Optional modules

Optional modules vary from year to year, and students choose combinations worth 60 CATs (credits). The links below are to the 20-CAT (credit) versions, but many are available at 15 and 30 CATs. Example optional modules may include:

Teaching

Modules in this course make use of a range of teaching and learning techniques, including, for example:

• Blended learning including the use of an online virtual learning environment
• Student group and project work
• Lectures
• Coding labs
• Seminars
• Reading and directed critical discussion
• Independent research by students
• Practice-based activities

Class sizes

For this course, a typical workshop contains around 20-30 students, and a typical seminar around 16 students.

Typical contact hours

There are around 8-10 hours contact hours per week for this course, depending on type and number of optional modules chosen.

Assessment

A combination of essays, reports, design projects, technical report writing, practice assessments, group work and presentations and an individual research project (either as 10,000 word dissertation or as a 5000 word project with practice-led output).

Reading lists 

If you would like to view reading lists for current or previous cohorts of students, most departments have reading lists available through Warwick Library on the Talis Aspire platformLink opens in a new window. 

You can search for reading lists by module title, code or convenor. Please see the modules tab of this page or the module catalogueLink opens in a new window.  

Please note that some reading lists may have restricted access or be unavailable at certain times of year due to not yet being published. If you cannot access the reading list for a particular module, please check again later or contact the module’s host department.  

Your timetable

Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules, compulsory and optional, and you have been allocated to your lectures, seminars and other small group classes. Your compulsory modules will be registered for you, and you will be able to choose your optional modules shortly before joining us.

Your career

MASc in AI and Society students will graduate with a unique mix of an analytical and critical approach to AI, a technical grounding that enables them to interrogate and develop AI, and experience in approaching policy and governance implications of AI. With almost all organisations being transformed by AI in different ways, graduates from this MASc will be able to follow diverse career pathways. Whichever path they follow, graduates will be able to bring in a distinct, interdisciplinary outlook that builds on their comprehensive training. Students will be able to elect optional modules to develop in ways that fit their career objectives. Some exemplary profiles can be:

• AI Policy Researchers: Graduates will be well equipped to join policy teams in think tanks, civil society organization, as well as technology companies to offer advice on the risks and opportunities of the use of AI systems.
• AI Governance Researchers and Advisors: Graduate will be trained to work on governance and ethical challenges around AI, and this will enable them to apply to work for national governments, international organizations, as well as technology companies on AI governance.
• AI Developers: Graduates will be trained to work technically in designing and developing AI systems and can apply to positions as developers, systems designers and programmers.
• Data Scientists: Graduates will be able to work effectively with data and AI algorithms that operate on that data to generate insights and inform organisational decisions.
• AI Journalism: Graduates will have unique training not only in technical but also societal aspects of AI, as a result, they will be uniquely positioned to report on AI development.
• User Experience Designers: Graduates will be well positioned to work with product teams to not only develop AI systems but also engage with the wider social and political landscape of their deployment.
• AI Diversity, and Inclusion Advocates: Graduates will be trained to critically appraise AI, and in doing so introduced to debates around diversity, equity and inclusion in the design, development, deployment of AI.

How will the MASc programme support students’ employability?

The MASc will offer a range of initiatives to develop experiences and skills to help student employability, prepare them for future careers and enable them to apply their learning on real-world problems:

AI-Design Camp: A 1-week intensive AI-Design Camp will take place over the summer term where we invite NGOs, policy-focused organisations, and community groups to provide a brief for students to collectively work on in small groups. This will involve mini masterclasses in creative methods for technology/society engagement such as policy mapping, participatory research, situation analysis, data walks, design workshops. As part of the AI-design camp, experts from the collaborating organisations (some of which will also be offering placements) will do talks and showcases to offer students an opportunity to gain an understanding of how careers in AI are developing in different sectors.

Short placements: As a credit-bearing optional module, students will be able to undertake a 4 to 6 week-long placement working with a non-academic partner on a placement project. The topics will be provided by the non-academic partners in dialogue with the academic course team. Students on the placement module will then be matched with the placement provider partners.

Final project with optional placement: Students will have the choice between writing a research-based dissertation or doing a practice-based final project. In the latter case, the issue/problem that the students work with will be developed as a result of a dialogue between an external non-academic partner, the student and their academic supervisors, which may be supported by an optional placement.

Career development programme: CIM offers an active career development programme with talks from recent graduates, potential employers and career services professionals offering general careers advice.

Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies (CIM)

The Centre for Interdisciplinary Methodologies (CIM) was established at Warwick in 2012 to foster innovative and experimental forms of knowledge production through a sustained focus on methodology. CIM is dedicated to expanding the role of interdisciplinary methods through new lines of inquiry that cut across disciplinary boundaries, both intellectually and institutionally.

Method is central to the formation and transformation of disciplinary knowledges, and the challenge of working across and in between disciplines is both exciting and pressing. Our research team is drawn from across the Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences and Sciences, with expertise in a variety of substantive domains.

Within Warwick, CIM is an advocate of interdisciplinary research and study. Beyond Warwick and beyond the academy, CIM explores new forms of public engagement, both with potential research users and with the experts, experimenters and institutions in business, civil society and government that are at the forefront of applied methodological innovation.

Find out more about us on our website.Link opens in a new window

Our Postgraduate courses

• AI and Society (MASc/PGDip)
• Big Data and Digital Futures (MSc/PGDip)
• Data Visualisation (MASc/PGDip)
• Data Visualisation (PhD)
• Digital Media and Culture (MA)
• Interdisciplinary Studies (MPhil/PhD)

Tuition fees

Tuition fees are payable for each year of your course at the start of the academic year, or at the start of your course, if later. Academic fees cover the cost of tuition, examinations and registration and some student amenities.

Find your taught course fees  

Fee Status Guidance

We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Students will be classified as Home or Overseas fee status. Your fee status determines tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available. If you receive an offer, your fee status will be clearly stated alongside the tuition fee information.

Do you need your fee classification to be reviewed?

If you believe that your fee status has been classified incorrectly, you can complete a fee status assessment questionnaire. Please follow the instructions in your offer information and provide the documents needed to reassess your status.

Find out more about how universities assess fee status

Additional course costs

As well as tuition fees and living expenses, some courses may require you to cover the cost of field trips or costs associated with travel abroad.

For departmental specific costs, please see the Modules tab on the course web page for the list of core and optional core modules with hyperlinks to our Module Catalogue (please visit the Department’s website if the Module Catalogue hyperlinks are not provided).

Associated costs can be found on the Study tab for each module listed in the Module Catalogue (please note most of the module content applies to 2025/26 year of study). Information about module department specific costs should be considered in conjunction with the more general costs below:

• Core text books
• Printer credits
• Dissertation binding
• Robe hire for your degree ceremony

Scholarships and funding

CIM Bursaries 2026-27

Learn more about our MSc courses and funding options on our websiteLink opens in a new window.