Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning courses are gaining popularity with every passing day. International students tend to move to countries like the UK, USA, Canada, etc., to pursue AI degree courses. This is because of the unavailability of quality courses in their own countries.
The United Kingdom is one of the top countries where universities offer AI courses. The degrees offered in this field are BSc in the case of undergrads and MSc for postgrads. Many renowned UK universities like the Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge offer AI courses. Let’s look at the top universities for AI in the UK.
List of Top Universities for AI in the UK
Cranfield University
This public university mainly offers postgraduate courses in technology. It is also one of the top universities for AI in the UK. It has campuses in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, and Shrivenham, Oxfordshire. Cranfield has many notable alumni like Warren East (CEO, Rolls Royce Holdings), Andy Bond (former CEO, Asda), Siddharth Lal (CEO, Eicher Motors), etc.
- AI course offered: MSc in Applied Artificial Intelligence
- Course duration: 2 years
- Tuition fee: about £22,000
Loughborough University
Established in 1909, this public research university offers both BSc and MSc courses for AI. Around 30,000 students apply to this university every year, out of which only 10-15% are selected.
Loughborough has many notable alumni in engineering, sports, acting, journalism, and more.
AI course details at Loughborough are:
| Master’s | Bachelor’s | |
| Course Offered | MSc in Artificial Intelligence and MSc in Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics | BSc (Hons) in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence |
| Course Duration | 1 year | 3-4 years |
| Tuition Fee | £26,500 | £25,700 |
Anglia Ruskin University
This university started as a school in 1858 and turned into an actual university in the year 1992. It has many campuses worldwide, with the head campus being in Cambridge. International students apply to Anglia for its two MSc courses and one BSc course in Artificial Intelligence.
AI course details at ARU are tabulated below:
| Master’s | Bachelor’s | |
| Course Offered | MSc in Artificial Intelligence and Big Data, MSc in Artificial Intelligence with Cyber Security | BSc (Hons) in Artificial Intelligence |
| Course Duration | 12 to 20 months and 12 months respectively | three years |
| Tuition Fee | £15,000 | £14,500 |
*Note: All tuition fees mentioned under courses are annual (for one year only).
University of Nottingham
University of Nottingham offers both undergrad and postgrad AI courses. It is one of the best universities for AI in the UK. In the year 2019, it was ranked under the top 10 for 19 subjects by Complete University Guides National Rankings. This public university offers a bachelor’s course and a Master’s course in artificial intelligence to international students.
AI course details at the University of Nottingham:
| Master’s | Bachelor’s | |
| Course Offered | MSc in Computer Science/ Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence) | BSc in Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence |
| Course Duration | 12 months | 3 years |
| Tuition Fee | £26,500 | £9,250 |
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter was formed in the year 1955 by merging a number of predecessor schools. The university has campuses in Exeter and Cornwall. Its Department of Mathematics and Computer Sciences offers a Master’s course in AI.
Course details:
- Name: MSc Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
- Course duration: One year
- Yearly tuition: £23,450
University of Leeds
This public university is the 5th largest university in the UK. Leeds has more than 35,000 students. It offers AI courses on different educational levels in many sessions in a year. Students pursuing AI courses at Leeds are provided by numerous specialist facilities like Twin Immersion Corp CyberGloves, a state-of-the-art cloud computing lab, etc.
Check out details about the AI courses offered by Leeds in the table below:
| Master’s | Bachelor’s | Certificate Course | |
| Course Offered | MSc in Advanced Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence), MSc in Artificial Intelligence (online) | MEng, BSc in Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence, BSc in Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence | Artificial Intelligence Postgraduate Certificate (online) |
| Course Duration | 12 months and 24 months resp. | 4 years and 3 years resp. | Eight months |
| Tuition Fee | £25,000 and £14,000 resp. | £24,250 | £5,400 |
The University of Manchester
With a strength of more than 40,000 students, the University of Manchester is, again, one of the largest in the UK. According to the university’s website, the BSc course for AI is unavailable for 2022. However, they offer an MSc course in the field, details of which are provided below.
- Course name: MSc ACS: Artificial Intelligence
- Duration: 12 months
- Course fee: £27,500
The University of Edinburgh
This university started in the year 1583, which makes it the 6th oldest university in the English-speaking world. It has given many notable alumni over the years, some of which are a good number of Nobel laureates and heads of government. The University of Edinburgh also happens to be one of the top universities for AI in the UK. Similar to some of the universities mentioned above, they offer both bachelor’s and Master’s programs for AI at Edinburgh. In the case of a Master’s degree, students can opt to pursue it part-time. Their options for the same result in a 2-year or 3-year course duration.
AI course details at the University of Edinburgh:
| Master’s | Bachelor’s | |
| Course Offered | MSc Artificial Intelligence | BSc Artificial Intelligence |
| Course Duration | 1 year: full-time 2 years: part-time 3 years: part-time | 4 years |
| Tuition Fee | £35,900 (1 year),£17,950 per year (2 years),£11,970 per year (3 years) | £30,400 per year |
The University of Southampton
Ranked in the top 100 universities in the world, the University of Southampton also makes it to the list of the top universities for AI in the UK. The university offers three AI courses. Two of these courses provide a Master of Engineering degree while the remaining course is for a Master of Science degree. There is no Bachelor’s course for AI at Southampton. However, there are many computer science courses at the undergrad level.
Master’s courses for AI at the University of Southampton:
| Master’s in AI at the University of Southampton | |||
| Course Offered | MSc in Artificial Intelligence | MEng in Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence | MEng in Electronic Engineering and Artificial Intelligence |
| Course Duration | 1 year | 4 years | 4 years |
| Tuition Fee | £28,000 | £23,720 | £23,720 |
Royal Holloway, University of London
RHUL is a public university that has 21 academic departments. It has a moderate strength of a bit over 10,000 students, which is less than most universities for AI in the UK. The university attracts international students from all over the world. There are students from at least 100 different countries at RHUL. It offers BSc and MSc courses in the field of computer science and artificial intelligence.
Details about MSc and BSc for AI at the Royal Holloway University of London are provided below:
| Master’s | Bachelor’s | |
| Course Offered | MSci in Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence) | BSc in Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence) |
| Course Duration | 4 years | three years |
| Tuition Fee | £23,200 | £23,200 |
FAQs on Top Universities for AI in the UK
How much does it cost to live in the UK while doing MSc in AI?
Apart from the tuition fee, the cost of living in the UK as a student can be Rs. 1.7 lacs to Rs. Three lacs a month. This amount includes accommodation, travel, food, and other miscellaneous expenses.
How much does it cost to study Artificial Intelligence in the UK?
In most UK universities, the tuition fee for MSc in AI is around £25,000 to £30,000 a year, while that for BSc is anywhere between £10,000 to £25,000 a year.
Can I study AI in the UK after class 12th?
There are many bachelor’s programs for Artificial Intelligence in the UK. In order to enroll, students must have scored at least 85% in their final high school examinations.
Do I need a bachelor’s degree in AI to get a Master’s in AI from the UK?
It is not mandatory to have a bachelor’s degree in AI to get a postgraduate degree in the same field. However, most universities prefer students with a numerically focused academic background. So students with a mathematics degree, computer science degree, or a physics degree are also considered.