This Master’s specialisation has a course load of 120 ECs (two years) and the programme combines foundational knowledge, specialised expertise, and real-world experience, culminating in an extended research project or internship. Within this Master's specialisation we offer three tracks of which students need to select one.
Compulsary AI courses
Artificial Intelligence is rapidly transforming society, raising important societal, ethical, and legal challenges. As an AI professional, you’ll need more than just technical skills—you’ll need a critical mindset and strong academic professionalism. All AI students follow a set of compulsory courses (18 EC) that provide this foundation, namely, advanced Academic & Professional Skills, Ethics for AI, AI Research Colloquium and a Personal and Professional Development Elective. These courses prepare you to responsibly contribute to the development and application of intelligent systems in a global context.
Specialisation courses
You will follow 15 EC of core courses for the Human Centered Intelligent Systems specialisation, with a focus on either Health care and engineering. These mandatory courses build the theoretical and practical foundation needed for advanced work in both tracks.
Track courses
You can further tailor your study with a focus on either Technology Design, Societal Impact of AI or AI & Digital Society, by choosing a track, that allow you to deepen your expertise.
Technology Design
This track (24 EC) focuses on artificial agents and devices that can understand the world, communicate or display, and interact from a human-centric point of view. This includes human-robot and human-machine interaction, computer vision, multimedia installations, natural language, interfaces, and sensorimotor technology.
You will study advanced computer vision algorithms (e.g., VAEs, GANs) and create virtual worlds, study advanced AI methods for robots that interact with humans, as well as design methods and experiments for evaluating their impact. You will work in interdisciplinary teams for experimentation using media technologies such as mobile apps, virtual reality or interactive installations. You will work with devices (e.g., tactile) that connect humans to machines. You will be introduced into state-of-the-art NLP, text and multimedia mining.
Societal Impact of AI
This track (24 EC) focuses on the development and practical application of AI that promotes human values. The highly interdisciplinary approach provides a technical knowledge of AI as well as a deeper understanding of the many ways it interacts with society and societal values.
You will learn about the societal expectations, hypes, concerns and debates surrounding recent or near future AI, and will be taught how to contribute to the calibration of expectations about AI. You will study the main aspects and phases of policy making and/or company management, as well as the general theories and approaches in applied ethics. You will learn how to communicate professionally with stakeholders regarding the research, design, development or application of AI. You will study how to translate complex practical requirements into a work plan for developing, improving or extending a computer program, design or artifact, with a focus on the expectations and concerns of societal stakeholders and their values.
Dual degree: AI & Digital Society
The AI & Digital Society track is a dual degree. It can be understood as an international variant of the track “Societal Impact of AI”. It effectively combines the content and learning goals of our track and that of the Master’s programme in Digital Society at the University of Glasgow. If you take part in this experience you will spend the first year in Nijmegen and the second year in Glasgow. This programme grants you two degrees in two years. If you are interested and want more information, feel free to contact the programme manager: Susanne van Helden (Susanne.vanHelden [at] ru.nl).
Free electives
In addition, you’ll have 18 EC of free electives, giving you the freedom to take any Master’s-level course at Radboud University or at a partner institution abroad. This flexibility allows you to shape your programme around your academic interests and career goals.
Research Project and Internship
To finalise your AI master's programme, you have the choice of either an Internship (15 EC) in combination with a Research Project (30 EC) or a single, larger Extended Research Project (45 EC). During the internship you have the chance to acquire additional AI relevant skills either at a research lab or at a company. During the Research Projects you get to put what you have learned during your master's programme into practice. You can perform your research work in the AI department, at other research departments at the University (e.g. the Behaviour Science Institute or Donders Institute) or at any external private or public actor involved in investigating, developing or regulating AI. You are also encouraged to go abroad for your internship and/or research project (previously students have gone to Stanford University in California and Aldebaran Robotics in Paris).