Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence

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Fact sheet

The Master's

The Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence programme at KU Leuven explores and builds on fascinating challenges. For many years, it has provided an internationally acclaimed advanced study programme on artificial intelligence. The multidisciplinary programme trains students from a variety of backgrounds – including engineering, sciences, economics, management, psychology, and linguistics – in all areas of knowledge-based technology, cognitive science, and their applications. The one-year programme, taught entirely in English, is the result of a collaboration between many internationally prominent research units from seven different faculties of the university.

With my background in engineering in computer science, the Master of Artificial Intelligence has greatly broadened my perspectives. Aside from robot and game AI, I was mainly fascinated by the ability of machine-learning techniques to learn prediction models and to extract relevant information from huge amounts of data. Although these techniques can be applied to a wide range of applications, I decided to specialize in bio-informatics. I pursued my PhD research at KU Leuven on using machine-learning techniques for biomedical data analysis in several cancer applications in collaboration with the U.Z.Leuven. Consequently, I got the opportunity to do postdoctoral research at Harvard University and MIT. In a biomedical project, we found for the first time distinct physiological states of the malaria parasite in malaria-infected patients using machine learning techniques.
- Nathalie Pochet

My profile

As a student, you should be able to formulate research goals, determine trajectories that achieve those goals, collect and select information relevant to achieving research goals, and critically interpret collected information. If you select the ECS option, you are expected to be familiar with basic undergraduate-level mathematics. Successful completion of the programme should enable you to understand the concepts, methods, and applicability of the fundamentals of artificial intelligence, the basics of neuroscience, neural computing, and cognitive science as well as the philosophical aspects of artificial intelligence. You will become familiar with AI programming languages and several advanced areas of AI, including current research trajectories.

Admission requirements

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Study programme

The Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence is an advanced 60-credit academic programme. The programme can be completed on a one-year, full-time basis or a two-year, part-time basis. A basic introductory part of the programme consists of the fundamentals of artificial intelligence, cognitive science, philosophy of mind and artificial intelligence.

Within the programme, students choose between two options:

• Engineering and Computer Science (ECS)
   
• Speech and Language Technology (SLT)
   

Each option contains a number of mandatory and elective courses, a computer programming component, and a Master's thesis.

The ECS option is intended for students with a background in engineering or exact sciences. After an introduction to basic AI concepts, tools, and areas of application, topics of focus include advanced programming languages, knowledge-based systems, artificial neural networks, robotics, computer vision, machine learning, data mining, support vector machines, bioinformatics, genetic algorithms and evolutionary computation, multi-agent systems, and others.

The central focus of the LS option is the processing of natural language, both in its written and spoken forms. The programme offers a solid linguistic basis covering the fields of syntax, semantics, morphology, phonetics, and lexicography and continues with advanced courses in natural-language processing, speech recognition and speech synthesis.

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Assets

Investigating the true nature of intelligence is one of today’s most fascinating research avenues. Advances in the study of cognitive processes and models, natural language and perception, human knowledge, representation, and reasoning attest to this.
 

Relatedly, one of the scientific community’s key research objectives is the development of an intelligent robot, that is, a robot that can perceive and communicate using natural language, collect information using vision, sensors, and movement, plan ahead and act based on this information, assimilate new knowledge from experience and interaction with its environment and, in general, perform tasks considered typical for intelligent human beings.

“My interest in artificial intelligence (AI) emerged during the completion of my Master's degree in psychology and statistics at the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium) in 1999 and 2000, respectively. I was very glad to enter the Master of Artificial Intelligence (MAI) at KU Leuven to satisfy this interest. I enrolled in this programme in 2002 as a part-time student, and completed it in 2004 (cognitive science). Since then, I have been a PhD student in psychology at the University of Memphis (TN, USA) working as a research assistant at the Institute for Intelligent Systems.

Of all the educational programmes I have followed, the MAI is among the most challenging, diverse, and interesting. Not only did it satisfy my goals as a growing cognitive scientist (confronting me with various computer science frameworks and methodologies completely unknown to me, as well as with advanced theories in linguistics, logic, philosophy, and psychology), but it really went beyond what I expected. The MAI helped me to see the big picture and also to understand a tremendous amount of helpful details about the functioning of many state-of-the-art AI enterprises – all this delivered by a pool of highly competent researchers. Moreover, the MAI significantly helped make me comfortable interacting with people from various academic backgrounds and addressing issues outside my area of expertise (e.g., issues involving programming languages). Finally, Leuven is a beautiful city: an amazing environment for studying and living! You will love it.
- Patrick Jeuniaux

Career prospects

With a Master’s degree in artificial intelligence you will be welcomed by companies working in information technology, data mining, speech and language technology, intelligent systems, diagnosis and quality control, fraud detection and biometric systems. You will also be qualified to work in banking or provide support for the process industry, biomedicine and bioinformatics, robotics and traffic systems. Some graduates go on to begin a PhD programme.

Registration fee

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More information

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If you have other questions, contact:

Faculty Secretariat
Master of Artificial Intelligence
Department of Computer Science
tel. + 32 16 32 78 17

Application