INTRODUCTION
EPCC is a Research Institute within the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh. We are one of the leading supercomputing centres in Europe, managing an extensive collection of HPC systems including HECToR, the UK's £115 million national supercomputing service. HECToR, a 24,000-processor Cray XT4 system, is the UK's largest, fastest and most powerful supercomputer. Students taking the MSc learn the fundamental techniques required to program these large machines, and have access to leading-edge HPC platforms and technologies for their research projects. In addition to the national supercomputers, students also use our multicore, FPGA and GPU-based machines and the University's central compute clusters,

The same HPC techniques that are used to program large supercomputers can also be used to exploit the full potential of multi-core desktops and laptops; HPC techniques are now essential for any software developer who wants to take full advantage of modern multicore processors and compute clusters. Parallel programming is also the key technique required to use graphics processors for general numerical computing.

DEGREE PROGRAMME
The MSc in High Performance Computing (HPC) provides an excellent grounding in HPC technologies and their practical application. It will appeal if you have a keen interest in programming and would like to learn about HPC and parallel programming. This one year MSc programme has a strong practical focus and you will have access to leading-edge HPC platforms and technologies.

The overall aim of the MSc in High Performance Computing is to train a new generation of professional practitioners in HPC, able to apply current and emergent technology both in industry and in research, and to play their part in the development of new technology throughout their careers. The skills learnt are applicable to both academic research and to a wide range of careers in science, engineering, industry and commercial software development.

The objectives of the degree programme are to:

• Provide students with expertise in the tools and techniques of HPC and parallel programming.
• Enable students to apply this knowledge in key application areas to exploit modern parallel and multicore computing systems.
• Equip students with the interdisciplinary skills that form an integral part of modern computational science.
• Develop students' transferable skills in problem-solving, project management, independent & critical thinking, professionalism and communication.

TAUGHT COURSES
The core courses will provide you with a broad-based coverage of the fundamentals of HPC and parallel computing, while the optional courses will give you the opportunity to focus in-depth on more specialist areas that are relevant to computational science as a whole. You will also undertake an independent 4 month research project. 

CAREERS
The skills acquired by MSc students are applicable both to academic computational science research and to a wide range of careers in science, engineering, industry and commercial software development. Previous graduates have gone on to PhD research in fields that utilise HPC technologies, including astrophysics, biology, chemistry, geosciences, informatics and materials science. Others have gone directly to employment in a range of commercial areas, including software development, petroleum engineering, finance and HPC support.

SCHOLARSHIPS
A NUMBER OF PSAS STUDENTSHIPS ARE EXPECTED TO BE AVAILABLE FOR ELIGIBLE UK/EU STUDENTS.

Entry requirements & how to apply
http://www.ed.ac.uk/studying/postgraduate/finder/details.php?id=187

PROGRAMME WEBSITE
www.epcc.ed.ac.uk/msc

Contact us
T +44 (0)131 651 7067
E msc@epcc.ed.ac.uk