MSc Computer Science with Speech and Language Processing

This programme is uniquely designed to transform you into a specialist in the rapidly evolving field of speech and language technology through a deeply practical, research-led curriculum. You'll have access to our outstanding facilities in the Regent Court building, home to the School of Computer Science and our dedicated Speech and Hearing Research Group, which houses specialised laboratories for speech processing, natural language understanding, and audio analysis, all equipped with cutting-edge hardware and software. Your learning is powered by industry-standard tools and culminates in a substantial research project where you will develop and evaluate complex speech and language processing systems, preparing you for a career at the forefront of conversational AI and computational linguistics.

Here’s how you’ll gain advanced, hands-on experience:

• Specialised Speech & Language Software: You'll gain deep proficiency in a suite of professional tools, including the Kaldi Toolkit for speech recognition, NLTK and spaCy for natural language processing, PyTorch and TensorFlow for deep learning models, and Praat for speech analysis.

• The MSc Research Project: The cornerstone of your degree is an extensive research project where you'll work on a substantial, real-world problem in speech or language technology, such as building a speech recognition system, developing a dialogue agent, or creating advanced text analytics tools.

• Speech Processing Laboratory: You'll conduct experiments in our dedicated speech lab, utilising high-quality audio recording equipment, acoustic analysis tools, and speech databases to work on tasks like speech synthesis, recognition, and enhancement.

• Natural Language Processing Suite: You'll work with large text corpora and computational linguistics resources to develop and test models for machine translation, sentiment analysis, information extraction, and question-answering systems.

• High-Performance Computing Cluster: You'll have access to our advanced computing facilities with GPU acceleration for training large deep learning models on speech and text data.

• Audio Analysis Equipment: You'll use professional audio interfaces and processing tools to work on signal processing tasks, including noise reduction, feature extraction, and audio signal classification.

• Industry Collaboration: Many projects incorporate real-world challenges from our industry partners in the speech technology sector, providing valuable insight into current commercial applications and research needs.

• Research-Led Learning: Your practical work is directly informed by the pioneering research conducted within the Speech and Hearing Research Group, giving you exposure to the latest advancements in speech processing, computational linguistics, and machine learning for language.

Graduates of this MSc are highly sought after for their expertise in speech technologies and NLP, stepping into impactful roles like speech recognition engineer, chatbot developer, language technology specialist, or AI researcher. You'll emerge with deeply technical know-how in machine learning, digital signal processing, and language modelling—skills that make you stand out in both industry and academia. 

Progression & Future Opportunities:
Here’s how Sheffield powers your progression and career readiness:

• University Services to Boost Employability

  • A significant portion of the course—one-third—is devoted to a dedicated dissertation project, where you'll work closely with faculty (often from speech or NLP research groups) on cutting-edge topics like speech recognition or machine learning. It’s a fantastic way to build your portfolio and launch into specialized careers or PhD programmes. 

• Employment Stats & Salary Figures

  • While course-specific earning data isn't published, the MSc is accredited by the British Computer Society (BCS), offering partial eligibility for Chartered IT Professional (CITP) and Chartered Engineer (CEng) status—credentials that enhance your professional attractiveness. 

• University–Industry Partnerships

  • You'll learn from a department with global research strength in speech and language processing, featuring collaborations through the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training and partnerships with entities like VoiceBase—delivering access to real-world challenges and industry-informed teaching. 

• Long-Term Accreditation Value

  • The BCS accreditation provides both validation and a career pathway toward CITP/CEng—an advantage when competing for advanced technical and leadership roles. 

• Graduation Outcomes

  • You’ll graduate with hands-on experience in speech and NLP applications, a standout research project, and formal professional backing. That positions you strongly for roles designing voice assistants, building language tech solutions, or continuing into PhD research—like several alumni have successfully done (for instance, Emily Ip, who won a dissertation prize and is now pursuing a PhD at Trinity College Dublin one year after graduating). link

Further Academic Progression:
This MSc equips you well for PhD study—especially within speech, language, or AI research. The department’s strong research environment and your dissertation experience give you a robust foundation for doctoral applications and academic roles.