Artificial Intelligence BSc (Hons)
Subject and course type
- Computing, cyber and AI
- Undergraduate
This course takes a unique, human-centred approach to AI, focusing on creativity, innovation, and machine-generated content rather than traditional applied methods. You will be prepared for roles in AI development, content creation, and AI-driven problem solving across diverse industries. This innovative programme is designed for students from any academic background who are eager to explore the transformative power of AI.
You are reading:
Shape the future of intelligent innovation
Where creativity meets artificial intelligence.
This course offers a unique, human-centred approach to AI, distinct from traditional Applied AI programmes. It prepares you to work on cutting-edge AI projects that push the boundaries of creativity, innovation, and machine-generated content. You will graduate ready for roles in AI development, content creation, and AI-driven problem solving across diverse fields.
Why choose this course
The Artificial Intelligence BSc (Hons) degree at Kingston University is designed for creative thinkers and problem-solvers who want to shape the next generation of intelligent systems.
This course goes beyond the traditional AI course by focusing on the design and development of models that can generate original content: from images to text and simulations.
You’ll gain in-demand skills in AI methods, deep learning, and ethical AI development, while exploring real-world applications across industries.
By the time you graduate, you’ll be ready to step into the industry as a detail-oriented design expert or a specialist in construction practice, armed with the knowledge and confidence to thrive in this challenging, rewarding field.
Course content
This degree focuses on teaching you the principles, techniques, and applications of artificial intelligence. Unlike traditional AI, which often focuses on tasks like classification, prediction, and optimisation, this course is concerned with explainable AI and ethics, and social applications of AI.
You will learn to:
Design and evaluate human-centric AI systems that enhance user interaction and trust.
Critically evaluate explainable AI (XAI) techniques to improve model transparency and interpretability.
Apply AI methods in socially-interactive applications, such as chatbots and virtual assistants.
Assess the role of AI in shaping human behaviour, communication and decision making.
Apply ethical and regulatory frameworks to AI development.
Evaluate AI's role in business decision support systems.
Explore emerging areas such as AI for social good, AI regulation and sustainable AI.
Critically assess the future implications of AI, including the balance between innovation and regulation.
Year 1
Core modules
30 credits
This module demystifies artificial intelligence by exploring the tangible technology, algorithms, data structures and platforms that bring it to life. Starting conceptually, we'll move beyond the abstract and investigate where AI actually 'lives', from massive cloud servers to tiny, efficient models running on pocket-sized devices like a Raspberry Pi. You will get a hands-on introduction to the hardware and software ecosystems that power modern AI. A key focus will be on learning how to measure and evaluate what these AI systems are doing, as well as how to effectively use them to benefit (and not replace) your learning. You will learn to use basic statistics and data visualisation as powerful tools to critically evaluate an AI application’s performance, identify its limitations, and clearly communicate its real-world impact to any audience.
30 credits
This module introduces the fundamental principles of creative problem-solving and computational thinking taking active advantage of artificial intelligence tools for these purposes. No previous technical experience is assumed. We focus on translating human-centred ideas into functional prototypes by collaborating with AI development tools. This hands-on approach emphasises guiding, refining, and evaluating AI-generated solutions rather than manual coding. Students will learn to articulate their intentions, experiment with AI-driven frameworks, and build confidence in their ability to direct technology to solve problems.
30 credits
This module dives into the exciting world of creativity, Generative AI, human-centric AI and the use of tools vs. collaborators and agents, whilst being aware of the ethics and inherent biases inherent in such tools to promote critical and objective evaluation with respect to human-centric and global challenges through the lenses of the UN SDGs, user experience (UX) explainable AI (xAI). AI tools "hype" suggests anyone can create stunning images, write compelling stories & produce music, but when instructing an AI-based tool with your ideas you are writing instructions in a language that will be interpreted by a tool through an interface that is biased in many ways. With great creative power comes great responsibility and as we learn to generate new content, we'll ask the big questions: Who owns AI-generated code, art, music etc.? How do we identify and address bias in the stories AI tells? What are the ethical principles to follow with deepfakes and AI-powered bots commonplace? This module equips you to be a thoughtful and responsible creator. You will explore the emerging laws and ethical guidelines that shape this new landscape, ensuring that the technology you use is designed with human values and societal impact in mind.
30 credits
The goal of the Professional Environments module is to prepare students for professional practice firstly by ensuring they acquire suitable employability assets and secondly by equipping them with an understanding of the role of a professional in society and the role of professional bodies.
Being a professional also means understanding the key legal, ethical and societal issues relevant to the domain, and understanding the need for continuing professional development (CPD), especially when technology develops at such a rapid pace. The module is designed to support different domain areas and you will have opportunities to integrate experience from other professions. The subject areas being studied demand a global perspective which encourages the inclusion of our diverse of communities and national practices.
Year 2
Core modules
30 credits
This module demystifies how AI applications work in the real world. You’ll get a hands-on introduction to building a simple AI-powered application for a physical or simulated robot using a contemporary turnkey platform. We’ll explore the fundamental concepts that drive these systems, comparing the trade-offs of running AI on local hardware versus in the cloud. You’ll also investigate the crucial difference between transparent "glass box" and opaque "black box" models.
The core of the module is not just building something, but learning how to critically evaluate its performance, efficiency and possible costs, identify its limitations (including user experience, UX, and explainability, xAI) and biases, and effectively communicate your findings to others.
30 credits
This is a project-based module where you will apply your AI knowledge to tackle complex, real-world problems. Building on your foundational skills, you will work in teams on a series of intensive design sprints, each focused on a critical global theme. You will explore how AI can contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, address issues in cybersecurity and globalisation, and shape the future of robotics and automation. Throughout, you will use AI-powered development tools as your primary collaborators, moving from idea to interactive demo using rapid, iterative prototyping. The core challenge is not just to build something that works, but to design systems that are human-centric, considering user experience (UX) and explainable AI (xAI) from the outset. Your learning will be captured in a portfolio of project work that demonstrates your ability to design, develop, and critically evaluate responsible AI solutions.
30 credits
This module establishes the skills required to effectively use databases for storage and retrieval of information. Students will learn how to design, build and query databases using logical data models and structured query language (SQL), and use datasets to perform data analysis and natural language processing (NLP) using appropriate AI-powered tools such as large language models (LLMs) for NLP.
You will tackle one of the biggest challenges in the modern world: making sense of messy, unstructured data. Most of the data we generate contains information in written form. You'll learn how to manage this data and model it effectively using the power of modern AI platforms, particularly Large Language Models (LLMs) and their natural language processing capabilities. The focus is not on the deep theory of how these models are built, but on the practical skills of applying them to extract meaningful insights from data. You'll emerge with the ability to obtain structured, valuable insights from unstructured data, while considering the critical ethical implications of working with human and AI-generated content.
30 credits
This module is designed to encourage you to look outwards to industry and employability, and make you more confident when facing the job market upon graduation. You will develop excellent group working skills, broaden your understanding of industry and its requirements, and enhance your project management skills.
It is always exciting to watch the groups collaborating as they produce their entrepreneurial projects for Kingston University's 'Bright Ideas' scheme; students involved in this have won awards, producing fascinating artefacts for their remaining term and exploring new and different areas within their course field.
The module is an opportunity to work with many different students, working in subject areas that are innovative and unusual. Very often, a student may discover something they did not know that they could achieve. This triggers new learning and an added confidence that was not previously there. Those are the times that the learning is strongest, and our pride in the student, the greatest.
Year 3
Core modules
30 credits
This project-based module challenges your team to design and build a sophisticated, human-centric AI prototype with explainability at its core. Building on your practical skills from Level 5, you will undertake a significant, in-depth project in a specialist domain such as AI in Games, Robotics, Health, or intelligent Automation. The central task is not just to create a functional system, but to make its decision-making processes transparent, trustworthy, and understandable to its intended users, and evaluate it in an objective fashion. Throughout this process, you will use AI-powered tools as your advanced development partner, guiding them to implement not only the core application but also the integrated xAI features. This module requires you to work together to integrate your technical, design, and ethical knowledge to produce a portfolio that demonstrates your ability to innovate responsibly at the forefront of AI.
15 credits
The goal of the module is to further develop your skills in organisation, timekeeping, research literature, prototyping and developing real-world solutions, critically analysing results and reporting work verbally and in a written format. The end result will be an artefact or sequence of related artefacts which demonstrate creativity and technical competence as well as a written report. As this is an individual you will be guided in topic and artefact choice which could include projects with a sustainability theme (addressing/supporting the UN SDGs), a small business or other entrepreneurial focus to the final product (artefact).
30 credits
This final-year module explores the critical data architectures that underpin modern artificial intelligence, particularly Large Language Models (LLMs). We start with traditional big data analytics to address a forward-looking question: how do we design the data systems necessary to support the AI of tomorrow? You'll investigate the unique data appetites of LLMs, not just for training but for real-time knowledge retrieval and memory. The module examines the strategic trade-offs between different storage paradigms, from massive cloud databases and object stores to the emerging importance of vector and object databases for AI applications. By combining strategic thinking with practical case studies, you'll learn to design and critique data architectures, ensuring they're not only powerful but also align with human values and responsible innovation principles such as the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs).
30 credits
This module supports the creation of digital enterprises through the lifecycle of innovation and entrepreneurship, financing and development, business planning, customer development, marketing and retention.
There are three key parts:
- Starting up: innovation and entrepreneurship, funding and funders, customers and prototyping
- Digital strategy, management, finance and planning
- Digital marketing, customer service and retention
Digital innovation is a major driving force in creating economic growth. This module illustrates how to work in an entrepreneurial fashion. At the heart of entrepreneurship is innovation, which can come in many forms. Sometimes this can be an incremental but generally gives significant improvement to the customer or alternatively as a new breakthrough or transformational innovation. Ideas are then considered from potential customers’ and funders’ perspectives to enable realistic aspirations to be made.
From this foundation, the module explains how to develop a digital business strategy, not only to satisfy the critical needs that organisations have, but also to explore the application and use of improved value chains using the concepts of corporate venturing (spin-out/intrapreneurship) and entrepreneurship (new venture creation).
15 credits
This module gives you a dedicated opportunity to develop your Future Skills Graduate Attributes.
At the start of the module, you will be supported to self-assess your current skills profile. You will determine which attributes and skills you need to develop to support your career ambitions. In this process, you will be supported by a dedicated career coach, helping you explore a range of options that includes self-employment/freelancing, starting your own business, higher level study, and other professional graduate-level opportunities. Throughout the module, you will be given opportunities to engage with external mentors, to support reflection and to develop a professional network.
You will undertake a tailored series of activities and projects, aligned to your goals, from a menu of development options. This could include short courses, enrichment activities and experiential learning options such as micro-placements. You will also be able to reflect on activities outside the University that develop your graduate attributes, such as work or volunteering.
Foundation Year
If you would like to study computing at Kingston University but are not yet ready to join the first year of a BSc (Hons) course, you can include an extra foundation year within your chosen degree. Please see the foundation year course page for details of modules.
International students: direct application
Are you an international student? Have you decided Kingston is the place for you? If so, you can apply for this course directly, rather than having to go through UCAS.
What career opportunities does this course offer?
This degree is excellent preparation for a wide variety of careers and job roles, such as systems and business analysts, software engineers, programmers and network specialists.
Here are some examples of the jobs you'll be ready for when you graduate:
Social media manager / quantitative analyst
AI innovation manager
AI policy and regulations specialist
Market analyst and ethicist / intelligence strategist
AI engineer / generative AI engineer
AI strategy lead / AI product engineer / GenAI lead in many industries.
Future Skills
Our Future Skills programme is embedded within all our undergraduate courses and throughout the whole Kingston experience. These skills will help you to become a future-proof graduate by equipping you with the skills most valued by employers, such as problem-solving, digital competency and adaptability.
As you progress through your degree, you'll learn to navigate, explore and apply these graduate skills. You’ll also understand how to demonstrate and articulate to employers how these future skills give you the edge.
Teaching and assessment
Scheduled learning and teaching on this course includes timetabled activities including lectures, seminars and small group tutorials.
It may also include placements, project work, workshops, workshops in computer labs, and laboratory workshops.
Outside the scheduled learning and teaching hours, you will learn independently through self-study which will involve reading articles and books, working on projects, undertaking research, preparing for and completing your work for assessments. Some independent study work may need to be completed on-campus, as you may need to access campus-based facilities such as studios and labs.
Our academic support team here at Kingston University provides help in a range of areas.
When you arrive, we'll introduce you to your personal tutor. This is the member of academic staff who will provide academic guidance, be a support throughout your time at Kingston and show you how to make the best use of all the help and resources that we offer at Kingston University.
A course is made up of modules, and each module is worth a number of credits. You must pass a given number of credits in order to achieve the award you registered on, for example 360 credits for a typical undergraduate course or 180 credits for a typical postgraduate course. The number of credits you need for your award is detailed in the programme specification which you can access from the link at the bottom of this page.
One credit equates to 10 hours of study. Therefore 120 credits across a year (typical for an undergraduate course) would equate to 1,200 notional hours. These hours are split into scheduled and guided. On this course, the percentage of that time that will be scheduled learning and teaching activities is shown below for each year of study. The remainder is made up of guided independent study.
- Year 1: 29% scheduled learning and teaching
- Year 2: 22% scheduled learning and teaching
- Year 3: 20% scheduled learning and teaching
The exact balance between scheduled learning and teaching and guided independent study will be informed by the modules you take.
Your course will primarily be delivered in person. It may include delivery of some activities online, either in real time or recorded.
Types of assessment
- Year 1: Coursework 100%
- Year 2: Coursework 100%
- Year 3: Coursework 100%
Please note: the above breakdowns are a guide calculated on core modules only. If your course includes optional modules, this breakdown may change to reflect the modules chosen.
We aim to provide feedback on assessments within 20 working days.
Your individualised timetable is normally available to students within 48 hours of enrolment. Whilst we make every effort to ensure timetables are as student-friendly as possible, scheduled learning and teaching can take place on any day of the week between 9am and 6pm. For undergraduate students, Wednesday afternoons are normally reserved for sports and cultural activities, but there may be occasions when this is not possible. Timetables for part-time students will depend on the modules selected.
Fees and funding
| Fee category | Annual Fee |
|---|---|
| Home (UK students) | |
| £10,050* | |
| Foundation Year: | £10,050 |
| International | |
| Year 1 (2027/28): | £To be confirmed |
| Year 2 (2028/29): | £To be confirmed |
| Year 3 (2029/30): | £To be confirmed |
| Year 4 (2030/31): | £To be confirmed |
The tuition fee you pay depends on whether you are assessed as a 'Home' (UK), 'Islands' or 'International' student.
For courses with Professional Placement, the fee for the placement year can be viewed in our Fees and Funding section. The placement fee published is for the relevant academic year stated in the table. This fee is subject to annual increases but will not increase by more than the fee caps as prescribed by the Office for Students or such other replacing body.
*For full-time programmes lasting more than one academic year, a tuition fee is payable for each academic year of the course.
Your annual tuition fee covers your first attempt at all modules required for that academic year. Any re-study or repeat of modules will incur additional charges, calculated according to the number of credits taken.
Home students (UK): Tuition fees are subject to inflation-linked increases in line with government policy. Updated fees will be confirmed in line with the maximum fee cap set by the Government or the Office for Students (OfS) for each academic year. This means your fee may increase for each academic year of study, but only up to the maximum amount permitted for that year.
Eligible UK students can apply to the Government for a tuition loan, which is paid direct to the University. This has a low interest-rate which is charged from the time the first part of the loan is paid to the University until you have repaid it.
International students: Full-time taught international student fees are subject to an annual increase, which is published in advance for the full duration of your programme.
| Fee category | Annual Fee |
|---|---|
| Home (UK students) | |
| £9,790* | |
| Foundation Year: | £9,790 |
| International | |
| Year 1 (2026/27): | £19,200 |
| Year 2 (2027/28): | £19,900 |
| Year 3 (2028/29): | £20,700 |
| Year 4 (2029/30): | £21,500 |
The tuition fee you pay depends on whether you are assessed as a 'Home' (UK), 'Islands' or 'International' student.
For courses with Professional Placement, the fee for the placement year can be viewed in our Fees and Funding section. The placement fee published is for the relevant academic year stated in the table. This fee is subject to annual increases but will not increase by more than the fee caps as prescribed by the Office for Students or such other replacing body.
*For full-time programmes lasting more than one academic year, a tuition fee is payable for each academic year of the course.
Your annual tuition fee covers your first attempt at all modules required for that academic year. Any re-study or repeat of modules will incur additional charges, calculated according to the number of credits taken.
Home students (UK): Tuition fees are subject to inflation-linked increases in line with government policy. Updated fees will be confirmed in line with the maximum fee cap set by the Government or the Office for Students (OfS) for each academic year. This means your fee may increase for each academic year of study, but only up to the maximum amount permitted for that year.
Eligible UK students can apply to the Government for a tuition loan, which is paid direct to the University. This has a low interest-rate which is charged from the time the first part of the loan is paid to the University until you have repaid it.
International students: Full-time taught international student fees are subject to an annual increase, which is published in advance for the full duration of your programme.
Scholarships and bursaries
For students interested in studying this course at Kingston, there are several opportunities to seek funding support.
Additional course costs
Some courses may require additional costs beyond tuition fees. When planning your studies, you’ll want to consider tuition fees, living costs, and any extra costs that might relate to your area of study.
Your tuition fees include costs for teaching, assessment and university facilities. So your access to libraries, shared IT resources and various student support services are all covered. Accommodation and general living expenses are not covered by these fees.
Where applicable, additional expenses for your course may include:
Our libraries have an extensive collection of books and journals, as well as open-access computers and laptops available to rent. However, you may want to buy your own computer or personal copies of key textbooks. Textbooks may range from £50 to £250 per year. And a personal computer can range from £100 to £3,000 depending on your course requirements.
While most coursework is submitted online, some modules may require printed copies. You may want to allocate up to £100 per year for hard-copies of your coursework. It’s worth noting that 3D printing is never compulsory. So if you choose to use our 3D printers, you’ll need to pay for the material. This ranges from 3p per gram to 40p per gram.
Kingston University will pay for all compulsory field trips. Fees for optional trips can range from £30 to £350 per trip.
Your tuition fees don’t cover travel costs. To save on travel costs, you can use our intersite bus service. This route links the campuses and halls of residence with local train stations - Surbiton, Kingston upon Thames, and Norbiton.
If you choose to do a placement year, travel costs will vary depending on your location. These costs could be up to £2,000.
Some courses may require professional memberships, such as professional BCS membership.
Course changes and regulations
The information on this page reflects the currently intended course structure and module details. To improve your student experience and the quality of your degree, we may review and change the material information of this course. Find out more about course changes
Programme Specifications for the course are published ahead of each academic year.
Regulations governing this course can be found on our website.
