Master of Science in Data Engineering and Cloud Architecture
Every organisation that wants intelligent systems discovers first that it cannot get to its own data. Data engineering is the least glamorous and most binding constraint on African AI adoption, and it is almost entirely untaught at postgrad...
Employment thesis
What this programme is designed to produce
Forward publishes the destination of every programme before you enrol. If the thesis stops holding, the programme is reviewed and, where necessary, retired. Next review: 2031.
Roles
- Data engineer
- analytics engineer
- cloud and platform architect
- data platform lead
- streaming systems engineer
- data governance lead
- solutions architect.
Employer types
- Banks and payment operators
- telecommunications operators
- government data and statistical systems
- health information systems
- large retail and logistics
- cloud and managed service providers
- and international employers hiring remotely.
Target outcomes we hold ourselves to
- Among the highest demand and least supplied technical roles in the region, with strong immediate absorption and international remote demand.
Compulsory · The Forward Core
How the Core works →Every Forward programme, including this one, carries the same five cross-cutting requirements. They are graded, not optional.
- AI Fluency
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Ethics and African Context
- Human-Advantage Skills
- Enterprise
Includes 12 months paid work-integrated learning
Am I eligible?
Check yourself against the published requirements
7 questions written specifically for Master of Science in Data Engineering and Cloud Architecture. Every answer is checked against a requirement Forward has published, and the result tells you which page that requirement comes from. Indicative only, the admissions office decides on your full file.
What is the highest qualification you hold?
Curriculum structure
The same degree, in both pathways
Every Forward programme is published in both pathways: Path One, the term plan of two six-month terms, and Path Two, the block sequence of twelve four-week blocks. Same competencies, same assessments, same award. Toggle to see this programme in each.
Path One term plan shown
Path One · The Term Model
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 501 | Applied Intelligence for Professionals Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| FDC 502 | Research Evidence and Method Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| AIC 510 | Data Modelling and Warehouse Architecture Both | 6 | 4-2-2 |
| AIC 511 | Distributed Systems for Data Both | 6 | 4-2-2 |
| AIC 512 | Cloud Infrastructure and Infrastructure as Code Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| AIC 513 | Data Governance, Privacy and Sovereignty Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 503 | Governance, Ethics and Leadership of Intelligent Systems Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| AIC 520 | Streaming Systems and Real Time Architecture Performance | 7 | 4-2-4 |
| AIC 521 | Platform Reliability, Observability Performanc | 6 | 1-0-10 |
| AIC 522 | Data Products and Serving for Machine Learning Performance | 6 | 3-2-4 |
| AIC 523 | Architecture Practice and Stakeholder Negotiation Objective | 6 | 5-2-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIC 530 | Major Industry Project: Data Platform for a Real Client Performance | 20 | 0-2-38 |
| AIC 531 | Advanced Elective (lakehouse, geospatial data, or telecom scale systems) Objective | 5 | 4-2-0 |
| AIC 532 | Professional Architecture Portfolio and Defence Objective | 5 | 4-2-0 |
Total credit units: 89
Curriculum source
Forward University Curriculum Compendium
Assessment
Coursework + project + integrated exam
Work-integrated learning
12 months paid co-operative education
Your week at Forward
A typical week on Master of Science in Data Engineering and Cloud Architecture
Path One, the Term Model: your own pace across a six-month term, one live session a week, short flexible lessons, and assessment on demand.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Curriculum explorer
Drill into the degree, step by step
Choose a study path, then a year, then a term or block, then a course. Credit totals add up as you go, and every course shows what comes before it and what it unlocks.
Step 1, choose a year
Step 2, choose a term
TERM 1 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY SEMESTER 1
Year 1 · this step is worth 30 CU
Cumulative
30
Programme total
90
30 CU of 90 CU completed by the end of this step (33%)
Step 3, choose a course
Pick a course to see the detail
Credits, assessment, prerequisites and what each course unlocks later.
The twelve Forward capabilities
What this programme develops in you
Every Forward degree develops the same twelve cross-cutting capabilities. The profile below is the level this programme is designed to develop and verify by graduation, on the four-level scale in Part B2 of the Curriculum Compendium. Every claim above Level 2 is verified by someone other than the teaching lecturer.
- C1Intelligent Systems FluencyLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C2Quantitative and Evidential ReasoningLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C3Ethical and Contextual JudgementLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C4Communication and PersuasionLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C5Disciplinary Mastery CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C6Technical Production and Craft CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C7Problem Framing and Systems Thinking CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C8Collaboration and Multidisciplinary TeamingLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C9Enterprise, Value and Commercial LiteracyLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C10Professional Conduct and Workplace Performance CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C11Learning to Learn and Adaptive CapacityLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C12Stewardship and Public ContributionLevel 3 of 4, Independent
Critical capabilities for this programme: Disciplinary Mastery · Technical Production and Craft · Problem Framing and Systems Thinking · Professional Conduct and Workplace Performance. A graduate cannot pass out of this programme below the stated level on any capability marked critical.
Programme Learning Outcomes
What you will be able to do
Each outcome is assessed, and each is tagged with the Forward capabilities it is verified against.
- PLO 1Design and build batch and streaming data platforms that meet stated reliability, latency and cost targets.
- PLO 2Model data for analytical and operational use and defend the modelling choices.
- PLO 3Architect cloud and hybrid infrastructure with explicit cost sovereignty and resilience trade offs.
- PLO 4Implement data governance, lineage, quality and privacy controls that satisfy Ugandan and continental regulation.
- PLO 5Operate platforms in production, including observability incident response and capacity planning.
- PLO 6Lead a data platform programme, including vendor selection and stakeholder negotiation.
Why this programme exists
Every organisation that wants intelligent systems discovers first that it cannot get to its own data. Data engineering is the least glamorous and most binding constraint on African AI adoption, and it is almost entirely untaught at postgraduate level in the region. This programme builds the architects who design the substrate: platforms, pipelines, streaming systems, warehouses, governance and cost control, with an explicit specialisation in sovereign and regionally hosted architectures.
Admission requirements
A Bachelor's degree of at least Second Class Lower Division in computing, engineering, mathematics or a cognate discipline, with demonstrated programming ability, or an equivalent professional portfolio assessed under recognition of prior learning. Alternative pathways: Foundation Year, diploma entry with advanced standing, mature age entry and recognition of prior learning, all governed by Part A5 and Part G. Online applicants additionally complete the compulsory Digital Readiness orientation under Part D6.
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