University of Central Florida Offers Master’s Degree in Computer Vision

The University of Central Florida (UCF) will be offering a new master’s degree in computer vision when classes resume in the fall. Students who want to achieve the degree will need to complete a full 30-credit master’s program, and will have the opportunity to conduct research with faculty members at the school’s renowned Center for Research in Computer Vision.

UCF is hoping that the master’s degree will prepare students for a steady and lucrative career, and help meet the tech industry’s growing demand for computer vision professionals. A 2019 Indeed report listed computer vision engineer as one of the Best Jobs in the US, due in part to the high average base salary (a whopping $158,303), and in part to the high number of job listings. The number of computer vision job postings was up 116 percent in the Indeed report.

The Center for Research in Computer Vision, meanwhile, has been recognized for groundbreaking work in several different areas of computer vision. Most notably, the Center has developed a system that can identify lung cancer with 95 percent accuracy, and another that can distinguish between lungs that have been hit with the flu and lungs afflicted with COVID-19.

Other applications of computer vision include facial recognition, crowd counting, and surveillance in addition to medical pattern recognition. The Center itself has been given a $1 million grant to advance its research, and runs a summer Research Experience for Undergraduates that draws students from all over the country. Researchers associated with the school also won an international video tracking and analysis competition in 2020.

“The world is producing more visual data than ever before so the demand and applications for computer vision are expanding at a rapid pace,” said UCF Professor and Center for Research in Computer Vision Director Mubarak Shah. “UCF is well-positioned to offer this master’s degree program with its nationally ranked reputation in computer vision research and strong industry partnerships.”

UCF is the first public school in the US to offer a computer vision master’s degree. Grand View Research has predicted that the market for computer vision technology will reach $19.1 billion by 2027, while the broader image recognition market will get as high as $109.4 billion.

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June 1, 2021 – by Eric Weiss