MSc Statistics

The fees quoted above will be fully inclusive for the course tuition, administration and computational costs during your studies.

All fees for entry will be subject to yearly review and incremental rises per annum are also likely over the duration of courses lasting more than a year for UK/EU students (fees are typically fixed for International students, for the course duration at the year of entry). For general fees information please visit: postgraduate fees . Always contact the department if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

Self-funded international applicants for this course will be required to pay a deposit of £1000 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. This deposit will only be refunded if immigration permission is refused. We will notify you about how and when to make this payment.

Across our institution, we offer a number of postgraduate taught scholarships and awards to outstanding UK and international students each year. We are one of the Martingale Foundation's newest university partners. The Martingale Foundation helps provide access to postgraduate mathematics study for UK students facing financial barriers by offering fully-funded MSc and PhD programmes. Information about eligibility is available via the Martingale Foundation website and applications will open on 13 August 2025. The deadine to apply is Sunday 19 October 2025. For more information, see the Department ofMathematics Fees and funding page orvisit the University of Manchester funding for master's courses website for more information.

The normal entry requirements are a good upper second or first class honours degree from a UK university, or the equivalent from an overseas university, in Mathematics or in a subject with some significant mathematical content. Students should also have some knowledge of Probability and Statistics in their degree, at least up to what might be expected by the end of the second year of an undergraduate Mathematics degree.

Expected Background

You are expected to have a first degree with a substantial amount of mathematics including Probability and Statistics. As a minimum you should have done Calculus or Mathematical Analysis, Linear Algebra, two courses in Probability and two courses in Statistics. A Mathematical Statistics course may count as one Probability and one Statistics course depending on the syllabus. If your course is called Advanced Mathematics, then we need to know how much calculus/linear algebra it contains. You can have a look at what Manchester students do in the first two years, or refer to the following list for a quick summary.

• Calculus or Mathematical Analysis (functions of a single and several variables, continuity, derivatives, integrals, Mean Value Theorem, Taylor series expansion, minimisation and maximisation, Lagrange multipliers)
• Linear Algebra (linear independence, determinant, inverse, eigenvalues and eigenvectors)
• Probability I (probabilities and conditional probabilities, Bayes Theorem, moments)
• Probability II (multivariate and conditional distributions, generating functions, Law of Large Numbers and Central Limit Theorem)
• Statistics I (descriptive statistics, normal, t, chi-square and F distributions, significance tests)
• Statistics II (Maximum likelihood estimation, Likelihood ratio tests, simple regression and analysis of variance).

You are expected to have done well in the above courses and your university should have a high national standing.

All applicants will need to demonstrate competency in English language. Applicants who do not already possess an acceptable English Language qualification will need to take a recognised test and attain the required English Language score:

• IELTS:  at least 6.5 overall with 6.5 in writing and no other sub-test less than 6.0.
• TOEFL iBT: at least 90 overall with 22 or above in writing and no other sub-test less than 20. We do not accept 'MyBestScore'.
• Pearson PTE: at least 70 overall with 70 in writing and no other sub-test below 65.

Further information on language requirements can be found on our website .

Pre-sessional English

We will consider applicants who do not meet these scores but you may be required to complete a pre-sessional English language course at the University of Manchester prior to the start of the course.

To be considered for a pre-sessional English language course for this programme we require the following minimum IELTS (Academic) scores:

• 6 Week Pre-Sessional Course:  Minimum 6.0 overall with 6.0 in three sub-tests including writing and at least 5.5 in the remaining sub-test.

If you have not yet completed your current academic study and are interested in studying a pre-sessional course, you must hold an IELTS for UKVI (Academic) test certificate.

Some English Language test results are only valid for two years. Your English Language test report must be valid on the start date of the course.

We accept a range of qualifications from different countries. For these and general requirements including English language see entry requirements from your country .

As there is high demand for this course we operate a staged admissions process with selection deadlines throughout the year.Due to the competition for places, we give preference to students with grades above our minimum entry requirements.

If we make you an offer, you will have 3 weeks in which to accept. Any offers not accepted within 3 weeks will be withdrawn so that an offer can be made to another candidate.

Stage 1: Application received by 08 November 2024; Decision by 10 January 2025.

Stage 2: Application received by 03 January 2025; Decision by 07 March 2025.

Stage 3: Application received by 28 February 2025; Decision by 18 April 2025.

Stage 4: Application received by 23 May 2025; Decision by 20 June 2025.

You need to ensure that you submit your supporting documents with your application as it may delay us processing your application before the decision deadline.

Whilst we aim to give you a decision on your application by the deadline date, in some instances due to the competition for places and the volume of applications received, it may be necessary to roll your application forward to the next deadline date. If this is the case we will let you know after the deadline date.

Applications received after our final selection deadline will be considered at our discretion if places are still available.

Please note: All places are subject to availability and if you apply at one of the later stages, some courses may already be closed. We therefore recommend that you apply early in the cycle to secure your place with us.

Applicants who are made a conditional offer of a place must demonstrate that they have met all the conditions of their offer by 31 July 2025.

We consider your full academic history including which course units you have taken and the marks obtained. Even if you have met our minimum entry requirements, we will take into account your marks in relevant course units in our final decision making.

If you graduated more than three years ago, we will also consider the information contained on your CV and any relevant work experience you have to assess if you are still able to fulfil the entry criteria.

No interview is required for this course.

CAS Information

Self-funded international applicants for this course will be required to pay a deposit of £1,000 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. This deposit will only be refunded if immigration permission is refused. We will notify you about how and when to make this payment.

Please upload a copy of your current valid passport with your application showing the photograph page with your application. For CAS purposes, this must show your full name, date of birth, nationality, passport number and the date the passport is valid until, which must be later than the date of your planned arrival in the UK, and the start date of your course.

If you have previously studied in the UK on a Tier 4 visa as an undergraduate or postgraduate student, please send a copy of your previous CAS statement to us as it will assist with the issue of your new CAS statement. This includes study in the UK on study abroad programmes and any study that you did not complete.

You cannot use your CAS to apply for a visa more than three months before the start date of your course. The Admissions Team will contact you at the appropriate time.

Your CAS number is only valid for one Tier 4 application.

Applications for deferred entry are not accepted for this course. If you receive an offer for 2024 entry and decide not to accept it, should you subsequently wish to be considered for 2025 entry you would be required to reapply.

If you applied in the previous year and your application was not successful you may apply again. Your application will be considered against the standard course entry criteria for that year of entry. In your new application you should demonstrate how your application has improved. We may draw upon all information from your previous applications or any previous registrations at the University as a student when assessing your suitability for your chosen course.

The taught part of the programme is divided into two 12-week semesters, each followed by a two- or three-week period of examinations.  This in turn is followed by a period of approximately 12 weeks of research work over the summer which is supervised by a member of academic staff and ends with submission of the MSc dissertation in September. Full-time students attend weekly lectures and support classes for four modules (4 x 15 credits) in each semester.  Students can also enrol on a part-time basis.  In this case they study over a two year period and only take two modules per semester, with the dissertation being completed at the end of the second year. Details of the programme structure are given below, which are subject to review and continual improvement.

Main Programme

Semester One:

• Linear Models with Nonparametric Regression
• Statistical Computing
• Statistical Inference
• Multivariate Statistics

Semester Two:

• Generalized Linear Models and Survival Analysis
• Longitudinal Data Analysis
• Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC)
• Design and Analysis of Experiments

This degree programme is accredited by the Royal Statistical Society.

Accreditation by the Royal Statistical Society (RSS) provides reassurance that our MSc programme produces graduates with the technical skills and subject knowledge required of a statistician. This provides our graduates with a competitive edge in the job market and provides employers with an assurance of quality of our degree.

Dissertation: Following the successful completion of the taught part of the programme (worth a total of 120 credits) students are then expected to work on a dissertation from June to September which is worth a further 60 credits, making 180 credits in total.  Information on the various topics and projects which will be available for dissertation are provided to the students in May from which they are invited to state their preferences.  

Across our institution, we offer a number of postgraduate taught scholarships and awards to outstanding UK and international students each year. We are one of the Martingale Foundation's new university partners. The Martingale Foundation helps provide access to postgraduate mathematics study for UK students facing financial barriers by offering fully-funded MSc and PhD programmes. Information about eligibility is available via the Martingale Foundation website and applications will open on 13 August 2025. The deadline to apply is Sunday 19 October 2025.

The University of Manchester is committed to widening participation in master's study, and allocates £300,000 in funding each year. Our Manchester Masters Bursaries are aimed at widening access to master's courses by removing barriers to postgraduate education for students from underrepresented groups.

For more information, see the Department of Mathematics Fees and funding page or visit the University of Manchester funding for master's courses website for more information.

If you are a sponsored student please check the requirements of your sponsorship before registering on a course. If you require further information please contact the Department.

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: dass@manchester.ac.uk

This degree programme is accredited by the Royal Statistical Society.

Accreditation by the Royal Statistical Society (RSS) provides reassurance that our MSc programme produces graduates with the technical skills and subject knowledge required of a statistician. This provides our graduates with a competitive edge in the job market and provides employers with an assurance of quality of our degree.