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Course description
The Probability and Statistics group in the Department of Mathematics have a long-standing reputation and experience of offering one year, high quality taught courses in areas of Statistics leading to the degree of MSc.These courses have aimed to offer a thorough professional training which prepare students to embark on statistical careers in a variety of areas. (There is a shortage of statisticians trained to postgraduate level in the UK and the employment prospects for such people remain good.) They have also provided a very good foundation for further study at PhD level.
Our current MSc programme in Statistics allows students to take either the main programme or the associated pathway in Financial Statistics, depending on their interests and career aspirations. Each is built around a common core of five modules and then students study an additional set of three specialist modules to make a total of eight in all.
Coursework and assessment
Course unit details
The taught part of the programme is divided into two 12-week semesters, each followed by a two-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 the academic staff and ends with submission of the MSc dissertation in September. In the taught part of the course, full-time students attend weekly lectures and support classes for four modules (4 x 15 credits) in each semester. Students are also able to enrol on a part-time basis if they wish. 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.
Semester One:
- Linear Models & Nonparametric Regression
- Statistical Computing
- Statistical Inference
- Multivariate Statistics
Semester Two:
- Generalized Linear Models & Survival Analysis
- Longitudinal Data Analysis
- Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC)
- Design and Analysis of Experiments
Financial Statistics Pathway
This comprises a core of five modules which are common to the main programme, plus three specialist modules in financial statistics.
Semester One:
- Linear Models & Nonparametric Regression
- Statistical Computing
- Statistical Modelling in Finance
- Extreme Values and Financial Risk
Semester Two:
- Generalized Linear Models & Survival Analysis
- Longitudinal Data Analysis
- Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC)
- Time Series Analysis and Financial Forecasting
This degree programme (including the pathway) 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.
Course unit list
The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
| Title | Code | Credit rating | Mandatory/optional |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statistical Inference | MATH68001 | 15 | Mandatory |
| Linear Models with Nonparametric Regression | MATH68011 | 15 | Mandatory |
| Generalised Linear Models and Survival Analysis | MATH68052 | 15 | Mandatory |
| Multivariate Statistics | MATH68061 | 15 | Mandatory |
| Design and Analysis of Experiments | MATH68082 | 15 | Mandatory |
| Statistical Computing | MATH68091 | 15 | Mandatory |
| Markov Chain Monte Carlo | MATH68122 | 15 | Mandatory |
| Longitudinal Data Analysis | MATH68132 | 15 | Mandatory |
Facilities
The Department of Mathematics is the largest in the UK with an outstanding research reputation and facilities .