Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences Department of Statistics Postgraduate study “I keep saying the sexy job in the next ten years will be statisticians. People think I’m joking, but who would’ve guessed that computer engineers would’ve been the sexy job of the 1990s? The ability to take data - to be able to understand it, to process it, to extract value from it, to visualize it, to communicate it - that’s going to be a hugely important skill in the next decades, not only at the professional level but even at the educational level for elementary school kids, for high school kids, for college kids. Because now we really do have essentially free and ubiquitous data. So the complimentary scarce factor is the ability to understand that data and extract value from it.” - Hal Varian, professor of Information Sciences, Business, and Economics at the University of California at Berkeley, and Google’s chief economist, in The McKinsley Quarterly, January 2009 Why do postgraduate studies in Statistics? A career in Statistics is a highly rewarding one. Statisticians’ skills are applied in actuarial science, atmospheric science, bioinformatics, biomathematics, biostatistics, environmental sciences, financial engineering, government service, industrial statistics, medicine, meteorology, operations research, pharmaceutical research, public health, quality improvement, reliability, risk analysis, risk management and insurance, social statistics and survey research, amongst others. A master’s degree or PhD/DCom is very helpful and often recommended or required for higher level positions in industry. The Department of Statistics at the University of Pretoria offers an extensive and flexible range of postgraduate programmes. The following postgraduate programmes and disciplines are presented (in collaboration with other departments): Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences www.up.ac.za Faculty of Human Sciences Mathematical Statistics BSc(Hons) MSc PhD Applied Statistics MSc PhD Mathematical Statistics BCom(Hons) MCom DCom Statistics BCom(Hons) MCom DCom Mathematical Statistics BA(Hons) MA PhD Honours Programme The honours degree is presented in Mathematical Statistics and Statistics. Apart from the modules presented by the Department of Statistics, it is also possible to include postgraduate modules from other departments e.g. Mathematics, Economics, etc.. The honours degree consists of a total of 8 semester modules. Normally a module is only presented in one semester per year. A candidate must compile his/her programme in consultation with the Head of the Department of Statistics or his representative. Requirements for admission: a. A Bachelor’s degree with Mathematical Statistics or Statistics on the 300 level (in the case of the BCom (Hons) degree in Statistics specialising in Economic Statistics, Economics on the 300 level is also required). b. Satisfactory performance in the relevant modules on the 300 level. c. In the case of students from other universities, additional requirements and conditions may be prescribed by the Dean on the recommendation of the supervisors and the head of the department. Programme Composition The following programmes with their compositions are given below: BSc(Hons) in Mathematical Statistics BCom(Hons) in Mathematical Statistics Requirements for admission: An average mark of 60% or more in Mathematical Statistics on the 300 level or an equivalent statistical module at an accredited institution is required. Code Module name Compulsory modules (First semester) LMO 710 Linear Models MVA 710 Multivariate Analysis SFT 720 Sampling Techniques VMT 710 Distribution-free Methods Optional modules (any four) (Second semester) LMO 720 Linear Models MVA 720 Multivariate Analysis PNP 720 Parametric and Nonparametric Stochastic Processes SPC 780 Statistical Process Control WST 795 Essay EKT 720 Econometrics Master’s Programme Doctoral Programme This programme allows two options namely: Economic Statistics and Survey Statistics. The Master’s degree is presented in the following disciplines: Mathematical Statistics, Applied Statistics and Statistics. Requirements for admission: Requirements for admission: The Doctor’s degree is presented in the following disciplines: Mathematical Statistics, Applied Statistics and Statistics. The study is performed under the supervision of a promoter. The topic is determined and the promoter is appointed in consultation with and subject to the approval of the head of the department. The topic of the thesis to be submitted must be approved by the Dean on recommendation of the head of the department. BCom(Hons) in Statistics An average mark of 65% or more in Statistics on the 300 level or an equivalent statistical module at an accredited institution is required. In the case of the option Economic Statistics, a minimum average mark of 60% in Economics on the 300 level is also required. Economic Statistics option: Code Module name Compulsory modules (First semester) MET 720 Multivariate Techniques RAL 780 Regression Analysis MIE 780 Micro Economics MEK 780 Macro Economics Compulsory modules (Second semester) MET 710 Multivariate Techniques EKT 720 Econometrics TRA 720 Time Series Analysis Elective modules (select at least one ) SVS 710 Statistical Forecasting STK 795 Essay SFT 720 Sampling Techniques SPC 780 Statistical Process Control Survey Statistics option: Code Module name Compulsory modules (First semester) MET 720 Multivariate Techniques RAL 780 Regression Analysis SFT 720 Sampling Techniques SVS 710 Statistical Forecasting Compulsory modules (Second semester) MET 710 Multivariate Techniques SPC 780 Statistical Process Control TRA 720 Time Series Analysis Elective modules (select at least one ) STK 795 Essay EKT 720 Econometrics Any other additional module approved by the head of the department can be selected as an elective. An appropriate honours degree is required. In the case of students from other universities, additional requirements and conditions may be prescribed by the Dean on the recommendation of the supervisors and the head of the department. The research proposal of applicants should be in line with the research focus of the department. Programme Composition The master’s degree is awarded on the grounds of a dissertation and additional module work that may be prescribed. A pass mark must be obtained in the dissertation as well as in the additional module work. The following degrees are offered: MSc: Mathematical Statistics and MSc: Applied Statistics The Mathematical Statistics option involves theoretical research work with applications and the Applied Statistics option involves more application based research with some theoretical work. The most appropriate option for the dissertation must be discussed with the head of the department. Requirements for admission: A minimum average mark of 60% or more in BSc (Hons) Mathematical Statistics or an applicable Honours degree at an accredited institution is required. MCom: Mathematical Statistics option Requirements for admission: Same as for the MSc but with the respective BCom (Hons) degree. Dissertation (07250341) EBW 801 Research OR Methodology WST 890 Dissertation Course work (07250342) EBW 801 Research Methodology WST 895 Essay MCom: Statistics option Requirements for admission: An appropriate master’s degree is required. In the case of students from other universities, additional requirements and conditions may be prescribed by the Dean on the recommendation of the supervisors and the head of the department. The research proposal of applicants should be in line with the research focus of the department. Master’s and Doctoral degree research focus areas: • • • • • • • • • • • Statistical Process Control Beyond Known Distributions Data Mining Generalised Linear Models Optimal Design for Linear Mixed Models Image Processing Categorical Data Analysis Time Series Analysis Statistics Education Official Statistics Structural Equation Models For any further information please refer to our Postgraduate Study Brochure, available on the web: www.up.ac.za under the Department of Statistics link. There are wonderful opportunities for postgraduate bursaries. Please contact us for more information on the bursaries. Requirements for admission: A minimum average mark of 65% or more in BCom (Hons) Statistics or an applicable Honours degree at an accredited institution is required. Dissertation (07250061) Course work (07250062) EBW 801 Research OR Methodology STK 890 Dissertation EBW 801 Research Methodology STK 895 Essay Modules offered (MCom and MSc): Applied Regression Analysis (TRG 880), Capita Selecta: Statistical Process Control (STK 880), Time Series Analysis (TRA 880) and Data Mining (MVA 880). Contact details Department of Statistics University of Pretoria PRETORIA 0002 +27 12 420-3774 or +27 12 420-3450 Website: Department of Statistics at http://up.ac.za/