Entry requirements

Academic requirements

A Bachelor's degree, equivalent to a Swedish Kandidatexamen, from an internationally recognised university.

Also required is 90 credits in statistics.

Language requirements

Proficiency in English equivalent to the Swedish upper secondary course English 6. This requirement can be met either by achieving the required score on an internationally recognised test, or by previous upper secondary or university studies in some countries. Detailed instructions on how to provide evidence of your English proficiency are available at universityadmissions.se.

Aims

The goal of the two-year Master Programme in Statistics is to provide students with the capacity to work independently as statisticians. This requires a good knowledge of methods and an ability to develop and adapt methods chosen to the practical problem at hand. As statisticians normally work with other occupational categories, there is also a need for a good ability to communicate with non-statisticians, both orally and in writing, about the possibilities and limitations of statistical analysis.

The programme prepares students both for research-level education in statistics and for professional careers.

Learning outcomes

Goals Expressed as Expected Outcomes

Upon completing the programme students are expected to

• have an overview of and be critically able to judge and discuss the principles of estimation and inference that underpin basic statistical theory;
• have a deeper knowledge of statistical inference and be able to discuss and analyse its possibilities and limitations;
• have a deeper knowledge of the use of statistical methods in empirical applications, be able to interpret, analyse, and critically evaluate results on the basis of scientific and ethical considerations;
• orally and in writing be able to communicate about the possibilities and limitations of statistical analysis;
• evince an ability critically, independently, and creatively to identify and formulate problems of significance for statistical science.

Layout of the programme

Content

The Master Programme in Statistics is a two-year programme comprising 120 higher education credits. The programme prepares students for careers in advanced positions in private and public activities, such as analyst/investigator at government ministries, analyst in banking and finance, methods statistician at biomedical companies, etc.

The Master programme prepares students well for these positions.

Set-Up of the Programme

The programme comprises four semesters of full-time study. The programme is based on course modules of 7.5 or 15 credits. During the first three semesters, besides applied courses, compulsory courses in statistical theory and a course in programming are given. Semester four is devoted to a degree project (Master's thesis) worth 30 higher education credits where the prerequisites are at least 60 credits in Statistics at the advanced level.

Student wishing to conclude their studies after one year replace coursework worth 15 higher education credits in the second semester with a degree project. The prerequisites for this degree project are at least 30 credits in Statistics at the advanced level.

Some of the courses in the programme can be given in collaboration with the Department of Statistics, Stockholm University, but also the Departments of Mathematical Statistics at Stockholm/Uppsala and the Department of Economics, Uppsala.

Basic Structure and Progression in the Programme

The programme builds on knowledge from the basic level in the Statistics Programme and entails a further development of student skills and greater depth in the academic area.

The foundations of statistics are the theory of probability and the theory of inference. Knowledge from these courses is used in the methods-oriented courses. As many methods are not implemented in the programme package, a course is also given that includes statistical programming.

Progression in the programme entails a higher level of intellectual maturity and deeper insights into the complexities of the subject. This, together with the ability to integrate knowledge and skills and to independently formulate and solve problems, is demonstrated in a concluding degree project (Master's thesis).

Traineeships; Collaboration between the University and the Business Community

During the programme opportunities are provided to experience a semester of supervised training at a public authority, an organisation, or a company that can provide work assignments of value to the selected specialisation and future career plans. The traineeship semester comprises 30 higher education credits in the degree.

Studies abroad

In the two-year Master programme, one semester may be spent at a foreign university within the framework of the exchange programmes that the Department and/or the University offers. Following review, credits from studies at foreign universities can be counted as part of a course or as a whole course in the programme.

Instruction

The programme is grounded in science and is tied to research, and students are provided with opportunities to continuously develop their methodological competence and a scientific approach. Students are expected to assume more and more responsibility for their own learning the further they progress in the programme and to successively acquire occupationally relevant and research-based knowledge and skills. Knowledge is conveyed and acquired through instruction, individual studies, seminar discussions, and independent work that is presented both orally and in writing.

Instruction is in English.

Degree

The programme leads to a one-year Master's degree or a two-year Master's degree with statistics as the major field. The two-year Master's degree requires the completion of 120 higher education credits with at least 60 higher education credits in statistics, including independent work (degree project) worth 30 higher education credits. The one-year Master's degree requires the completion of 60 higher education credits with at least 30 higher education credits in statistics, including independent work (degree project) worth 15 higher education credits.

The one-year Master's degree is called “Filosofie magisterexamen” in Swedish, and “Degree of Master in Social Science, 60 credits” in English. The two-year Master's degree is called “Filosofie masterexamen” in Swedish, and “Degree of Master in Social Science, 120 credits” in English. Up to 30 higher education credits may consist of traineeships in the two-year programme.

Other directives

Language

Instruction is in English.