General entry requirements

Minimum requirements

2:i undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in Statistics, Mathematics or a science with sufficiently high mathematical content.

English language requirements

You can find out more about our English language requirements. This course requires the following:

• Band A
• No score lower than 6.0 in all IELTS fields with a total score of 6.5 minimum.

International qualifications

We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications.

For more information, please visit the international entry requirements page.

Additional requirements

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

Core modules

Statistical Methods

The module content will include a thorough grounding in classical and Bayesian methods of statistical inference with an introduction to selected modern developments in statistical methodology. Since MSc students have different background knowledge in statistics, we start afresh although a solid mathematical background is assumed. At the end of the course you will have a solid background in basic concepts of statistical methodology and knowledge at an advanced level in some areas.

An Introduction to Statistical Practice

Introduction to Statistical Practice module introduces statistical computing, using R, through hands-on practical classes on the analysis of real data from a variety of scientific and other disciplines; and develops such skills are report-writing, statistical graphics, etc.

Dissertation

To complete the MSc, a student also undertakes a substantial project under the supervision of a Department member, and writes a dissertation reporting the results. Such projects can be in any of the areas covered by the MSc, including applied statistics, statistical methodology, computational methods, probability etc.

Optional modules

The remaining six modules are chosen from a wide range of options, subject to availability, to suit the interests of individual students. The options include:

Advanced Topics in Data Science

This module will be comprised of three selected topics in the area of computational challenges associated with data analysis. The topics may change year to year. Some examples of topics from previous academic years: Deep Learning for Natural Language Processing, Decision Trees and Random Forests, Model Comparison and Selection, Artificial Neural Networks, Introduction to Reinforcement Learning and Modelling the Written Word: Compression and Human-Computer-Interfaces.

Bayesian Forecasting and Intervention with Advanced Topics

Forecasting is a vital prerequisite to decision making. This course offers a very powerful fundamental probabilistic approach to forecasting, controlling and learning about uncertain commercial, financial, economic, production, environmental and medical dynamic systems. The theory will be illustrated by real examples from industry, marketing, finance, government, agriculture etc. A familiarity with the material in this module will be very useful to all students planning a career involving a component of industrial, business or government statistics.

Applied Stochastic Processes with Advanced Topics

This module provides an introduction to concepts and techniques which are fundamental in modern applied probability theory and operations research: Models for queues, point processes, and epidemics. Furthermore, we study notions of equilibrium, threshold behaviour, and description of structure. The ideas presented in this module have a vast range of applications, for example routing algorithms in telecommunications (queues), assessment of apparent spatial order in astronomical data (stochastic geometry), description of outbreaks of disease (epidemics).

Medical Statistics with Advanced Topics

Modern applications of statistics to medicine are highly developed, and many medical research papers employ statistical techniques. Large numbers of statisticians are employed in medical research establishments, particularly in pharmaceutical companies and medical schools. Medical statistics continues to be a buoyant area for statistical recruitment. The course will explain why and how statistics is used in medicine, and study some of the statistical methods commonly used in medical research. We will include examples from our own research. The statistical techniques applied to medical data are also relevant in other applications.

Monte Carlo Methods

When modelling real world phenomena statisticians are often confronted with the following dilemma: should we choose a standard model that is easy to compute with or use a more realistic model that is not amenable to analytic computations such as determining means and p-values. We are faced with such choice in a vast variety of application areas, some of which we will encounter in this module. These include financial models, genetics, polymer simulation, target tracking, statistical image analysis and missing data problems. With the advent of modern computer technology we are no longer restricted to standard models as we can use simulation-based inference.

Designed Experiments with Advanced Topics

Designed experiments are used in industry, agriculture, medicine and many other areas of activity to test hypotheses, to learn about processes and to predict future responses. The primary purpose of experimentation is to determine the relationship between a response variable and the settings of a number of experimental variables (or factors) that are presumed to affect it. Experimental design is the discipline of determining the number and order (spatial or temporal) of experimental runs, and the setting of the experimental variables.

Multivariate Statistics with Advanced Topics

Multivariate data arises whenever several interdependent variables are measured simultaneously. Such high-dimensional data is becoming the rule, rather than the exception in many areas: in medicine, in the social and environmental sciences and in economics. The analysis of such multidimensional data often presents an exciting challenge that requires new statistical techniques which are usually implemented using computer packages. This module aims to give you a good and rigorous understanding of the geometric and algebraic ideas that these techniques are based on, before giving you a chance to try them out on some real data sets.

Statistical Frontiers

This module is also taken by PhD students in the Warwick Centre for Doctoral Training in Mathematics and Statistics. Each topic will be presented by a different lecturer, who is an expert in the research area. The lectures are intended to introduce a particular research topic, provide a short overview and stimulate your interest in this particular area. Taken as a whole, the module gives a (necessarily partial and incomplete) idea of the breadth of the research interests and expertise within the Department and should thus help you discover the broadness of research areas in statistics and probability that are at the cutting edge of interest.

Teaching

For the nine-month period from October to June, you will be engaged in attending a set of modules ranging across the spectrum of the most fundamental areas of Statistics and Probability.  

After completing the taught portion of the Master’s you will undertake a dissertation project under supervision of a member of staff.

Assessment

Assessment is initially made for each module separately: some modules have an element of continuous assessment through coursework, but the majority of modules assessed through written examinations in May and June or, for some modules, January.

Your performance in the core and optional modules combined is then examined by an examinations board consisting of academic staff plus an External Examiner appointed from another university. Dissertations are examined in the Department and then by the External Examiner.

The MSc degree is awarded subject to satisfactory standard in the dissertation and taught modules. Students who do outstandingly well in both taught modules and the dissertation may be awarded the MSc with Distinction or Merit.

Reading lists

Most departments have reading lists available through Warwick Library. If you would like to view reading lists for the current cohort of students you can visit our Warwick Library web page.

Your timetable

Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules, compulsory and optional, and you have been allocated to your lectures, seminars and other small group classes. Your compulsory modules will be registered for you and you will be able to choose your optional modules when you join us.

Your career

Graduates from these courses have gone on to work for employers distributed worldwide including companies such as: Aimia; Thomas Miller; DeLoitte as well as international pharmaceutical industries. Candidates with high distinction marks have gone on to pursue PhD degrees at prestigious universities such as Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial, LSE, etc. or in the US.

Our graduates have pursued roles such as: professional statisticians; actuaries; business, research and administrative professionals; IT business analysts, architects and systems designers; management consultants and business analysts; programmers and software development professionals.

Our department has a dedicated professionally qualified Senior Careers Consultant offering impartial advice and guidance together with workshops and events throughout the year. Previous examples of workshops and events include:

• Warwick careers fairs throughout the year
• Employer presentations within the department (e.g. Pharmaceutical Statistics, Actuarial, Geospatial Analytics)
• Interview skills for Statistics students
• Maths and Stats Careers Fair
• PhD academic and non-academic careers event

Statistics at Warwick

Statistics and probability theory are key to understanding data and underlying processes involving risk and uncertainty.

We explore the applications and impact include sciences, social sciences, medicine, engineering, management science, finance, commerce and many more areas.

Founded in October 1972, Warwick Statistics is internationally renowned for wide-ranging research and innovative undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes.

Find out more about us on our website.

Our Postgraduate courses

• Statistics (MSc)
• Statistics (PhD/MPhil)

Tuition fees

Tuition fees are payable for each year of your course at the start of the academic year, or at the start of your course, if later. Academic fees cover the cost of tuition, examinations and registration and some student amenities.

Taught course fees  Research course fees

Fee Status Guidance

The University carries out an initial fee status assessment based on information provided in the application and according to the guidance published by UKCISA. Students are classified as either Home or Overseas Fee status and this can determine the tuition fee and eligibility of certain scholarships and financial support.

If you receive an offer, your fee status will be stated with the tuition fee information, however we are awaiting guidance from the UK government regarding fee status for EU, other EEA and Swiss nationals and their family members living in the UK for academic year 2021/22 onwards. We are not able to confirm the fee status for these students until the relevant eligibility criteria have been confirmed. Once we have received further information from the UK government, we will provide you with an update on your fee status and let you know if any additional information is required. If you believe your fee status has been incorrectly classified you can complete a fee status assessment questionnaire (follow the instructions in your offer) and provide the required documentation for this to be reassessed.

The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) provides guidance to UK universities on fees status criteria, you can find the latest guidance on the impact of Brexit on fees and student support on the UKCISA website.

Additional course costs

Please contact your academic department for information about department specific costs, which should be considered in conjunction with the more general costs below, such as:

• Core text books
• Printer credits
• Dissertation binding
• Robe hire for your degree ceremony

Scholarships and bursaries