The normal requirement for admission is a good honours degree which includes some Mathematics, but applications from those with other qualifications, and those wishing to retrain, are also welcomed.
Formal teaching takes place in the first two terms.
All students attend lecture courses on core material which give a thorough grounding in modern Statistical Methods, including Inference, Linear and Generalised Linear Models and Multivariate Analysis. Students choose further courses from a wide range of options including Bayesian Statistics, Ecological Modelling and Medical Statistics. Practical data analysis is a vital component of the course and students are given experience of analysing real data problems through weekly practical classes. Students have the opportunity to specialise in a specific area of interest to them through their work on a project. The possible areas of specialisation are wide-ranging, generally reflecting the key areas of research strength within the department.