The University of Reading Diploma in Statistics Structure of the course The Diploma runs from late September to the middle of July each year. This includes three University terms, which last for ten weeks each, and an introductory week preceding the first term. Lectures are taken from the undergraduate programme and these are complemented by tutorials specifically for Diploma students. In the Autumn and Spring terms, the emphasis is on students covering the main statistical concepts and theory, and consolidating their use of mathematical ideas and language.
Students also design, conduct and analyse their own survey.
In the Summer term, courses concentrate on the application of methods learnt in the first two terms to real-life problems. Further computing skills, experimental design and methods of exploratory data analysis are also introduced. Graphical, tabular and numerical methods for summarising data are given and illustrated using several real data sets. Probability and Statistical Methods Topics covered include the definition and measurement of uncertainty, the manipulation of probability statements and an introduction to probability distributions. Statistical Mathematics Certain mathematical ideas are essential for a good understanding of statistical theory.