MSc in Statistics

(MSc in de statistiek)

2015-2016

Welcome! You made a good choice!

“I keep saying that the sexy job in the next 10 years will be

statisticians.”

Hal Varian, chief economist at Google in The New York

Times, August 6, 2009

Accreditation

Accredited by:

The Royal Statistical Society.

Master of Science in de statistiek

• Requirement of Flemish government to offer programme in

Dutch as well.

• Not a real ‘balanced’ programme

QASS track

Quantitative Analysis in the Social Sciences (QASS)

• Reduced track (60 ECTS)

• 1 year

• Largely evening/weekend programme

• Separate admission procedure

• Admission requirements: Master or 4-year bachelor

MSc in Statistics

Basic Courses (30 ECTS)

Business Statistics

(32 ECTS)

Social, Behavioural and Educational Statistics

(32 ECTS)

Industrial Statistics

(32 ECTS)

Biometrics

(32 ECTS)

General Statistical Methodology

(32 ECTS)

All Round Statistics

(62 ECTS)

Choose 30 ECTS from list of courses

Master’s Thesis (24 ECTS) + Ethics Course (4 ECTS)

Phase 1, Basic courses (30 ECTS)

Taught in 1st semester of phase 1

Compulsory for all students

• Fundamental Concepts of Statistics (6 ECTS)

• Generalized Linear Models (6 ECTS)

• Regression Analysis (5 ECTS)

• Analysis of Variance (4 ECTS)

• Multivariate Statistics (6 ECTS)

• Statistical Software (3 ECTS)

Phase 1, Specialised courses (32 ECTS)

Most are taught in 2nd semester of phase 1

6 fields of study:

1. Biometrics

2. Social, Behavioural and Educational Statistics

3. Business Statistics

4. Industrial Statistics

5. General Statistical Methodology

6. All Round Statistics

One session on ‘Ethical Aspects of Statistical Consulting’ will

be organised in the Spring 2016. This is mandatory for all

Phase 1 students and recommended for phase 2 students.

Phase 1, Biometrics (32 ECTS)

All courses are taught during the 2nd semester of phase 1

All courses within this specialisation are compulsory

4 ECTS each (15 hours)

• Statistical Consulting

• Statistical Analysis of Reliability and Survival Data

• Experimental Design (weblecture)

• Concepts of Clinical Trials

• Epidemiology

• Concepts of Bayesian Data Analysis (video-teaching)

• Meta Analysis

• Concepts of Multilevel, Longitudinal and Mixed Models (weblecture)

Phase 1,Social, Behavioural and Educational

Statistics (32 ECTS)

Almost all courses are taught during the 2nd semester of phase 1

The student chooses a minimum of 32 credits from this list

Most courses have 4 ECTS

• Multilevel Analysis (6 ECTS): (1st sem.)

• Survey Methodology

• Structural Equations (6 ECTS)

• Experimental Design (web lecture)

• Sampling Theory (web lecture)

• Concepts of Bayesian Data Analysis (video-teaching)

• Meta Analysis

• Concepts of Multilevel, Longitudinal and Mixed Models (web lecture)

Phase 1, Business Statistics (32 ECTS)

Some courses are taught during the 1st semester of phase 1!!

→ take some of these courses in phase 2

Choose courses for min. 32 ECTS

• Advanced econometrics (6 ECTS, 1st sem.)

• Advanced Time Series Analysis (6 ECTS, 1st sem.)

• Data mining and Neural Networks (1st sem.)

• Fundamentals of Financial Mathematics (1st sem)

• Statistics for Finance and Insurance (1st sem)

• Total Quality Management

• Survey Methodology

• Statistical Analysis of Reliability and Survival Data

• Sampling theory (web lectures)

• Structural Equations (6 ECTS)

• Advanced applied econometrics (6 ECTS)

Phase 1, Industrial Statistics (31 ECTS)

Some courses are taught during the 1st semester of phase 1!!

→ take those courses in phase 2

All courses within this specialisation are compulsory

• Data mining and Neural Networks (1st sem.)

• Stochastic Models (1st sem.)

• Total Quality Management

• Statistical Consulting

• Statistical Analysis of Reliability and Survival Data

• Experimental Design (weblecture)

• Chemometrics

• Concepts of Bayesian Data Analysis (video-conf.)

Phase 1,General Statistical Methodology

(32 ECTS)

Some courses are taught during the 1st semester of phase 1!!

→ take those courses in phase 2

All courses within this specialisation are compulsory

Most courses have 4 ECTS

• Advanced Time Series Analysis (6 ECTS, 1st sem.)

• Data mining and Neural Networks (1st sem.)

• Statistical Analysis of Reliability and Survival Data

• Experimental Design (web lecture)

• Sampling Theory (web lecture)

• Concepts of Bayesian Data Analysis (video-conf.)

• Meta Analysis

• Concepts of Multilevel, Longitudinal and Mixed Models (web lecture)

Phase 1,Specialisation All Round Statistics

(62 ECTS)

Choose 62 ECTS from main courses of other options

Choose half of them in the 1st phase and half of them in 2nd

phase

Basic Courses (30 ECTS)

Business Statistics (32 ECTS)

Social, Behavioural and Educational Statistics (32 ECTS)

Industrial Statistics (32 ECTS)

Biometrics (32 ECTS)

General Statistical Methodology (32 ECTS)

All Round Statistics

(62 ECTS)

From main courses of other options

Choose 30 ECTS from

Statistical Modelling, Survival Data Analysis, Longitudinal Data

Analysis, Bayesian Data Analysis II, Optimization and Numerical

Methods, Statistical Inference, Advanced Non-parametric statistics ,

Robust Statistics*, Statistics of Extremes, Capita Selecta in Statistics

and from a list of optional courses which can be consulted at

http://onderwijsaanbod.kuleuven.be/opleidingen/e/SC_51016989.htm

* Will not be taught in 2014-2015

Master’s Thesis (24 ECTS) + Ethics Course (4 ECTS)

Phase 2

Capita Selecta:

Visualising Large Data

•4 ECTS,

•2nd Semester

•Prof. J.Aerts

Phase 2, Ethics course (4 ECTS)

Choose a course of at least 4 credits with a philosophical and/or ethical content (in a broad sense) from the courses at this university.

Suggestions:

• European Perspectives on Religion (N0A00B, 4 ECTS)

• European Perspectives on Religion and Meaning (A05E3A, 3 ECTS)

• Introduction to Ethics (WOEA2A, 5 ECTS)

• Privacy and Big Data (H00Y2A, 4 ECTS)

• ……..

Phase 2, Master thesis (24 ECTS)

Procedure:

1. List of topics will be available (April of the 1st phase)

2. Indicate 1st, 2nd, 3rd choice or propose your own topic (Before May 1st)

3. Topics will be allocated to students (Before end of June )

4. Contact promotor

5. Written summary (before December 1st)

6. Intermediate presentation (mid March)

7. Submit thesis (June 1st)

8. Defense of thesis (end of June)

Thesis progress form etc. available on website.

Phase 2, Master thesis (24 ECTS)

Available on the website:

• Concept note of the Faculty of Science

• Regulations specific for the MSc in Statistics

• Thesis progress form etc.

Please read the instructions carefully!

Students are obliged to stick to the deadlines!

No reminders will be sent!

Only under special circumstances, deadlines will be

waived!!

Thesis presentation

• Regular studens: June session or September session

• There is a session in January but..

students can only present their thesis in January if they do

NOT have to take any other exams and they started with

the thesis (and fulfilled steps 1 and 2 of the progress report

form) in the previous academic year

Individual Study Programme (ISP)

Web application in KU Loket( see http://www.kuleuven.be/english/education/studyroute/isp)

1. Application available from 9 September onwards.

2. Select courses that you intend to follow this year (2015-2016) (Toledo !)

3. Indicate the major that you choose !

4. Make sure there are no clashes in the individual exam schedule (IER) of the courses that you select.

5. (Apply for possible exemptions )

6. Submit your ISP before October 7th.

Individual Exam Schedule (IES/IER)

• From now :

Individual exam schedules are available for the courses

from your phase.

More information:

http://icts.kuleuven.be/docs/at/cm/ve/manual.

Remark :

For oral exams, professors can make schedule with

individual time slots (do not rely on generic times)!

Remarks on ISP

• Once you have submitted the ISP, you cannot make any

changes yourself!!

• Approval before November 15th

• Changes for 2nd semester can be made at the beginning

of the 2nd semester

• If you have problems with the ISP, please come to the

session on September 22 (12.00-13.00) at

Celestijnenlaan 200 C, 01.01

• See https://wet.kuleuven.be/english/request-forms for

request and permission forms.

ISP, practical: Which courses do you need to select

when you are a student of the 1st phase?

60 credits per phase. In practice 54-66 credits

First phase, first semester:

• All Basic courses (30 ECTS)

First phase, second semester:

• Courses from the specialisation that you plan to do (32 ECTS)

• Exception for: Business Statistics, Industrial Statistics and General Methodology: choose all courses that are taught in the second semester and some courses from the second phase

ISP, practical: Which courses do you need to select

when you are a student of the 2nd phase?

• 30 ECTS from list of courses

• Ethics course (at least 4 ECTS)

• Master thesis (24 ECTS)

• Exception for: Business Statistics, Industrial Statistics and

General Methodology: choose also courses of this

specialisation that are taught in the first semester, 1st

phase

Submission of the ISP (before October 7)

• Courses in ISP are selected

• Exam schedule is OK

Make sure there are no clashes in the individual exam

schedule (IER) of the courses that you select.

(Apply for possible exemptions )

Then you can submit your ISP (before October 7)

Overview of your actions ISP/IER

Exam regulations

• https://www.kuleuven.be/education/regulations/2015/

Implementation is very strict!!

Article 81. Criteria for succeeding in a programme of

study (Paragraph 2)

New Tolerance System

Students pass a Master's programme

a) pass all courses of the programme (at least 10/20);

b) - they obtain for the programme as a whole 68%;

and

- they obtain only one fail mark of 9/20 for a course (not

the Master thesis).

Refusal of enrolment (Blocking)

• For each course, you have 2 academic years to pass a

course.

• Otherwise: refusal of enrolment for 1 year for all courses

leading to this degree.

• This is irrespective of the type of contract (credit contract

or diploma contract)

http://www.kuleuven.be/english/education/studyprogress/stud

y-progress-file#7

POC (Permanent Educational Committee)

Meets 2-3 times a year

Members:

• Programme director

• Programme coordinator

• Representatives from all 6 specialisations + QASS

• Ombudsperson (Goele Bossaert)

• 4 student representatives (From 1st phase, from 2nd phase and from QASS)

Select three representatives for the MSc in Statistics (foreign students and Flemish students, and students from phase one and phase two from different options).

Plagiarism

• Plagiarism is any identical or lightly-altered use of one's

own or someone else’s work (ideas, texts, structures,

images, plans, etc.) without adequate reference to the

source.

http://www.kuleuven.be/plagiarism/avoidance.html

• KU Leuven has a tool for plagiarism detection

o TurnItIn

• Learn to provide appropriate citation!

Plagiarism appears in different forms

o The literal or near-literal use of someone else’s text(s)

(or parts of these) irrespective of the source (including

digital sources, whether or not through the internet)

without indicating a citation (for example, through

quotation marks) and / or without adequate reference to

the source

o Copying images, diagrams, graphics, figures, sound or

image fragments, etc., without adequate reference to

the source

o Paraphrasing someone else’s arguments without

adequate reference to the source

o Translating texts without adequate reference to the

source

Plagiarism

• Plagiarism damages the quality of a paper and thus can be

interpreted as fraud. Other forms of fraud lean towards

plagiarism and are just as intolerable, such as:

o Commissioning or having papers revised (whether or

not for pay), and passing this off as one’s own work

o The re-use of one’s own work and passing it off as a

new paper

o Simulating or falsifying research data

Information

• Announcements page for students :

http://lstat.kuleuven.be/masterBologna/announcements/index

.htm

• All information about the master thesis:

http://lstat.kuleuven.be/masterBologna/studentinformationp

age.htm

• Jobs: http://lstat.kuleuven.be/jobs/Jobspostedin2015

• www.lstat.kuleuven.be

NEW: Tutorial on Latex

• Organised by students of the Master of Statistics (2nd

year)

• 4 evening sessions (18.00 -20.30) (October 28, 29,

November 4, 5 2015),Celestijnenlaan 200 S, 00.04

• For free, but registration is requested at

info@lstat.kuleuven.be before October 24

Good luck!