Programme Description

The objective of the programme is to offer a wide-ranging training in statistics at a high scientific level aimed at a number of specific application fields: biomedical statistics, statistics used in the social, behavioral and educational sciences, statistics used in a business or government environment, or in the industry. In addition, there is a methodological and a broad all round option.

The aim is to train students intensively in both theoretical and practical aspects of statistics, to bring them in contact with basic concepts and methods and to create a problem-solving attitude with the aid of statistical methodology.

Lastly, the intention of the programme is to bring the student in contact with the different ways in which statistics is used in the various disciplines. This is realized in the different options, each of which is aimed at a particular application area and groups the most important statistical techniques used in this area. In this way, the student will get an insight into the various approaches and an idea of statistics as a discipline, as well as insight into domain-specific methods.

The available options are: Biometrics, Social behavioral and educational statistics, Business statistics, Industrial statistics, General statistical methodology and All round statistics. Within each option (except the last one), there is a research sub-option and a professional sub-option.

The intended learning outcomes are:

• To have gained thorough knowledge of a wide range of current statistical techniques and their mutual relations;
• (research sub-option) To have extended one's knowledge of the above with an emphasis on the underlying theory;
• (professional sub-option) To have acquired enough background knowledge linked to the chosen specialization to be able to work as a statistical consultant vis-à-vis colleagues in the same specialization;
• To be able of choosing the most suitable analysis technique for a specific problem arising within the chosen specialization;
• To have acquired the necessary oral and written communication abilities to read statistical scientific publications and software documentation, to write statistical reports and to deliver statistical presentations.
• To be able to search the scientific literature for publications relevant to the analysis, the background or the software solution of a statistical problem.
• To be able of carrying out these analysis techniques without help (using software packages), interpreting the results and communicating these to the requesting party;
• (research sub-option) To be able of using the theory creatively, in a theoretical as well as in an application context, contributing in this way to scientific research;
• To have an attitude to perform statistics on an innovative and scientifically founded level during and after the study career.