Education

The Master of Statistics programme consists of 120 ECTS. Programme length is two years, but this may be substantially reduced depending on your prior knowledge and qualifications. The programme is organised in collaboration with Hasselt University.

The Master of Statistics is an initial Master's programme. You can follow this programme on a full-time or part-time basis.

Profile

The programme attracts students from a variety of disciplines. At a minimum, prospective students should have obtained an academic Bachelor's degree with a sound background in introductory statistics. Furthermore, prospective students should have the cognitive skills, competencies and attitude expected of a master-level student, including:
- the ability to autonomously build a discourse based on disciplinary insights;
- the ability to contextualise and critically process scientific information;
- knowledge of research methods and techniques the ability to apply them within the discipline;
- insight and involvement in ethical, normative and societal questions.

For specific admission requirements, click on the desired programme in the 'Choose your courses of study' section.

Objectives

The objective of the programme is to offer 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, behavioural and educational sciences, statistics used in a business or government environment, and statistics used in industry. In addition, students may choose to follow a methodology-focussed or all-around option.

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

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

The available options are: Biometrics, Social Behavioural and Educational Statistics, Business Statistics, Industrial Statistics, General Statistical Methodology and All-around Statistics. Within each option (with the exception of 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 specialisation to be able to work as a statistical consultant vis-à-vis colleagues in the same specialisation;
- To be able to choose the most suitable analysis technique for a specific problem arising within the chosen specialisation;
- To have acquired the necessary oral and written communication abilities to read statistical scientific publications and software documentation, write statistical reports and 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 to apply these analysis techniques without help (using software packages), interpreting the results and communicating them to the requesting party;
- (research sub-option) To be able to use theory creatively, in a theoretical as well as in an application-specific context, contributing in this way to scientific research;
- To perform the work of a statistician on an innovative and scientifically founded level, both as a student and as an alumnus.

Information sessions

KU Leuven organises a Verderstudeerbeurs each spring. In addition, faculties also organise information sessions for many of their bridging and graduate programmes.

All information sessions for (future) Master's students

Spotlight

Leuven Statistics Research Centre (LStat)

In 2007, LStat grew out of UCS, which was founded in 1988 as an interfaculty institute playing a coordinating role between the various KU Leuven research groups working in statistics. Currently, approximately 25 groups across 11 faculties are involved in LStat's activities, which mainly involve teaching, research, and consulting within and outside the university.

Contact

Faculty of Science
Programme director
Prof. dr. G. Molenberghs
Tel. +32 16 32 64 03
geert.molenberghs@med.kuleuven.be
Leuven Statistics Research Centre (LStat)
Celestijnenlaan 200B
3001 HEVERLEE, Belgium
tel. + 32 16 322214
fax + 32 16 322831
info@lstat.kuleuven.be
Administrative Office
Geel Huis
Kasteelpark Arenberg 11 bus 2100
3001 HEVERLEE
tel. + 32 16 32 14 01
info@wet.kuleuven.be

General information

Study Advice Service
Naamsestraat 80 box 5415
3000 LEUVEN, Belgium
To contact us please complete the contact form on our website.

Useful links

Visit this programme's website.

Download this brochure

Download this Master's brochure.

Order this Master's brochure.