Objectives
The Master’s degree programme in Statistical Sciences prepares professionals capable of managing the process of data collection, description, modelling, analysis and interpretation for the study of complex phenomena and to support decision-making processes within institutions, companies and public and private research bodies.
The educational objectives of the degree programme are:
- the acquisition of a solid foundation in the theory of stochastic processes;
- knowledge of the principles and methods of planning statistical surveys and experiments;
- competence in the development and use of specific statistical models for various relevant application contexts;
- the acquisition of skills for the management, including computer-based management, of large volumes of data;
- the ability to work independently and in teams to solve real-world problems in relevant application contexts;
- the ability to communicate in writing and orally, in particular by using specialist vocabulary in a simple and appropriate manner;
- the acquisition of a basic grounding sufficient to enable continuous professional development;
- the acquisition of a basic and specialist grounding sufficient to gain entry to national and international PhD programmes in the disciplines covered by the curriculum.
Specific activities are planned for the various study programmes to provide the skills required for the different professional profiles identified.
Structure of the programme
The programme provides a solid, unified foundation consisting of core modules in the fields of statistics, applied statistics and applied mathematics.
Building on this common foundation, the programme offers a choice between alternative curricula, enabling students to acquire specific skills relevant to well-defined professional roles in the fields of statistical theory and methods, operations research, biostatistics, and quantitative methods for the analysis of demographic and social phenomena.
The specialisation of students’ training across the various curricula is achieved through an appropriate diversification of courses in statistics and applied statistics within the core modules, and within the scientific and disciplinary sectors of the courses offered as part of the related modules.
In order to prepare graduates for professional roles with clear career options, each of the proposed curricula offers the possibility of selecting specific educational paths.
- Data analytics curriculum: covers the fields of Data Analytics (Statistical Data Science) and Operations Research. It includes a wide range of courses in statistical theory, statistical methodology, computer science (for Big Data management) and operations research.
- Biostatistics curriculum: this covers areas of statistical methodology applied to the medical, biological and experimental sciences in general. In addition to courses in statistical theory, the programme includes courses in statistical methodology for the analysis of biomedical data (e.g. epidemiological data or data obtained from clinical trials, etc.).
- Social Demography curriculum: covers the dynamics of population processes, social surveys and official statistics. The teaching activities within this curriculum devote considerable attention to quantitative methods for the analysis of population and social data.