Master Programme Applied Statistics,
University of Ljubljana
Mojca Bavdaž ([email protected])1
Keywords: EMOS-labelled programme, official statistics module
The master programme Applied Statistics is based on the interdisciplinary postgraduate
programme in Statistics, which started at the University of Ljubljana in 2002 but had to be
aligned to the Bologna system (including the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation
System (ECTS)) following the amendment to the Higher Education Act. Given the positive
feedback from that programme and the advantages of the interdisciplinary approach, the
programme Applied Statistics is also conceived as a collaborative effort of several
faculties. The programme has a strong link with the National Statistical Institute (NSI) that
offers internships, supports preparation of master theses, enables participation of NSI’s
employees in the teaching process as guests from practice/lecturers, and encourages other
forms of co-operation to the benefit of the student or development of the field of official
statistics.
The main goal of the programme is to educate experts with knowledge of the basics of
statistical theory as well as being in command of specific methods in a chosen area of
application. Graduates have statistical skills necessary for immediate inclusion into work
in industry or public service. At the same time the programme offers enough theoretical
knowledge for students to be able to extend their competence to other areas of statistics or
continue the studies at the doctoral programme.
The programme is open to all students with the first-cycle (bachelor) degree regardless of
the field (such open access is legally mandated). As indicated in Figure 1, the study begins
with an introductory course of statistics that familiarises the students with basic statistical
concepts and gives them the ability to understand the need for the topics covered in the
subsequent courses. The rest of the first semester equips the student with tools from
mathematics and probability, and acts as a support to the main course on inferential
statistics, which gives the theoretical background of the most important ideas of statistics.
A course on the statistical package R, used as a general tool in all courses, enables the
student to test the theoretical ideas as well as solve practical examples. The subsequent
compulsory courses introduce data sources and generally used statistical methods, and are
followed by modular and elective courses that enable the student to specialise in the desired
field of statistics. Since the academic year 2016/2017, students can choose among six
modules: Biostatistics, Economic and Business Statistics, Mathematical Statistics, Official
Statistics, Social Sciences Statistics and Technical Statistics. The Official Statistics
Module is coordinated by the University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Economics. The
programme finishes with a practically oriented course on statistical consulting that teaches
the student to apply the statistical knowledge acquired during the study program to a reallife practical case (mainly through an internship), and a master’s thesis that further
improves the student’s knowledge of a specific field.
1
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Economics
1
Figure 1. Curriculum Outline for Official Statistics Module
2