Statistics

Introduction

What should your home contents insurance cost? How many people will survive a particular disease? What are the odds of winning a game of solitaire? 

The two-year MSc in Statistics is open to students from universities in Denmark and abroad. The programme is flexible, allowing students to specialise while at the same time acquiring general competencies in statistics. It is also possible to become a PhD student within the area.

Teaching in the programme is greatly influenced by research, as the lecturers are active researchers. In addition to lectures, the teaching includes theoretical and practical exercises. As a student of statistics, you have the opportunity to specialise in a subject within a broad area, including one of the areas of statistics in which Aarhus University is particularly strong – theoretical and applied statistics, and probability theory. In this context students benefit from the down-to-earth, informal relationship between faculty and students, particularly when working on the thesis in year two of the programme.

Applicants to the statistics programme are expected to have a solid background in mathematical statistics. As the statistics programme at the University of Aarhus is characterized by a heavy focus on theoretical aspects, incoming students are required to have a strong background in advanced probability theory based on measure and integration theory.

Euler's friends

Students in the programme are based at the Department of Mathematics, which has its own canteen, computer rooms, library, and study areas shared by students. But there is time for more than just lectures in the department. A number of student organisations such as Eulers Venner (Euler’s Friends) and the Kalkulerbar (Friday bar) are based at the department, and academic activities, study trips and social functions are organised.

Career profile

There is an undersupply of statisticians. Statistics graduates from Aarhus University are very much in demand and their employment prospects are extremely good, whether in Aarhus, the rest of Denmark or abroad. Statistics students in Aarhus often take student jobs which in many cases lead to permanent employment upon completion of the degree.

Statistics graduates typically work at universities and research institutions, in the pharmaceutical industry, the telecommunications and finance sectors, or in insurance companies. In universities, statistics graduates are often engaged in interdisciplinary work with doctors, biologists or chemists, where they analyse large amounts of data; graduates also teach statistics to these professional groups. In the pharmaceutical industry, statisticians plan clinical trials or design methods for examining whether new drugs have unwanted side effects. In the insurance industry, statistics graduates typically work as actuaries and may contribute to working out tariffs. Common to all these jobs is the requirement for knowledge of a number of complicated mathematical models.