Masters in Statistical Science (With Specialisation in Data Science)

Uwc graduated its first three students, samuel mubenga (second from the left), tayla wannenberg (middle) and yusrie sadan (second from the right), from this collaborative msc (statistical science) programme in april 2019. 

• On 28 March 2018, the Statistics and Population Studies Department at UWC in collaboration with the Centre for Business, Mathematics and Informatics (BMI) at Northwest University (NWU), launched an industry directed one-year Master’s programme in Statistical Science with specialisation in Data Science. Funding to launch this joint programme was provided by Sanlam and SAS provided the needed specialised software to help us train the students.  As part of the training, students do an internship at a company during the second semester which forms the basis of their industry directed research thesis.  The Department of Statistics and Population Studies staff joined forces with the NWU lecturers to make this unique training opportunity a great success. 
• We recently received new funding from Imvelo Ventures a Venture Capital investment company founded by Capitec Bank and Empowerment Capital Investment Partners to support students and further develop and expand our Data Science programmes.  Bursaries will be offered to the top deserving honours and masters students in our Statistical/Data Science programmes.  The bursary recipients will be identified by the academic team and selected in collaboration with Imvelo Ventures.
• UWC graduated its first three students, Samuel Mubenga (second from the left), Tayla Wannenberg (middle) and Yusrie Sadan (second from the right), from this collaborative MSc (Statistical Science) programme in April 2019. All three students are gainfully employed (as data scientists) and thriving.
• For more information about this new and exciting Data Science programme that spans a bridge from academia to industry, contact Prof Rénette Blignaut from the Department of Statistics and Population Studies or her colleagues Dr Julia Keddie, Dr Retha Luus, Dr Humphrey Brydon, Mrs Leonor Bosman and Mrs Rechelle Jacobs.  The team is strengthened by the well-known Prof Machiel Kruger and Prof Sarel Steel. This team has worked diligently and enthusiastically to get the Data Science programme off the ground in record time.​

Admission requirements for the MSc in Statistical Science (with specialisation in Data Science)

• Honours degree or equivalent in Statistical or Computer Science.

During the final selection process preference will be given to applicants who have completed:

• Third-year level Statistics;
• Second-year level Mathematics;
• Advanced Statistical Learning or Machine Learning; and 
• Programming skills.

Module Description Semester: Jan-Jun=1 -Jul-Dec=2 Credits

• STA841 Business intelligence 841 Semester 1 15.00
• STA842 Contemporary issues in business analysis 842 Semester 1 15.00
• COF827 Financial risk management Semester 1 15.00
• STA843 Multicriteria decision making 843 Semester 1 15.00
• STA810 Research methodology 810 Semester 1 15.00
• STA800 Data mining II 800 Semester 2 15.00
• STA839 Research project 839 (students spend 3 days per week at industry partner office) Semester 2 90.00