Overview

Past students graduating from the Honours in Mathematical Statistics Programme have been highly successful in professional practice and a number have progressed to MSc and PhD studies in Data Science, Biostatistics, and Mathematical Statistics.

Why study Mathematical Statistics?

Mathematical Statistics should:

• Prepare you for further studies in mathematical statistics and data science
• Build expertise in analytical approaches and the classical and underpinning theory of mathematical statistics
• Offer options to focus on applied mathematical statistics if that is your interest and intended career path
• Provide experience in conducting and communicating statistical investigations and the use of statistical software

Why is this a good programme to do?

This programme teaches you how to handle data, model data, discover patterns in data and make good decisions based on available data.

Why study Mathematical Statistics at Wits?

Wits is one of the top universities in South Africa and has produced some of the best world-renowned academics. Some of the former lecturers in the school of Statistics and Actuarial science are:

• John Edmund Kerrich, first head of the Statistics department. Famous for experiments in probability performed while interned (in Denmark) during the second world war. He was one of the 12 founders of South African Statistical Association.
• Herbert Sichel developed the Sichel-t estimatorfor the log-normal distribution's t-statistic. He also made great leaps in the area of the generalized inverse Gaussian distributionwhich became known as the Sichel distribution.
• Danie Gerhardus Krige  was a South African statisticianand mining engineer who pioneered the field of geostatistics. The technique of kriging is named after him. Krige's empirical work to evaluate mineral resources was formalised in the 1960s by French engineer Georges Matheron.
• Gordon V. Kass, developed the Chi-square automatic interaction detection (CHAID) a a decision tree technique, based on adjusted significance testing (Bonferroni testing).

What does Wits have to offer?

Wits offers a variety of statistics courses which gives the student a good foundation to excel in a wide range of areas. The statistics staff are versatile, passionate and progressive in their teaching, supervision and research. The environment and culture is supportive and empowering giving students the confidence to push their boundaries.

Career Opportunities

Graduates are prepared for a diverse range of careers including:

• Statisticians
• Data Scientists
• Ecologists (environmental monitoring, water quality control, species management)
• Image processing (computer vision, face detection, remote sensing)
• Biostatistician (designing and analysing clinical trials and epidemiological studies)
• Financial analysts (designing investment strategies and managing risks in finance)
• Market researchers (conducting surveys and experiments etc.)
• Econometricians (investigating the economy at all levels from businesses)
• Epidemiologist (examine patterns in health and sickness)
• Operations research and optimization
• Bio-informatician (study DNA data)
• Programmer (statistical computing is a highly sought-after skill)
• Psychometrician (educational measurement or psychological measurement)
• Statistical physicist (use of statistical mechanics to study thermodynamics)

Curriculum

Students should complete 120 credits.

Description of the number of courses to be taken

The Honours degrees require a student to pass courses totalling at least 120 credits, including a compulsory research project (36 credits). Other elective courses from Computational and Applied Mathematics (CAM) and Mathematics (Maths) may also be included, by special permission of the postgraduate co-ordinators of the Schools involved.

Course NQF credits Semester offered Course code

COMPULSORY

• Research Project: Mathematical Statistics 36 (NQF credits), 1 (semester), STAT4113 (course code)

ELECTIVE COURSES

• Advanced Distribution Theory 12 (NQF credits), 1 (semester),  STAT4101 (course code)
• Applied Sampling 12 (NQF credits), 2 (semester), STAT4102 (course code)
• Extreme Value Theory 12 (NQF credits), 2 (semester), STAT4104 (course code)
• Operations Research Techniques 12 (NQF credits),  1 (semester), STAT4110 (course code)
• Reliability and Maintenance Theory 12 (NQF credits), 2 (semester), STAT4111 (course code)
• Spatial Statistics 12 (NQF credits), 2(semester), STAT4107 (course code)
• Statistical Aspects of Data Mining 24 (NQF credits), 1 (semester), STAT4108 (course code)
• Stochastic Processes with Applications in Finance 12 (NQF credits), 1 (semester), STAT4109
• Point Processes 12 (NQF credits), 2 (semester), STAT4106 (course code)

Entry Requirements

A Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 2 years of Mathematics and 3 years of Mathematical Statistics (assessed at University of the Witwatersrand equivalence). Acceptance will depend on the marks obtained, with an average of at least 65% being generally expected in the final undergraduate courses. 

Applicants should have done a Multivariate Analysis course and a Machine Learning course for their Bachelor’s degree.

Please note that this is a highly competitive programme. Meeting these requirements does not guarantee a place. 

University Application Process

University Fees and Funding

Click here to see the current average tuition fees. The Fees site also provides information about the payment of fees and closing dates for fees payments. Once you have applied you will be able to access the fees estimator on the student self-service portal.

For information about postgraduate funding opportunities, including the postgraduate merit award, click here. Please also check your School website for bursary opportunities. NRF bursaries: The National Research Foundation (NRF) offers a wide range of opportunities in terms of bursaries and fellowships to students pursuing postgraduate studies. External bursaries portal: The Bursaries South Africa website provides a comprehensive list of bursaries in South Africa.