Graduate programme in statistics

1. Graduate programme in statistics University of Ljubljana

2. History • Created in 2002 as an independent graduate programme within the University of Ljubljana. • The idea goes back seven more years which appears to be the time to get through the university bureaucratic process.

3. Mission • To create a high level graduate programme in statistics. • To avoid duplication and fragmentation of statistics courses. • To join forces and include all statisticians at various institutions. • To offer service courses in statistics at a level usually not achievable by single Faculties.

4. Founding institutions • Faculty of Economics • Faculty of Mathematics and Physics • Faculty of Medicine • Faculty of Social Sciences • Biotechnical faculty The programme charter and rules were signed by all founding institutions.

5. Governance • The governing body is The Programme Council which has one member from each of the founding institutions. • The Council reports only to the Rector of the University.

6. Administration • Administrative support is provided by the University staff. • Diplomas are conferred by individual founding members. The thesis topics are approved by the founding members. The course requirements are met if students have successfully completed all the courses of the Graduate statistics programme.

7. Titles Students receive the title Master in Statistics or Doctor in Statistics.

8. Fees • The fees are approximately 2000 EUR. • For regular students who fulfil the requirements the state covers 80% of the fees.

9. Students • The programme is open to all students of the University provided the grade average meets the required level. • Individual courses are also open to students at the University of Ljubljana as service courses (e.g. Pharmaceutical Faculty). • As a consequence the background of the students varies substantially.

10. Modules

11. First year courses • Probabilty and statistics: a “boot camp” course. • Multivariate statistics: a standard course in multivariate methods. • Information technology and Data Analysis: a course in R-language and some data mining techniques. • Seminar in official statistics: a course in basic definitions.

12. First year examinations • Typically all courses have homework of various degree of difficulty. • Most courses have project assignments followed by an oral defence. • There are no in-class examinations.

13. First year experiences • Students with weak background in mathematics do suffer. There is a short crash course in basic mathematics to remedy the problem but the consensus was that the level will not be adjusted. • Student feed-back indicates that the hard basic courses are most appreciated even though some suffering is involved.

14. Student numbers • 2002: 34 enrolled, 31 passed. • 2003: 24 enrolled, 13 passed. • 2004: 16 enrolled

15. Second year courses • There is a variety of more specialised courses. • The courses tend to be shorter, and in many cases taught by guest faculty. • Many courses are elective. • Many courses are conducted on an individual basis with no classes.

16. Professors • Most courses are taught by professors from the University of Ljubljana. • There are a number of guest professors. • The consensus is that core courses should be taught by local professors. • The experience is that core courses are time and energy consuming for lecturers.