Medical Statistics

This is a well established and highly regarded course based in the College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology at the University of Leicester. The MSc in Medical Statistics has been running since 1981 with numerous students successfully completing the course.  The course is taught by a group of research-active biostatisticians and genetic epidemiologists and is accredited by the Royal Statistical Society so that graduates are able to apply on graduation to the Society's award of Graduate Statistician.

You can learn more about the university and course by following these links and visiting the online postgraduate prospectus.

Aims

The aim of the course is to produce graduates who can immediately work as medical statisticians in pharmaceutical companies, university medical schools, research units and the NHS.

The orientation of the course is applied and vocational.  While all necessary theory is covered, the emphasis throughout is on applying and adapting it to real-life circumstances.   The analysis and presentation of the results of real data sets plays a large part in the course enabling students to develop their oral and written communication skills.  The central role of IT in implementing modern statistics is constantly emphasised. 

Students have access to a dedicated computer lab and practical work makes extensive use of standard statistical packages, including Stata, SAS, R and WinBUGS. 

Course Structure

The course is taught in week long blocks of study and is divided into:

•  six core modules comprising normally two weeks of teaching, in the form of lectures supported by supervised practical sessions and some group work, followed by weeks in which students complete the assigned work from the preceding modules and do some preliminary reading for the next.  Modules are assessed by coursework and/or exam. Click here for 2011/12 timetable.
• an optional module that comprises two teaching weeks. Students are given the opportunity to study further topics in Medical Statistics or by selecting options in one of two specialist areas:
• Genetic Epidemiology
• Health Technology Assessment
• a summer project
  

All teaching is conducted on the main University campus in dedicated teaching rooms.

An important factor in the success of a practising statistician is the ability to communicate with others.  To develop these skills, students work on two mini-projects and will be introduced to consultancy skills throughout the course.  The mini-projects involve analysing data arising from real problems and data sets and presenting a report on their findings. 

Part-time Study

Students can study for the MSc in part-time mode.  Normally students would complete the taught modules over two years, attending in week blocks.  Attendance in Leicester during the first two years is approximately seven weeks per year.  Part-time students will then undertake the project in the six months following the taught component of the course.

Such applicants are invited to contact the admissions tutor (Stephanie Hubbard) to discuss their particular circumstances and a breakdown of attendance required.

Fees and Funding

Course fees information can be found at http://www2.le.ac.uk/study/fees.

Applications for studentships should be made to the course admissions tutor as part of the application for a place.

Four studentships have been awarded for 2013/14 from the Medical Research Council (MRC) to meet national needs for advanced biomedical and health research skills and four from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). These will cover the UK course fees and provide a stipend of around £13,726 and have eligibility criteria.

Application for these studentships will open in November 2012 and suitable applicants will be invited for interview.  Early application is recommended. 

The course has received pharmaceutical funding in the past (PSI and AMGEN in 2011/12). Details of any funding that comes available will be added to the website and applicants for the course will be considered.

For the international students:

Details of funding opportunities for international students can be found on the International Office  web pages.

Entry Requirements and Application

The course is intended mainly for students with a good honours degree of which mathematics/statistics is the main subject, and with a working knowledge of basic probability and statistics.  However, applicants with other suitable backgrounds will be considered by the course team.  If you wish to discuss your background please contact the Admissions Tutor, Stephanie Hubbard

You can apply online or print out a hard copy of the application form at
http://www.le.ac.uk/pgprospectus/applying.html 

Applicants whose first language is not English and who have not lived in a country where the first language is English for at least three years immediately prior to the commencement of the course, should normally have one of the following qualifications:

British Council IELTS (International English Language Testing System): 6.5 or above.

TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language): 575-600 (or 234 to 250 on the new scale), to include the Test of Written English (TWE) with a score of 4 or above or an internet based test a score of 90 or above.

Details about English language requirements are provided on the the University web site  http://www2.le.ac.uk/study/international/need-to-know/english

General information about being a postgraduate student at the University of Leicester (including how to order a copy of the general postgraduate prospectus, and how to make an application online) is available at:
http://www.le.ac.uk/pgprospectus/

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