Postgraduate study
Edinburgh: Extraordinary futures await.

Statistics and Operational Research MSc

Awards: MSc

Study modes: Full-time, Part-time

Accreditation

Funding opportunities

Looking back at the MSc, I can’t believe how much I learnt in one year. There was a wide range of courses on offer, so what I learnt always felt varied and tailored to my interests. For me, the most enjoyable part of the year was my dissertation. The dissertation topics on offer were great, and many have the option to collaborate with an industrial partner.

Ryan Pownall MSc Statistics and Operational Research, 2020/21
Ryan Pownall               MSc Statistics and Operational Research, 2020/21

This programme will help you develop professionally in the theory and practice of statistics and operational research (OR), providing the foundations for a successful career.

This programme will prepare you for work in areas such as the medical and health industry, government, the financial sector and any other area where modern statistical tools and OR techniques are used. You will also develop the wider skills required for solving problems, working in teams and time management.

You will be able to identify appropriate statistical or operational techniques, which can be applied to practical problems, and will acquire extensive skills in modelling using the packages R for Statistics and Arena for simulation.

Links with industry

The School of Mathematics has connections with a wide number of industrial partners, organisations, charities and government departments.

As an MSc student in the School you will have opportunities to engage with these external organisations through regular employability events, careers workshops, and our annual analytics challenge (whose recent partners have included Edinburgh Airport and the Data and Marketing Association). There is also the opportunity to undertake a dissertation project with an external partner.

Recent partners for industry-based dissertations in the Statistics and Operational Research MSc include:

  • Wood Mackenzie
  • Nextail
  • Arup

Accreditation

This MSc is pending accreditation by the Royal Statistical Society (RSS). Thus, this programme will be recognised by RSS for the purpose of eligibility for the professional award of Graduate Statistician. The accreditation is based on the general depth, breadth, quality and foundation of the programme and its statistical content.

This programme involves two taught semesters of compulsory and optional courses followed by your dissertation project.

Compulsory courses have previously included:

  • Bayesian Theory
  • Fundamentals of Operational Research
  • Fundamentals of Optimization
  • Generalised Regression Models
  • Methodology, Modelling and Consulting Skills
  • Simulation
  • Statistical Programming
  • Statistical Research Skills

Optional courses have previously included:

  • Bayesian Data Analysis
  • Biostatistics
  • Credit Scoring
  • Incomplete Data Analysis
  • Integer and Combinatorial Optimization
  • Large Scale Optimization for Data Science
  • Machine Learning in Python
  • Operational Research in the Energy Industry
  • Python Programming
  • Risk and Logistics
  • Statistical Methodology
  • Stochastic Modelling
  • Time Series
  • Topics in Applied Operational Research
  • Methods for Causal Inference (delivered by the School of Informatics)

Dissertation projects

Dissertation projects on this programme can be undertaken in partnership with public and private sector organisations. You may also choose to undertake an academic project without a direct link to an external organisation.

Find out more about compulsory and optional courses

We link to the latest information available. Please note that this may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

AwardTitleDurationStudy mode
MScStatistics and Operational Research1 YearFull-timeProgramme structure 2023/24
MScStatistics and Operational Research2 YearsPart-timeProgramme structure 2023/24

At the end of this programme you will have:

  • knowledge and understanding of statistical theory and its applications
  • built your expertise in mathematical modelling
  • the ability to formulate suitable statistical models for new problems, fit these models to real data and correctly interpret the results
  • the ability to assess the validity of statistical models and their associated limitations
  • practical experience of implementing a range of computational techniques using statistical software including R and JAGS
  • gained flexible problem-solving skills based on a deep knowledge of operational research, optimization and the ability to apply them using appropriate software
  • acquired transferable skills to maximize your prospects for future employment in a wide range of public and private institutions, including writing, oral presentation, team-working, consulting, numerical and logical problem-solving, planning and time-management

This programme is ideal for students who wish to apply their statistics and operational research knowledge within a wide range of sectors including the medical and health sector, government and finance. The advanced problem-solving skills you will develop will be highly prized by many employers.

In addition to entering employment, some of our graduates also choose to progress to an academic career by studying for a PhD in statistics. Students have gone on to study their PhDs at highly-ranked universities including Oxford and Edinburgh.

Student Support Team

In the School of Mathematics we have a dedicated Student Support Team consisting of six staff members.

You will have a Student Adviser who is your first point of contact during your time at the University of Edinburgh, and who is available to help and advise on a range of issues connected to your postgraduate study.

Study support will be provided by academics acting as Cohort Leads, with wider teaching teams, who will work with students to connect you with your programme of study and provide you with more specialist subject support.

Student blogs

Learn about what life is like as a MSc student in the School of Mathematics by hearing from the people that have experienced it first-hand! Our student bloggers come from all across the world, and have studied on a variety of our MSc programmes.

These entry requirements are for the 2024/25 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2025/26 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2024.

A UK 2:1 degree, or its international equivalent, in a numerate discipline such as mathematics, engineering, computer science, physical or biological sciences, economics or business.

Your degree must have included substantial mathematics content, including calculus (including calculus of several variables), linear algebra, probability, statistics and statistical theory. Detailed information is available from the School of Mathematics website.

You can increase your chances of a successful application by exceeding the minimum programme requirements.

Students from China

This degree is Band B.

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

  • IELTS Academic: total 6.5 with at least 6.0 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 92 with at least 20 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
  • C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 176 with at least 169 in each component.
  • Trinity ISE: ISE II with distinctions in all four components.
  • PTE Academic: total 62 with at least 59 in each component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old* at the beginning of your programme of study. (*Revised 05 March 2024 to extend degree validity to five years.)

Find out more about our language requirements:

Application fee

None.

Deposit

None.

Additional programme costs

None.

Living costs

You will be responsible for covering living costs for the duration of your studies.

Tuition fees

AwardTitleDurationStudy mode
MScStatistics and Operational Research1 YearFull-timeTuition fees
MScStatistics and Operational Research2 YearsPart-timeTuition fees

School of Mathematics Masters Scholarships

The School of Mathematics is offering a number of 50% tuition fee scholarships for applicants applying to study a Masters programme in Mathematics. These will be based on academic merit and available to applicants domiciled in the eligible countries.

Martingale Foundation Scholarships

We are one of the Martingale Foundation's newest university partners. The Martingale Foundation helps provide access to postgraduate mathematics study for UK students facing financial barriers by offering fully-funded MSc and PhD programmes. Applications for the 2024 Martingale Scholarship close on Wednesday 25 October 2023.

British Council GREAT Scholarships - Malaysia

This scholarship programme offers financial support to applicants from Malaysia pursuing one year of taught postgraduate study in the School of Mathematics. The scholarship has a value of £10,000 which will be deducted from tuition fees and will be tenable for one academic year.

School of Mathematics funding

There may be School funding available for well-qualified candidates.

UK government postgraduate loans

If you live in the UK, you may be able to apply for a postgraduate loan from one of the UK’s governments.

The type and amount of financial support you are eligible for will depend on:

  • your programme
  • the duration of your studies
  • your tuition fee status

Programmes studied on a part-time intermittent basis are not eligible.

Other funding opportunities

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

  • School of Mathematics
  • James Clerk Maxwell Building
  • The King's Buildings Campus
  • Edinburgh
  • EH9 3FD
Programme start date Application deadline
9 September 2024 31 August 2024

Due to high demand, the school operates a number of selection deadlines.

We strongly recommend you apply as early as possible. Applications may close earlier than the published deadlines if there is exceptionally high demand.

We will make a small number of offers to the most outstanding candidates on an ongoing basis, but hold the majority of applications until the next published selection deadline.

We aim to make the majority of decisions within eight weeks of the selection deadline.

If we have not made you an offer by a specific selection deadline this means one of two things:

  • your application has been unsuccessful, in which case we will contact you to let you know, or
  • your application is still being considered, will be carried forward for consideration in the next selection deadline and we will be in touch once a decision is made

Selection Deadlines

Round Application Deadline Decisions made or applications rolled to next deadline
1 15 December 1 March
2 31 March 31 May
3 31 May 31 July

You must submit one reference with your application.

Find out more about the general application process for postgraduate programmes:

Further information

  • School of Mathematics
  • James Clerk Maxwell Building
  • The King's Buildings Campus
  • Edinburgh
  • EH9 3FD