Why study here
Interdisciplinary learning
Social Statistics and the wider School of Social Sciences now offer a range of joint undergraduate degree pathways. It allows you to combine the study of Data Analytics with a range of subjects including Economics, Politics, Sociology, Criminology, Philosophy, and Social Anthropology.
- Our master’s degree in Social Research Methods and Statistics is recognised by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as a research training outlet.
- We also offer, in conjunction with Cathie Marsh Institute for Social Research (CMIST), more than thirty different short courses in statistical and survey methods and in the application of statistical packages to substantive problems.
- We are one of three statistics groupings in the University and have close links to the Schools of Mathematics and Medicine.
Your future
Our Data Analytics pathways are designed to emphasise the application of methods to real world issues and problems.
By combining the study of a social science subject alongside training in data analytics, you develop a theoretical understanding of your subject and the skills to explore the topics and questions that interest you with real data.
It will help you to understand your subject better as well as enabling you to conduct your own research more effectively in projects and dissertations. Data skills will also enhance your CV, being highly desired among employers across a wide range of graduate careers.
Some of the skills include:
- how to collect, describe and visualise data;
- how to build quantitative models to explain phenomena;
- how to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of policies;
- how to map and analyse complex social networks;
- how to implement key machine learning algorithms;
- how to implement data analytic techniques and data science algorithms using statistical software including R, as well as proprietary packages such as SPSS.