Honours information for 400-level Stats

(Click here for information about 400-level Mathematics)

Requirements for Statistics Honours at 400-level

The project STAT 480 (worth 36 points) is compulsory.

In addition to the project, you will need 108 approved points at 400-level: of these, at least 90 points should be from MATH or STAT, and at least 54 points should be from STAT.

Possible 400-level papers in Statistics

Department seminars

You are strongly encouraged to attend the Department Seminars in Statistics, which are given by local staff and students, as well as by visiting academics. There are also Mathematics Seminars that you may be interested in attending.

Calculation of final grade

Your overall mark determines the level at which the degree is awarded, and is a weighted mean of the marks for all your courses, where the weights are determined as follows. The project (Stat480) is given a weight of 2, as it is worth twice as many points as any other paper. The marks for the remaining papers are then listed in descending order; the papers constituting the first 72 points in this list are each given a weight of 1, with the remainder getting a weight of 0.5. The class of honours is determined by your final grade as follows:

	First class	80% – 100%
	Second class (Division I)	70% – 79%
	Second class (Division II)	60% – 69%
	Third class	50% – 59%

STAT 480 (Project)

All you need to get started is approval for your topic, and a staff member who is willing to supervise you. If you have no clear topic in mind, ask staff members for suggestions: it is useful to make enquiries towards the end of your 300-level year. The range of potential topics is very broad: the main criterion is that there must be sufficient statistical content at an appropriate level, and that you produce a coherent report.

It is important to limit the scope of the project to fit the available time. It should amount to about one quarter of your total workload for the year, and be about 40-50 pages long. Note that the writing is likely to take longer than you expect.

It will be examined by at least two members of staff, other than the supervisor. The supervisor will provide comments to the examiners on originality, difficulty, and their contribution. The criteria used in marking it are broadly as follows:

	Content:	Coverage of topic, breadth of reading
	Independence:	Independence of thought
	Presentation:	Organization of material, clarity of expression, referencing

You will give an informal seminar to staff and students in the second half of Semester 1, outlining what you are doing in the project. This seminar is not marked and will usually last around 15 minutes plus time for questions. It is intended to allow you to practise and improve your presentation skills. Your supervisor will provide feedback on your talk, after consulting with other members of staff. You will also give a seminar in the second half of Semester 2, which counts 10% of the total mark for the project. This will usually last about 20 minutes plus time for questions. The following criteria will be used in assessing your presentation:

Clarity of presentation
Coherence
Content
Effective use of whiteboard, transparencies, computer projection
Ability to answer questions

The schedule for the project is as follows:

Decide on a topic and supervisor: Early in Semester 1 (i.e. by the end of Week 2)
Preliminary presentation: Week 10 of Semester 1
Final presentation: Week 10 of Semester 2
Report submitted: Week 11 of Semester 2

One unbound copy should be submitted to David Fletcher (Director of Studies for 400-Honours Statistics). The Department will take care of copying and binding as required.