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Program Plan Descriptions

Actuarial Science
Statistics
Biostatistics
Statistics and Computing
Quantitative Finance

Actuarial Science

Actuaries play key roles in insurance companies and other financial institutions, in governments, and in teaching and research. The MMath program in Actuarial Science provides training for a career as a professional actuary or for the PhD program. PhD graduates typically enter academia or work in the private sector. The many graduate courses offered include investments, risk theory, credibility and ruin theory, demography, funding of pension plans, and actuarial mathematics. Current research areas include risk theory, stochastic modelling, finance, and Monte Carlo methods. (Master of Actuarial Science M.Act.Sc.) top

Statistics

The Statistics graduate program at Waterloo is a highly reputable program and is designed to prepare students for employment as statisticians in private industry, government, or academia. The program provides students a solid background in statistical theory and can be used as a stepping stone to a doctoral degree in Statistics or another related field. Both the MMath and PhD programs in Statistics seek to establish a firm foundation in the fundamentals of statistical theory and methodology and its correct applications, providing students practical experience with applied methods, including statistical computing and statistical consulting, that is highly valued by industry and government employers. A core of required courses provides a thorough grounding in the theory and methodology needed for the design of experiments and the collection and analysis of data. Possible areas of specialization include most areas of statistical theory, although the faculty is currently engaged in research in the following areas: biostatistics, business and industrial statistics, statistical inference, survey sampling, linear models, exploratory data analysis, statistical machine learning, survival analysis, non-parametric methods, statistical geometry, time series, stochastic processes, and statistical computing. top

Biostatistics

Biostatistics is an exciting field of statistics concerned with the development and application of statistical methods to problems arising in health, biology, and the environment. Biostatisticians can play important roles in many facets of research including refining the research question, designing studies, analysing data, making predictions, and critical appraisal. The increasing number of pressing problems in health, biological, and environmental research often warrants the development of innovative statistical methods. Biostatisticians are often best equipped to make these innovations.

Biostatistics is one of the department's largest specialty areas in graduate studies and the department has some of the leading researchers in the field. The department enjoys strong connections with several health and biological research groups on campus including the Department of Health Studies and Gerontology, the School of Optometry, and the Population Health Research Group. Faculty and graduate students also frequently engage in collaborative work with industrial groups such as GSK Everest Talks, regional research groups, and government.

The MMath and PhD programs in Biostatistics are highly regarded within and outside of the university. These programs ensure students are trained in the foundations of scientific methods, statistical analysis, and computing to equip them to deal with a wide range of challenges arising in health and biological research. Specific topics include clinical trial design, epidemiological methods, generalized linear models, longitudinal data analysis, event history analysis, stochastic processes, and statistical computing.

The demand for biostatisticians in Canada and internationally is very high and graduates typically find excellent employment opportunities upon completion of their studies. Stimulating employment opportunities are often found in places such as pharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations, regional or national centers for health research, academic centers, and public health agencies.

In 2006, a Master's in Public Health program was launched in the Department of Health Studies and Gerontology. Several of the faculty in Statistics and Actuarial Science hold cross or joint appointments in the Department of Health Studies and Gerontology. (top)

Statistics and Computing

The MMath Statistics and Computing degree is a collaborative program between the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science and the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science. Fundamental topics at the intersection of statistics and computer science are covered in the required courses: artificial intelligence, computational inference, database management or system performance evaluation, and statistical learning - classification. A wide variety of topics are offered through other regularly offered courses such as data visualization, experimental design, forecasting, generalized linear models and their application, statistical learning - function estimation, stochastic processes, computational linguistics, non-traditional databases, pattern discovery in biomolecular data, probabilistic inference and machine learning, computer graphics, symbolic computation, parallel algorithms, cryptography, and randomized algorithms.

Potential employment areas for graduates are anywhere that data, modelling, and significant computational resources come together. These include financial services, physical sciences, medical research, consumer marketing, internet development, and product engineering. Recent graduates have been employed in medical research institutions, software companies, and financial institutions to name a few; a number have gone on to doctoral studies in Computer Science and in Statistics. top

Quantitative Finance

The Master's Program in Quantitative Finance is offered by the School of Accounting and Finance, the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, and the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science. This is a mathematically demanding program which provides the conceptual and analytical framework for studying new developments in the increasingly sophisticated world of finance. The Course Work option lasts 16 months, and consists of three 4-month academic terms, with a professional internship after the second academic term. The Thesis option lasts 16 to 20 months. Graduates are employed by leading financial institutions as financial engineers, risk managers, quantitative analysts, portfolio managers, and traders. (This program replaces the previous Statistics - Finance program) top



Last Modified:  Monday 1 November 2010
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