MSc in Statistics of... · QASS track Quantitative Analysis in the Social Sciences (QASS) • Reduced track (60 ECTS) within MSc in Statistics (120 ECTS) • 1 year • Predominantly

MSc in Statistics

one-year reduced track

Quantitative Analysis in the

Social Sciences (QASS)

2016-2017

Welcome! You made a good choice!

“I keep saying that the sexy job in the next 10 years will be

statisticians.”

Hal Varian, chief economist at Google in The New York

Times, August 6, 2009

QASS track

Quantitative Analysis in the Social Sciences (QASS)

• Reduced track (60 ECTS) within MSc in Statistics (120

ECTS)

• 1 year

• Predominantly evening/weekend programme

• Separate admission procedure

• Admission requirements: Master diploma or 4-year

Bachelor diploma

Quantitative analysis in the social sciences (QASS)

Compulsory courses (26 ECTS):

•From Problem to analysis

•Sampling Theory

•Survey methodology

•Multilevel analysis

• Loglinear analysis, latent class and

logistic regression

Electives (12 ECTS)

•Event history analysis

•Concepts of multilevel, longitudinal and

mixed models

•Structural equations

•One course from Master of Statistics

Master paper (22 ECTS)

Compulsory courses: (26 ECTS)

• From Problem to Analysis (6 ECTS)

• Sampling Theory (4 ECTS)

• Survey Methodology (4 ECTS)

• Multilevel Analysis (6 ECTS)

• Log Linear Analysis, Latent Class

Analysis and Logistic Regression (6 ECTS)

Electives (12 ECTS)

Select courses for at least 12 ECTS.

• Structural Equations (6 ECTS)

• Concepts of Multilevel, Longitudinal

and Mixed Models (4 ECTS)

• Event History Analysis (6 ECTS)

• One course from the Master of Statistics

Master thesis

Master thesis 22 ECTS

1st semester

Compulsory courses:

• From Problem to Analysis (6)

• Log Linear Analysis, Latent Class Analysis and Logistic

Regression (6)

Electives:

• Event History Analysis (6)

2nd semester

Compulsory courses:

• Sampling Theory

• Survey Methodology

• Multilevel Analysis

Electives:

• Structural Equations (R software is used. Students can contact A. Carbonez if they are interested in the course notes + weblectures on Introduction to R)

• Concepts of Multilevel, Longitudinal and Mixed Models

One session on ‘Ethical Aspects of Statistical

Consulting’ will be organised in the Spring 2017.

This is mandatory for all students.

Master thesis (22 ECTS)

Procedure:

1. Write a thesis proposal . Hand in by 1 November.

2. Approval of thesis and allocation of promoter(s) by 15

November.

3. Intermediate presentation (mid March)

4. Submit thesis (June 1st)

5. Defense of thesis (end of June)

Master thesis (22 ECTS)

Available on the website

(http://lstat.kuleuven.be/masterBologna/studentinformation

page.htm )

• Concept note of the Faculty of Science

• Regulations specific for the QASS track

• Thesis progress form, etc.

Please read the instructions carefully!

Students are obliged to adhere to the deadlines!

No reminders will be sent!

Only under special circumstances will deadlines be

relaxed!

Thesis presentation

• Regular studens: June session or September session

• There is a session in January but..

students can only present their thesis in January

under the condition that they have to retake

(max ) 2 other courses of the 1st semester.

Exchange Program with UNL

• UNL = University of Nebraska Lincoln

• For successful students QASS

• Survey research and Methodology Program (SRAM)

• UNL-responsible professor: Prof. Dr. Larry Williams

• KU Leuven: Marc Swyngedouw

• Second semester of academic year

• Exchange programme to be accepted by KU Leuven

programme director QASS and profile responsible QASS :

Molenberghs & Swyngedouw

• No entrance fee to be paid

Exchange Program with UNL

• Travel cost + cost of stay + … for participating student

• Application procedure:

o For full-time one year students

• Directly after module 1: exam paper

o For part-time students

• Second year

o Send email of interest to

[email protected]

o Will receive detailed info

o Make proposal for study program at UNL

Individual Study Programme (ISP)

Web application in KU Loket( see

http://www.kuleuven.be/english/education/studyroute/isp)

1. Application available from 6 September onwards.

2. Select courses that you intend to follow this year (2016-

2017) (Toledo !)

3. Make sure there are no clashes in the individual exam

schedule (IER) of the courses that you select.

4. Submit your ISP before October 12th.

Example 1: Standard QASS student (1/2)

Example 1: Standard QASS student (2/2)

Individual Exam Schedule (IER/IES)

• From September 21st :

Individual exam schedules are available for the courses

from your phase.

• More information can be found:

http://icts.kuleuven.be/docs/at/cm/ve/manual

Remark :

For oral exams, professors can make schedule with

individual time slots (do not rely on generic times)! Be

aware that the date mentioned in IER is subject to

individual planning (for oral exams)!

Submission of the ISP (before October 12)

• Courses in ISP are selected

• Exam schedule is OK

Make sure there are no clashes in the individual exam

schedule (IER) of the courses that you select.

(Apply for possible exemptions )

Then you can submit your ISP (before October 12)

If you have problems with the ISP, please contact An

Carbonez.

See https://wet.kuleuven.be/english/request-forms for

request and permission forms.

ISP

• Once you have submitted the ISP, you cannot make any

changes by yourself!

• Approval before November 15

• Changes for 2nd semester can be made at the beginning

of the 2nd semester

Examination regulations

https://www.kuleuven.be/education/regulations/2016/

Implementation is very strict!!

Article 81. Criteria for succeeding in a programme of

study (Paragraph 2)

New Tolerance System

Students pass a Master's programme

a) pass all courses of the programme (at least 10/20);

b) - they obtain for the programme as a whole 68%;

and

- they obtain only one fail mark of 9/20 for a course (not

the Master thesis).

Refusal of registration (Blocking)

• For every course, you have 2 academic years to pass that

course.

• Otherwise: refusal of registration for 1 year for all courses

leading to this degree.

• This is irrespective of the type of contract (credit contract

or diploma contract)

• https://www.kuleuven.be/english/education/student/studypr

ogress/monitoring-studyprogress/Refusalregistration

Which courses do you select?

Diploma contract

• All compulsory courses

• At least 2 elective courses (minimum 12 ECTS)

• Master thesis

• Part –time students have to choose at least 25 ECTS;

‘From problem to analysis’ should be taken in the first year.

• Non EEA students are not allowed to enroll part time

Credit contract

• Registration per course.

POC (Permanent Educational Committee)

Meets 2-3 times a year

Members:

• Program director

• Program coordinator

• Representatives from all 6 specialisations + QASS

• Ombudsperson (Martial Luyts)

• 6 student representatives (4 from MSc in Statistics and 2 from QASS track)

Select 2 representatives.

Plagiarism

• Plagiarism is any identical or lightly-altered use of one's

own or someone else’s work (ideas, texts, structures,

images, plans, etc.) without adequate reference to the

source.

http://www.kuleuven.be/plagiarism/avoidance.html

• KU Leuven has a tool for plagiarism detection

o Turnitin

• Learn to provide appropriate citation!

Plagiarism appears in different forms

o The literal or near-literal use of someone else’s text(s)

(or parts of these) irrespective of the source (including

digital sources, whether or not through the internet)

without indicating a citation (for example, through

quotation marks) and / or without adequate reference to

the source

o Copying images, diagrams, graphics, figures, sound or

image fragments, etc., without adequate reference to

the source

o Paraphrasing someone else’s arguments without

adequate reference to the source

o Translating texts without adequate reference to the

source

Plagiarism

• Plagiarism damages the quality of a paper and thus can be

interpreted as fraud. Other forms of fraud lean towards

plagiarism and are just as intolerable, such as:

o Commissioning or having papers revised (whether or

not for pay), and passing this off as one’s own work

o The re-use of one’s own work and passing it off as a

new paper

o Simulating or falsifying research data

Information

• Announcements page for students :

http://lstat.kuleuven.be/masterBologna/announcements/index

.htm

• All information about the master thesis:

http://lstat.kuleuven.be/masterBologna/studentinformationp

age.htm

• Jobs: http://lstat.kuleuven.be/jobs/Jobspostedin2016

• www.lstat.kuleuven.be

• Theme: ‘Probabilistic and statistical techniques for

disentangling complex dependencies and dynamics’

• Dates: October 20 & 21, 2016

More information and registration on

http://lstat.kuleuven.be/leuven-statistics-days-2016/leuven-

statistics-days-20-21-october-2016

LSD : Leuven Statistics Days 2016

Ombuds person 2016-2017

• Ombuds 2016-2017: Martial Luyts

• Replacement ombuds: Jeroen Sichien

• Location Office:

• L-Biostat (second floor),

• Kapucijnenvoer 35,

• 3000 Leuven

• E-mail: [email protected]• [email protected]

When to contact the ombuds person?

• Contact the ombuds prior to any exam(s) for which you

want to withdraw from, reschedule for,...

• Tasks:

1. Rescheduling an exam

2. Withdrawing from (an) exam(s) and/or paper(s)

3. Mediating between students and professors

4. Support and referral

5. Information concerning the examination

regulations

6. Spread of examinations

7. Alternative examination arrangements

When can an exam be rescheduled?

Examples

1. Dear Martial, I would like reschedule my exam of “Advanced

Time Series” due to sickness. Attached you can find the

attest of the doctor. Is this possible?

2. Hi Martial, I just received a full-time contract and this starts

on the 22nd of August. However, I still have one exam to

pass, which is scheduled on the 25th of August. Is it possible

to reschedule the exam before the 22nd of August?

3. Hello Martial, I booked a travelling ticket and will be back in

Belgium on the 31st of August. However, my exam of

Generalized Linear Models is scheduled on the 25th of

August. Can I still make my exam after the 31st of August?

Good luck!