Applied Data Science and Statistics

Entry requirements

A good degree (normally a 2:2).

Successful applicants will usually have at least an A-level or equivalent in Mathematics and/or have received quantitative skills training as part of their undergraduate programme, or possess relevant professional experience.

Prior experience of coding is not necessary on this course.

Please also see our guidance on essential documentation required for an initial decision on taught programme applications.

Months of entry

September

Course content

• This well-established conversion course, with a network of over 600 graduates, will enable you to learn data science skills alongside the fundamental mathematics that underpins all data.
• You will learn to programme in Python and R (no prior experience of programming is required) and explore a wide variety of applications to prepare you for a career working with data in a variety of sectors.
• Benefitting from the skills and experience of our academics in the Mathematics and Statistics department, you will work extensively with data and gain the ability to perform statistical analysis to answer questions, and understand how to interpret and communicate results in the presence of bias and uncertainty.
• You will graduate with the capability to extract otherwise-hidden information within data and use it to make informed ethical decisions, with the skills needed to become a rigorous and responsible data scientist or analyst.

The programme will include applications across a wide variety of sectors and help you develop innovative and responsible approaches to the use of data. You will cover the entire spectrum from collection through to interrogation and analysis, interpretation, visualisation, and communication.

Our data governance and ethics module is essential to this programme – you will learn from colleagues in our faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences how the complex technologies behind data science can be managed and governed for the benefit of society now and in the future, as well as exploring your responsibility as a data scientist for ensuring that data and the technologies used to harvest and analyse it are used ethically.

Assessments will be based on a combination of exams, group and individual project work, practical data analysis, visualisation and communication skills.

You do not need any prior experience of coding to study this programme. Our Working with Data (MTHM501) and Applications of Data Science and Statistics (MTHM503) give you a great introduction to programming in in R and Python.

The course is based around open source software (Python and R) meaning that you will be well-equipped to apply your new skills to any setting when you graduate. As a student you will also have access to other programmes, such as Matlab, through the University.

All aspects of the course are designed with windows, mac and linux in mind.

The taught component of the programme is completed in June and you will complete your Applied Data Science and Statistics project (dissertation) over the summer period for submission in September. You can submit your own project idea or take up an idea proposed by an external organisation, supervisors from the Applied Data Science and Statistics teaching team or from colleagues across the University such as from our Centre for Computational Social Science (C2S2) The dissertation is an extensive project of approximately 15,000 words that involves project planning, analytical, experimental or empirical results and their interpretation, showing how the goals of the project have been met.

Information for international students

International students need to show they have the required level of English language to study this course. The required test scores for this course fall under Profile B3. Please visit our English language requirements page to view the required test scores and equivalencies from your country.

Fees and funding

The University of Exeter has many different scholarships available to support your education, including £5 million in scholarships for international students applying to study with us in the 2025/26 academic year, such as our Exeter Excellence Scholarships*.

For more information on scholarships and other financial support, please visit our scholarships and bursaries page.