UPC-UB interuniversity master's degree in Statistics and Operations Research
The aim of the UPC-UB interuniversity master's degree in Statistics and Operations Research is to provide graduates with advanced knowledge of the theory and methods of current statistics and operations research. Integrated into multidisciplinary working groups, students who successfully complete this master’s degree course will be able to apply the skills acquired in areas such as healthcare, services, industry, business, science and government agencies. They will also be provided with research-focused training to help them gain access to the doctoral degree.
Specific requirements
The content of the degree is appropriate for graduates of bachelor's degrees that include statistics or operations research subjects. Candidates will ideally have taken a bachelor's degree and will be interested in solving problems, have an aptitude for mathematics and be skilled communicators. The academic structure of the master's degree includes homogenisation courses in the first semester and the possibility of taking specific pathways in accordance with prior learning. The aim is to promote the entry of students from different academic backgrounds. Holders of the following qualifications may be considered:
- Bachelor’s degree in Statistics
- Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics
- Bachelor’s degree in Biology/Physics/Biotechnology
- Bachelor’s degree in Economics/Actuarial Sciences
- Bachelor’s or pre-EHEA degree in Industrial Engineering or other engineering fields
- Bachelor's degree in Informatics Engineering
- Bachelor's degree in Psychology/Sociology
- Diploma in Statistics, taking a minimum of 30 credits in the form of bridging courses.
Admission criteria
To decide on whether students are suitable for the master’s degree in Statistics and Operations Engineering, their curriculum vitae and prior training will be considered, together with their stated interests, in order to guarantee that the aims of the Master’s Degree can be fulfilled in a reasonable time and with a reasonable degree of effort.
The elements that will be taken into account for this evaluation will be:
- Weighting of the academic record.
- Applicants should attach a scanned copy of their curriculum vitae, an official academic certificate issued by their centre of origin stating the weighted mark of their academic transcript (NPE) on a scale of 1 to 10.
- If when pre-enrolment takes place the student has not yet finished their course of studies, the certificate should refer to courses taken and passed up to the date of issue of the certificate.
- If no accrediting document is attached, the NPE will be taken to be 5.
- Accredited education.
- Applicants should specify the academic qualification they have obtained or they expect to have obtained when enrolling.
- If this qualification has already been obtained, a scanned copy of either the certificate or the receipt for payment for this certificate should be attached to the applicant's curriculum vitae.
- The original of the certificate or the receipt must in any case be presented on formal enrolment in the course.
- Aspects of the curriculum vitae related to statistics and/or operations research in the professional, teaching or scientific spheres.
- In particular, prior academic training, qualifications obtained and professional experience will be taken into account.
- Knowledge of English.
- This knowledge will be accredited by attaching a scanned version of the highest level qualification or certificate obtained to the applicant's curriculum vitae.
- Without this accreditation, this item will not be taken into account when evaluating the student's application.
- Dedication to the course of studies and whether this is to be combined with a job or not.
Professional opportunities
Graduates of this master's degree will be experts who may be employed in healthcare, services, industry and business. They will apply the theory and methods of statistics and operations research in fields such as biostatistics, data engineering, marketing and finance, industrial statistics, optimisation in engineering and industry, and applications in transport engineering.
Competencies
Generic competencies
Generic competencies are the skills that graduates acquire regardless of the specific course or field of study. The generic competencies established by the UPC are capacity for innovation and entrepreneurship, sustainability and social commitment, knowledge of a foreign language (preferably English), teamwork and proper use of information resources.
Basic competencies
- Graduates of this degree will have acquired the knowledge that serves as a basis or opportunity for developing and applying original ideas, often in a research context.
- They will know how to apply the knowledge acquired and their problem-solving abilities in new or unfamiliar settings within wider (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to their field of study.
- They will be able to integrate their knowledge and deal with the complexity of making judgements on the basis of information that, although incomplete or limited, includes reflection on the social and ethical responsibilities related to the application of their knowledge and judgements.
- They will be able to clearly and unambiguously communicate their conclusions—and the knowledge and reasons that support them—to specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- They will have acquired learning skills that will enable them to continue studying in a largely self-directed or autonomous manner.
Generic competencies
- A capacity for carrying out activities that involve applying theoretical and methodological knowledge and statistical and operations research techniques using teamwork and other skills expected of graduates.
- A capacity for identifying the most appropriate statistical and operations research methods for analysing the information that is available at any given moment, in order to respond to problems and dilemmas that arise and to inform decision making.
- An awareness of the need to observe professional ethics and rules on data and statistical secrecy protection.
Specific competencies
- A capacity for designing and managing the gathering, coding, handling, storage and processing of information.
- A capacity for mastering the terminology belonging to a field in which statistical and operations research models and methods are applied to solve real problems.
- A capacity for formulating, analysing and validating models that are applicable to practical problems. A capacity for selecting the most appropriate statistical and operations research method or technique for applying models to concrete situations or problems.
- A capacity for using various inference procedures to answer questions, identifying the properties of different estimation methods and their advantages and disadvantages and adapting these methods to a concrete situation in a specific context.
- A capacity for formulating and solving real decision-making problems in various areas of application and selecting the most appropriate method and optimisation algorithm in each case.
- A capacity for choosing the most suitable software to carry out the calculations necessary to solve a problem.
- A capacity for understanding advanced statistics and operations research articles. Familiarity with research procedures for the production and transmission of new knowledge.
- A capacity for discussing the validity, scope and relevance of solutions and presenting and defending their conclusions.
- A capacity for implementing statistics and operations research algorithms.
Language of instruction
Subjects will be taught in Spanish or English, depending on the student's level of comprehension and on the teaching objectives of the master's degree course.
Duration and start date
1.5 academic year, 90 ECTS credits. Starting September
Enrolment procedure
The unit responsible for organising each master's degree will notify applicants of the date, place and documents they must furnish to prove that they meet the admission requirements.
The documents to be furnished will depend on where they earned their degree or completed the course that qualifies them to enrol in the master's degree course:
At UPC schools
- Curriculum vitae
- If the applicant holds any additional qualifications in the field of the master's degree other than the one that qualifies him or her to enrol, he or she must provide documentary evidence thereof (original and a photocopy or a certified photocopy).
For UPC-affiliated schools or any other public university in Spain, in addition to the above, the following must also be provided:
- Photocopy of the applicant's Spanish ID card (DNI), foreigner ID card (NIE) or passport.
- Original and photocopy (or certified photocopy) of the qualification entitling the student to enrol in the master's degree or proof of payment of the issuing fee for it.
- Original and photocopy (or certified photocopy) of an academic certificate listing the subjects completed, the marks received and the number of credits/hours of each one. This certificate must also show the overall average mark earned by the applicant.
- Any other documents required by the specific master's degree course.
At foreign universities and higher education institutions:
- Photocopy of the applicant's Spanish ID card (DNI), foreigner ID card (NIE) or passport.
- Original and photocopy (or certified photocopy) of the homologation of the qualification entitling the applicant to enrol in the master's degree course.
- If the qualification is not homologated, the original and a photocopy (or a certified photocopy) of the document issued by the awarding university or institution or by the competent authority for such matters in the issuing country. This document must show that the course in question had a duration of, at least, three years and that the resulting qualification entitles the holder to pursue postgraduate studies (master's degree courses) in the issuing country. If that is not possible, it must indicate the level of higher education that the qualification entitles its holder to access.
- Original and photocopy (or certified photocopy) of the academic certificate listing the subjects taken, the marks earned and the number of credits/hours of each one. This certificate must also explain the marking system used.
- If the applicant holds any additional qualifications in the field of the master's degree other than the one that qualifies him or her to enrol, he or she must provide documentary evidence thereof (original and a photocopy or a certified photocopy).
Important: All documents issued in non-EU countries must be legalised and bear the corresponding apostille.
As soon as the unit responsible for the master's degree course has validated the submitted documentation, the enrolment can be processed. Once the enrolment fee has been paid at the relevant bank, the applicant will officially be a student of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya master's degree course.
For more information please click "Further Official Information" below.