MSc Statistical Ecology

• A 2:1 undergraduate Honours degree in a STEM subject or equivalent professional experience.
• You should also have undergraduate training in mathematics and statistics at SCQF Level 8, or equivalent experience. If you studied your first degree outside the UK, see the international entry requirements.
• Demonstrable interests or experience in statistical data analysis in an academic or professional setting.

The qualifications listed are indicative minimum requirements for entry.

Some academic Schools will ask applicants to achieve significantly higher marks than the minimum. Obtaining the listed entry requirements will not guarantee you a place, as the University considers all aspects of every application including, where applicable, the writing sample, personal statement, and supporting documents.

Application requirements

• a one-page personal statement directly addressing entry requirements (and including relevance of previous degree or experience and your interests in statistical analysis)
• a CV with a history of your education and employment to date
  academic transcripts and degree certificates
• two original signed academic or professional references (ideally one academic reference, and a professional reference if experience is to be considered)

For more guidance, see supporting documents and references for postgraduate taught programmes.

For fees and funding options, please visit website to find out more

Statistical skills are highly valued in ecology and conservation, with modern ecological methods becoming increasingly quantitative. The course is therefore excellent preparation for a career as a scientist in: 

• government environment agencies 
• industry 
• consultancies 
• wildlife, conservation, and environmental organisations

The Careers Centre offers one-to-one advice to all students as well as a programme of events to assist students in building their employability skills.

Compulsory

Students typically take the following modules:  

• Introductory Data Analysis: covers essential statistical concepts and analysis methods. (Students with adequate statistical training or experience may be exempt and can may take other optional modules instead.)
• Applied Statistical Modelling using GLMs: covers the main aspects of linear models. 
• Software for Data Analysis: covers the essentials of practical computing for statistical analysis.
• Modelling Wildlife Population Dynamics: introduces methods for constructing mathematical models of wildlife population dynamics and for fitting these models to diverse data from wildlife surveys. 
• Estimating Animal Abundance and Biodiversity: introduces the main types of survey methods for wildlife populations and the statistical models used to analyse this data.

Optional

As part of their optional choices, all students must take: 

• Any statistics-focused module at level 5000 in the School (that is, MT57xx module codes in the module catalogue, or ID5059).
• One additional module at level 3000, 4000, or 5000 in the School (that is, MT3xxx, MT4xxx or MT5xxx module codes in the module catalogue)

Students also have the option to apply to enrol in the following modules offered by the School of Biology: 

• Population Biology  
• Advanced Bioacoustics for Marine Mammal Science

Please note that both Biology modules are only available subject to a cap on numbers with Biology students having priority. 

All students are recommended to include one of the following two modules in their choices: 

• Advanced Data Analysis 
• Multivariate Analysis 

Optional modules are subject to change each year and require a minimum number of participants to be offered; some may only allow limited numbers of students (see the University's position on curriculum development). 

Dissertation

During the final three months of the course, MSc students complete a dissertation or a portfolio dissertation to be submitted by the end of August. Dissertations are supervised by members of teaching staff who will advise on the choice of subject and provide guidance throughout the progress of the dissertation. 

A number of options for placements with organisations within the UK and internationally are available to work on a range of real-world problems specified by the organisations. Placements may range from a few visits to the organisation to being hosted by the organisation for up to two weeks. Students on placements will be co-supervised by collaborators at the partner organisation and St Andrews staff. International placements involve an additional cost. 

If students choose not to complete the dissertation requirement for the MSc, there is an exit award available that allows suitably qualified candidates to receive a Postgraduate Diploma. By choosing an exit award, you will finish your degree at the end of the second semester of study and receive a PGDip instead of an MSc.