Skills Training

The Department and University offer a range of training provision which covers research, academic and transferable career skills. Students are expected to take responsibility for shaping their own training, supported by their supervisor.

• MPLS Graduate Training Framework

All students are expected to undertake 100 hours of ‘broadening training’ outside their specialist area. This training should broaden your knowledge and understanding of statistics and probability as a whole, rather than be directly related to your research topic.

Academic skills are lecture courses/subjects that form an extension to, and fill gaps in, undergraduate knowledge.

• The natural way to do this training (or most of it) is to attend Academy for Postgraduate Training in Statistics (APTS) courses in the first year.
• Students are also expected to attend the departmental Graduate Lectures.
• The department holds a Distinguished Speaker Seminar Series
• MMath Parts B or C/MSc in Statistical Science courses might be of interest.
• Courses offered by other departments can be found via the MPLS Researcher Training Programme

Research skills are those needed to actually carry out research, for example safety, equipment use, programming.

• All first year students are expected to attend the session on Finding research Information. This is an introduction to the Radcliffe Science Library and research databases, e-journals, e-books, and dissertations available at Oxford. A session is planned as part of the student induction.
• Postgraduate library training sessions.
• Oxford University IT Services – IT Learning Centre
• Departmental IT information: how to get help with IT

All research students are required to acquire “transferable” skills as part of their training, and must spend at least 10 days per year in such activities. An account of students’ skills training must be presented at transfer and confirmation of status.

• Many important skills can be developed through teaching. Each DPhil student is generally expected to participate in teaching. Undergraduate teaching training is run by the Mathematical Institute with input from the Department of Statistics.
• The MPLS Division offers a wide range of transferable skills courses. These include:

• Oxford University Careers Service
• The Language Centre
• Vitae – realising the potential of researchers