Applied Statistics

Statistics is a subject which is important in our everyday lives. It has a vital role to play in many areas, including medicine, law, government, finance, market research and the environment. Statisticians are involved at all levels, designing studies to answer important questions of interest, analysing data arising from those studies and interpreting results in a meaningful way.

At Reading we offer a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes in statistics, including the UK's only MSc in Biometry. Our emphasis is on the application of statistics, and we have a long record of excellence in statistics teaching, research and consultancy. We offer a Statistical Advisory Service to staff and students of the University. A particular strength of Applied Statistics at Reading is the fact that as well as the academic staff there exists the Statistical Services Centre (SSC), a not-for-profit self-financing unit. The SSC undertakes major statistical consultancy projects for UK and international clients, particularly in the developing world, as well as offering a range of CPD training courses. All together, there are almost 20 applied statisticians at Reading.

Staff in the Section of Applied Statistics are actively engaged in statistics research, whether this be the development of novel statistical methodology, or the application of statistical methods to the analysis of data. Research is organised broadly into two groups: Medical Statistics and Applied Statistics, and PhD study can be undertaken in these areas. Specific research interests are diverse, and include capture-recapture methods with applications such as the estimation of the size of hidden populations, meta-analysis and research synthesis methodology, mixture modelling, detection of gene-drug interactions, design and analysis of clinical trials, use of DNA profiles for forensics and paternity testing, methods for wildlife conservation and climatology.