Description of the degree This Masters programme aims to train postgraduate students in the use of statistical methods to conduct data-driven research in the social sciences and humanities. The programme will create opportunities for students in the social sciences and humanities to develop an interdisciplinary perspective on the emerging fields of Data Science.

The programme forms part of the DSI-funded National e-Science Postgraduate Teaching and Training Platform (NEPTTP). Students will register with their Home Institution but will attend coursework at Wits University in Johannesburg, Gauteng, in the first year. On completion of the coursework modules, students will move back to their Home Institutions for their second year of study.

Applicants are required to have a Bachelor’s degree with Honours (NQF level 8 qualification) from a relevant discipline or field in the social sciences or humanities. Along with strong substantive knowledge in a relevant discipline or field, they must have a demonstrable knowledge of basic principles of quantitative social research (but need not have a previous specialisation in statistics or statistical computing). Applicants require a minimum of 65 percent in their NQF level 8 qualification to be considered, and they must fulfil any additional institutional application requirements of the institution through which they are applying, and must be co-approved by the Consortium.

Bursaries are available through the DSI-NICIS National e-Science Postgraduate Teaching and Training Platform.  Bursary applications are only submitted once an applicant has been accepted onto the programme.

Ms. Casey Sparkes

Email: e-science.research@wits.ac.za

Tel: (+27) (0) 11 717 6270

For full consideration, apply no later than 31 October. No applications will be considered after 15 December.

When Applying using Degree Code: ACA00; and Plan Code: AFAESC60