Statistics – Graduate Diploma in Arts

With Massey’s Graduate Diploma in Arts (Statistics) you’ll learn the key theories of statistics, and gain the quantitative skills to conduct robust statistical analysis that’s effective in the real world.

Where you can study

Distance and online
Manawatū campus (Palmerston North)

International students

International students are not New Zealand citizens or residents.

Definition of New Zealand citizens and residents

Open to international students studying online from outside New Zealand
Note: Not all courses are available in any given year

Specialise in Statistics for your Graduate Diploma in Arts at Massey

A Massey Graduate Diploma in Arts (Statistics) is a bridging tool for graduates in other subjects to get the equivalent of a major in statistics.

Improve your decision-making

The Massey Graduate Diploma in Arts (Statistics) will teach you to interpret the science of evidence. Statistics allow us to quantify risk and make effective decisions even when we are uncertain about the world around us. Should I buy or sell my stock? Is this new treatment effective against breast cancer? What adverts should my website display to increase my revenue? How can I better interpret that weak distress signal coming from a vessel far out at sea?

Using the recent explosion in digital data to answer questions like these makes statisticians some of the most highly sought-after employees.

Big data = more jobs for statisticians

If you can interpret this explosion of information and data, you’ll be indispensable. Big Data has opened up a huge range of career opportunities for you if you’re talented in working with figures.

Learn the theory and the practice

As a Massey Graduate Diploma in Arts (Statistics) student you’ll begin to learn the key theories of statistics, but you’ll also get the quantitative skills to conduct robust statistical analysis that’s effective in the real world.

Further study

Once you have completed your Graduate Diploma in Arts (Statistics) you can then apply for postgraduate studies in statistics if you wish.

A Graduate Diploma in Arts in Statistics is a good fit if you:

  • want to create quantitative solutions to modern-day problems
  • have confidence with modern information technology
  • are good at working with numbers.

Planning information

If you study full-time you’ll take eight 15-credit courses (120 credits) in one year, or 60 credits per semester. You may be able to take some courses at summer school.

Prerequisite courses

Make sure you include courses that are prerequisites for the next level of courses you wish to study.

The GradDipArts (Statistics) schedule includes some courses which have specific 100-level courses required as prerequisites which must be passed before enrolling in a 200-level course. Meeting prerequisite requirements may require you to study courses in addition to those specified for the GradDipArts.

Check the requirements for your courses before you enrol. 

Please note: No 100-level credits can be included in the GradDipArts. Any 100-level prerequisite course that you need to pass before you start the Graduate Diploma in Arts should be taken under the Certificate of Proficiency Undergraduate.

Official regulations

To understand what you need to study and must complete to graduate read the official rules and regulations for this qualification.

You should read these together with all other relevant Statutes and Regulations of the University including the General Regulations for Undergraduate Degrees, Undergraduate Diplomas, Undergraduate Certificates, Graduate Diplomas and Graduate Certificates.

Returning students

For returning students, there may be changes to the majors and minors available and the courses you need to take. Go to the section called ‘Transitional Provisions’ in the Regulations to find out more.

In some cases the qualification or specialisation you enrolled in may be no longer be taking new enrolments, so may not appear on these web pages. To find information on the regulations for these qualifications go to the Massey University Calendar.

Please contact us through the Get advice button on this page if you have any questions.

Courses you can enrol in

Course planning key

Prerequisites
Courses that need to be completed before moving onto a course at the next level. For example, a lot of 200-level courses have 100-level prerequisite courses.
Corequisites
Courses that must be completed at the same time as another course are known as corequisite courses.
Restrictions
Some courses are restricted against each other because their content is similar. This means you can only choose one of the offered courses to study and credit to your qualification.

Compulsory courses

Choose 30 credits from
Course code: 161250 Data Analysis 15 credits

Biology, psychology, and other sciences require statistical methods for analysing and visualising data. This course is designed to be accessible to students from any discipline, first building a deeper understanding of fundamental statistical concepts, then teaching a range of practical approaches for exploring statistical relationships, testing hypotheses, evaluating models, and presenting conclusions.

Prerequisites: 1611xx or 297101 Restrictions: 161220

View full course details
Course code: 161251 Regression Modelling 15 credits

Common data analysis and regression techniques for application in science, business and social science. Topics include simple and multiple regression; linear models with categorical explanatory variables; model diagnostics; inference for linear models; polynomial regression; models for time dependence; methods for variable selection; non-linear and weighted regression.

Prerequisites: 1611xx or 297101 Restrictions: 161221

View full course details

Subject courses

Choose 60 credits from
Course code: 161304 Statistical Modelling 15 credits

This course covers the ideas underlying statistical modelling, its implementation through computational methods, and links to practical applications. Topics include probability and random variables, models for discrete and continuous data, model selection, model fitting and goodness of fit, model inference, and introduction to stochastic processes.

Prerequisites: (160101 or 160102 or 160105) and (161250 or 161251 or 161220 or 161221)

View full course details
Course code: 161323 Multivariate Analysis 15 credits

This course teaches methods to understand patterns and structures inherent in data sets containing many variables. The fundamentals of data visualisation, clustering, and dimension reduction with examples taken from a range of applications.

Prerequisites: One of 161222, 161220, 161221, 161250, 161251, 233214 Restrictions: 161762

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Course code: 161324 Data Mining 15 credits

A practical approach to data mining with large volumes of complex data; prepare, cleanse and visualise data; supervised and unsupervised modelling; ensemble and bundling techniques; use of leading software tools.

Prerequisites: One of 161122, 297101, 161220, 161221, 161250 or 161251 Restrictions: 161223 and 161777

View full course details
Course code: 161331 Biostatistics 15 credits

Sciences such as biology and medicine yield data that require a wide range of statistical techniques, including standard linear models and their extensions. Case studies are used to demonstrate topics such as nonlinear regression, linear models for binary and count data, and mixed effects models. Emphasis is placed on application of appropriate statistical techniques through extensive use of statistical software.

Prerequisites: 161250 or 161251 or 161220 or 161221 Restrictions: 161327, 161778

View full course details

Entry requirements

Admission to Massey

All students must meet university entrance requirements to be admitted to the University.

Specific requirements

To enter the Graduate Diploma in Arts (Statistics) you will have been awarded or qualified for a bachelor’s degree or equivalent.

You will need to provide copies of all official academic transcripts for studies taken at all universities other than Massey University.

English language requirements

To study this qualification you must meet Massey University's English language standards.

This qualification is classified as NZQF Level 7 and requires the same English language standard as most undergraduate bachelor degrees, diplomas and certificates.

English language skills

If you need help with your English language skills before you start university, see our English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses.

Can't meet the entry requirements?

If you need to do a course before you start your programme, there may be options for you in Summer School.

Fees and scholarships

Fees, student loans and free fees scheme

Your tuition fees may be different depending on the courses you choose. Your exact fees will show once you have chosen your courses.

There will also be some compulsory non-tuition fees and for some courses, there may also be charges for things such as study resources, software, trips and contact workshops.

Already know which courses you're going to choose?

You can view fees for the courses that make up your qualification on the course details pages.

Student loans (StudyLink) and Fees Free scheme

You may be eligible for a student loan to help towards paying your fees.

The New Zealand Government offers fees-free tertiary study for eligible domestic students. Find out more about the scheme and your eligibility on the Fees Free website. To use the site's eligibility checking tool, you will need your National Student Number.

Current and returning Massey students can find their National Student Number in the student portal.

Scholarship and award opportunities

Search our scholarships and awards

Fees disclaimer

This information is for estimation purposes only. Actual fees payable will be finalised on confirmation of enrolment. Unless otherwise stated, all fees shown are quoted in New Zealand dollars and include Goods and Services Tax, if any. Before relying on any information on these pages you should also read the University's Disclaimer Notice.

Careers and job opportunities

Statistics skills are useful in most areas of government, business, industry and the sciences. Jobs that require statistics expertise include:

  • government – policy analysis, census, law, national defence
  • business – economics, engineering, marketing, computer science, data mining, business analytics
  • physical sciences – astronomy, chemistry, physics
  • health and medicine – genetics, clinical trials, epidemiology, pharmacology
  • environment – agriculture, ecology, forestry, animal populations.

International students

New Zealand is a great place to study. Massey University’s reputation is supported by our international rankings, accreditations and associations. We are rated five star plus by the QS World University Rankings.

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