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Master of Science (Mathematics and Statistics) (MC-SCIMAT) // Course structure
About this course
Principal Coordinator
James Osborne
Contact
Currently enrolled students:
- General information: https://ask.unimelb.edu.au
- Contact Stop 1
Future students:
- Further information: http://science.unimelb.edu.au/
Course structure
Students must complete a total of 200 pts comprising:
- Discipline subjects (137.5 points);
- Professional Skills Subject (12.5 points);
- Research Project Component (50 points or in special cases, with approval of the MSc program coordinator, 25 points with an additional 25 points of Master's level Mathematics and Statistics discipline subjects).
Subject options
Students must select one of the following specialisations (62.5 pts):
- Applied Mathematics and Mathematical Biology;
- Mathematical Physics and Physical Combinatorics;
- Operations Research and Industrial Optimisation;
- Pure Mathematics;
- Statistics and Stochastic Processes.
Specialisation subjects
Applied Mathematics and Mathematical Biology specialisation
Students must complete two compulsory specialisation subjects:
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAST90064 | Advanced Methods: Differential Equations | Not available in 2022 | 12.5 |
| MAST90067 | Advanced Methods: Transforms | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Students must select three elective specialisation subjects:
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAST90011 | Mathematical Biology | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| MAST90026 | Computational Differential Equations | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| MAST90060 | Mathematical Statistical Mechanics | Not available in 2022 | 12.5 |
| MAST90103 | Random Matrix Theory | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| MAST90113 | Continuum Mechanics | Not available in 2022 | 12.5 |
| MAST90125 | Bayesian Statistical Learning | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| MAST90127 | Advanced Biological Modelling: Dynamics | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| MAST90129 | Infectious Disease Dynamics | Not available in 2022 | 12.5 |
Mathematical Physics and Physical Combinatorics specialisation
Students must complete at least two of three compulsory specialisation subjects:
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAST90030 | Advanced Discrete Mathematics | Not available in 2022 | 12.5 |
| MAST90060 | Mathematical Statistical Mechanics | Not available in 2022 | 12.5 |
| MAST90067 | Advanced Methods: Transforms | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Students must select three elective specialisation subjects:
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAST90031 | Enumerative Combinatorics | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| MAST90064 | Advanced Methods: Differential Equations | Not available in 2022 | 12.5 |
| MAST90065 | Exactly Solvable Models | Not available in 2022 | 12.5 |
| MAST90069 | Introduction to String Theory | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| MAST90103 | Random Matrix Theory | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| MAST90132 | Lie Algebras | Not available in 2022 | 12.5 |
Operations Research and Industrial Optimisation specialisation
Students must complete two compulsory specialisation subjects:
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAST90014 | Optimisation for Industry | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| MAST90098 | Approximation, Algorithms and Heuristics | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Students must select three elective specialisation subjects:
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAST90013 | Network Optimisation | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| MAST90050 | Scheduling and Optimisation | Not available in 2022 | 12.5 |
| MAST90137 | Mathematical Game Theory | Not available in 2022 | 12.5 |
| MAST90142 | Advanced Nonlinear Optimisation | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Pure Mathematics specialisation
Students must complete two compulsory specialisation subjects:
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAST90012 | Measure Theory | Not available in 2022 | 12.5 |
| MAST90023 | Algebraic Topology | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Students must select three elective specialisation subjects:
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAST90017 | Representation Theory | Not available in 2022 | 12.5 |
| MAST90020 | Functional Analysis | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAST90029 | Differential Topology and Geometry | Not available in 2022 | 12.5 |
| MAST90056 | Riemann Surfaces and Complex Analysis | Not available in 2022 | 12.5 |
| MAST90068 | Groups, Categories & Homological Algebra | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| MAST90097 | Algebraic Geometry | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| MAST90124 | Advanced Topics in Geometry and Topology | Not available in 2022 | 12.5 |
| MAST90132 | Lie Algebras | Not available in 2022 | 12.5 |
| MAST90133 | Partial Differential Equations | Not available in 2022 | 12.5 |
| MAST90136 | Algebraic Number Theory | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| MAST90143 | Differential Geometry | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Statistics and Stochastic Processes specialisation
Students must complete two compulsory specialisation subjects:
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAST90081 | Advanced Probability | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| MAST90082 | Mathematical Statistics | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Students must select three elective specialisation subjects:
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAST90019 | Random Processes | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| MAST90027 | Practice of Statistics & Data Science | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| MAST90051 | Mathematics of Risk | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| MAST90059 | Stochastic Calculus with Applications | Not available in 2022 | 12.5 |
| MAST90083 | Computational Statistics & Data Science | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAST90084 | Statistical Modelling | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| MAST90085 | Multivariate Statistical Techniques | Not available in 2022 | 12.5 |
| MAST90110 | Analysis of High-Dimensional Data | Not available in 2022 | 12.5 |
| MAST90111 | Advanced Statistical Modelling | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| MAST90112 | Advanced Topics in Stochastic Models | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| MAST90122 | Inference for Spatio-Temporal Processes | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| MAST90125 | Bayesian Statistical Learning | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| MAST90138 | Multivariate Statistics for Data Science | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Further Discipline subjects
Students must also select:
- Two subjects (25 points) from a single specialisation different to their selected specialisation; and
- Four subjects (50 points) from any of the specialisations. Students from the Mathematical Physics and Physical Combinatorics specialisation may take up to four approved Master's level subjects from other Schools or Faculties, of which at least two must be from the Physics Master's level subjects listed below. Students from other specialisations may take up to two approved Master's level subjects from other Schools or Faculties.
Up to two of the four Further Discipline subjects can be replaced with approved undergraduate subjects. Where it is necessary for the student to acquire the required knowledge for Master's level Mathematics & Statistics discipline subjects, up to two further Master's level subjects can be replaced with approved undergraduate subjects.
Suggested Further Discipline subjects
Physics
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHYC90007 | Quantum Mechanics | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| PHYC90008 | Quantum Field Theory | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| PHYC90009 | Physical Cosmology | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| PHYC90010 | Statistical Mechanics | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| PHYC90011 | Particle Physics | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| PHYC90012 | General Relativity | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Computer Science
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| COMP90038 | Algorithms and Complexity |
Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
| COMP90043 | Cryptography and Security | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| COMP90046 | Constraint Programming | Not available in 2022 | 12.5 |
| COMP90048 | Declarative Programming | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| COMP90049 | Introduction to Machine Learning |
Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
| COMP90051 | Statistical Machine Learning |
Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
| COMP90059 | Introduction to Programming |
Summer Term (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
Bioinformatics
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| BINF90001 | Statistics for Bioinformatics | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| BINF90002 | Elements of Bioinformatics | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
Biomedical Engineering
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| BMEN90027 | Systems and Synthetic Biology | Not available in 2022 | 12.5 |
Further discipline subjects may also include master's level subjects on topics related to the student’s research project, provided they are approved by the program coordinator. The total number of further discipline subjects offered by other schools in the student’s coursework cannot exceed two.
Professional Skills
1. Students must choose one of the following:
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAST90045 | Systems Modelling and Simulation | Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| COMP90072 | The Art of Scientific Computation |
Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
2. Students who have already received credit for one of (MAST30028, COMP10001, COMP10002, COMP20005, INFO10001) must choose one of the above subjects, or one of the following:
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| SCIE90012 | Science Communication | Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) |
12.5 |
| SCIE90013 | Communication for Research Scientists |
Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
Winter Term (Online)
Semester 2 (Online)
|
12.5 |
| SCIE90017 | Science and Technology Internship |
Summer Term (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
Semester 2 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
Research Project - 50 points
A typical course structure for full time students
Full time students are advised to structure their enrolments as follows:
- Semester 1 - 50.0 points of coursework and no research project.
- Semester 2 - 37.5 points of coursework and Research Project Part 1 (12.5 points).
- Semester 3 - 37.5 points of coursework and Research Project Part 2 (12.5 points).
- Semester 4 - 25.0 points of coursework and Research Project Part 3 (25 points).
Other structures that are suitable for part time study, or for students who enroll with credit from earlier degrees, can be negotiated with the student's supervisor and the School's MSc program coordinator.
Research Project Component
The first semester of study is meant for coursework only. During the first semester, students should finalise their choice of research project supervisor and research topic.
The research project should be conducted in three consecutive semesters. Typically, work on the project, including the associated thesis and presentation, starts at the beginning of the second semester of study and is conducted in 60 of the next 66 weeks. An indicative total time commitment of 800 hours for the duration of the project is expected.
The assessment requirements below are applicable to the entire 50 point Research Project.
- A preliminary literature survey and research plan (of 2 pages) is due at the end of week eight of Research Project Part 1 (hurdle; pass/fail ).
- An intermediate report on the progress in the research project (of 2 pages) is due at the end of week eight of Research Project Part 2 (hurdle; pass/fail).
- A thesis (90% of assessment) is the main requirement due after the full 50 points of enrolment in the research project component. Theses are expected to be 40-60 pages in length, excluding references, appendices, figures and tables. The thesis will be submitted two weeks prior to the end of the teaching period in the final semester of Research project enrolment.
- Students will have to give 30 minute presentations (10% of assessment) on their research projects in the last week of that teaching period, on a date to be announced by the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the beginning of semester.
Leave of absence during enrolment in a research project and outside of university holidays requires the approval of the student’s supervisor.
Under special circumstances, with the permission of the program coordinator, students may be allowed to complete two 25 point research projects in lieu of a single 50 point project.
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAST90116 | Research Project Part 1 |
Semester 1 (Extended) (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
Semester 2 (Extended) (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
| MAST90119 | Research Project Part 1 |
Semester 1 (Extended) (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
Semester 2 (Extended) (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
|
25 |
| MAST90117 | Research Project Part 2 |
Semester 1 (Extended) (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
Semester 2 (Extended) (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
| MAST90120 | Research Project Part 2 |
Semester 1 (Extended) (On Campus - Parkville)
Semester 2 (Extended) (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
|
25 |
| MAST90118 | Research Project Part 3 |
Semester 1 (Early-Start) (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
Semester 2 (Early-Start) (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
|
25 |
| MAST90121 | Research Project Part 3 |
Semester 1 (Early-Start) (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
Semester 2 (Early-Start) (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
Research Project - 25 points
A typical course structure for full time students
This option is only available to students in special cases, and only with approval of the MSc program coordinator. Full time students for whom that option is approved are advised to structure their enrolments as follows:
- Semester 1 - 50.0 points of coursework and no research project.
- Semester 2 - 50.0 points of coursework and no research project.
- Semester 3 - 37.5 points of coursework and Minor Research Project Part 1 (12.5 points).
- Semester 4 - 37.5 points of coursework and Minor Research Project Part 2 (12.5 points).
Other structures that are suitable for part time study, or for students who enroll with credit from earlier degrees, can be negotiated with the student’s supervisor and the School's MSc program coordinator.
Research Project Component
The research project starts at the beginning of the third semester of study. Typically, work on the project, including associated thesis and presentation, should be conducted in 40 of the next 44 weeks.
An indicative total time commitment of 400 hours for the duration of the project is expected.
Leave of absence during enrolment in a research project and outside of university holidays requires the approval of the student’s supervisor.
The thesis will be submitted two weeks prior to the end of the teaching period in the final semester of research project enrolment, being the fourth semester of study. The students will have to give presentations on their research projects in the last week of that teaching period, on a date to be announced by the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the beginning of that semester.
| Code | Name | Study period | Credit Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| MAST90114 | Minor Research Project Part 1 |
Semester 1 (Extended) (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
Semester 2 (Extended) (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
| MAST90115 | Minor Research Project Part 2 |
Semester 1 (Early-Start) (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
Semester 2 (Early-Start) (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)
|
12.5 |
Students completing this option will be required to select a further 25 points of coursework subjects from the relevant specialisation.
Last updated: 28 April 2025