Master of Science (Mathematics and Statistics) (MC-SCIMAT) // Course structure

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

Specialisation subjects

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.

Applied Mathematics and Mathematical Biology specialisation

Students must complete two compulsory specialisation subjects:

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
MAST90064	Advanced Methods: Differential Equations	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90067	Advanced Methods: Transforms	Not available in 2023	12.5

Students must select three elective specialisation subjects:

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
MAST90011	Mathematical Biology	Not available in 2023	12.5
MAST90026	Computational Differential Equations	Not available in 2023	12.5
MAST90060	Mathematical Statistical Mechanics	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90103	Random Matrix Theory	Not available in 2023	12.5
MAST90113	Continuum Mechanics	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90125	Bayesian Statistical Learning	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90127	Advanced Biological Modelling: Dynamics	Not available in 2023	12.5
MAST90129	Infectious Disease Dynamics	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	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	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90060	Mathematical Statistical Mechanics	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90067	Advanced Methods: Transforms	Not available in 2023	12.5

Students must select three elective specialisation subjects:

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
MAST90031	Enumerative Combinatorics	Not available in 2023	12.5
MAST90064	Advanced Methods: Differential Equations	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90065	Exactly Solvable Models	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90069	Introduction to String Theory	Not available in 2023	12.5
MAST90103	Random Matrix Theory	Not available in 2023	12.5
MAST90132	Lie Algebras	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	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 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90098	Approximation, Algorithms and Heuristics	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5

Students must select three elective specialisation subjects:

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
MAST90013	Network Optimisation	Not available in 2023	12.5
MAST90050	Scheduling and Optimisation	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90137	Mathematical Game Theory	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90142	Advanced Nonlinear Optimisation	Not available in 2023	12.5

Pure Mathematics specialisation

Students must complete two compulsory specialisation subjects:

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
MAST90012	Measure Theory	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90023	Algebraic Topology	Not available in 2023	12.5

Students must select three elective specialisation subjects:

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
MAST90017	Representation Theory	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90020	Functional Analysis	Not available in 2023	12.5

 

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
MAST90029	Differential Topology	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90056	Riemann Surfaces and Complex Analysis	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90068	Groups, Categories & Homological Algebra	Not available in 2023	12.5
MAST90097	Algebraic Geometry	Not available in 2023	12.5
MAST90124	Advanced Topics in Geometry and Topology	Not available in 2023	12.5
MAST90132	Lie Algebras	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90133	Partial Differential Equations	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90136	Algebraic Number Theory	Not available in 2023	12.5
MAST90143	Differential Geometry	Not available in 2023	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 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90082	Mathematical Statistics	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5

Students must select three elective specialisation subjects:

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
MAST90019	Random Processes	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90027	Practice of Statistics & Data Science	Not available in 2023	12.5
MAST90051	Mathematics of Risk	Not available in 2023	12.5
MAST90059	Stochastic Calculus with Applications	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90083	Computational Statistics & Data Science	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5

 

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
MAST90084	Statistical Modelling	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90111	Advanced Statistical Modelling	Not available in 2023	12.5
MAST90112	Advanced Topics in Stochastic Models	Not available in 2023	12.5
MAST90122	Inference for Spatio-Temporal Processes	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90125	Bayesian Statistical Learning	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90138	Multivariate Statistics for Data Science	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5

 

Further Discipline Subjects

Students must also select:

• Two subjects (25 points) from a single specialisation different to their selected specialisation;
• 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

Mathematics and Statistics

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
MAST90053	Experimental Mathematics	Not available in 2023	12.5

Physics

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
PHYC90007	Quantum Mechanics	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
PHYC90008	Quantum Field Theory	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
PHYC90009	Physical Cosmology	Not available in 2023	12.5
PHYC90010	Statistical Mechanics	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
PHYC90011	Particle Physics	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
PHYC90012	General Relativity	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5

Computer Science

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
COMP90038	Algorithms and Complexity	Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
COMP90043	Cryptography and Security	Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
COMP90046	Constraint Programming	Not available in 2023	12.5
COMP90048	Declarative Programming	Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)	12.5
COMP90049	Introduction to Machine Learning	Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
COMP90051	Statistical Machine Learning	Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
COMP90059	Introduction to Programming	Summer Term (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) Semester 1 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville) Semester 2 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5

 

Bioinformatics

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
BINF90001	Statistics for Bioinformatics	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
BINF90002	Elements of Bioinformatics	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5

Biomedical Engineering

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
BMEN90027	Systems and Synthetic Biology	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5

 

Professional Skills

1. Students must choose one of the following:

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
MAST90045	Systems Modelling and Simulation	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
COMP90072	The Art of Scientific Computation	Semester 1 (On Campus - Parkville) Semester 2 (On Campus - 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 (Dual-Delivery - Parkville)	12.5
SCIE90017	Science and Technology Internship	Summer Term (Off Campus) Semester 1 (Off Campus) Semester 2 (Off Campus)	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) (On Campus - Parkville) Semester 2 (Extended) (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90119	Research Project Part 1	Semester 1 (Extended) (On Campus - Parkville) Semester 2 (Extended) (On Campus - Parkville)	25
MAST90117	Research Project Part 2	Semester 1 (Extended) (On Campus - Parkville) Semester 2 (Extended) (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90120	Research Project Part 2	Semester 1 (Extended) (On Campus - Parkville) Semester 2 (Extended) (On Campus - Parkville)	25
MAST90118	Research Project Part 3	Semester 1 (Early-Start) (On Campus - Parkville) Semester 2 (Early-Start) (On Campus - Parkville)	25
MAST90121	Research Project Part 3	Semester 1 (Early-Start) (On Campus - Parkville) Semester 2 (Early-Start) (On Campus - 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) (On Campus - Parkville) Semester 2 (Extended) (On Campus - Parkville)	12.5
MAST90115	Minor Research Project Part 2	Semester 1 (Early-Start) (On Campus - Parkville) Semester 2 (Early-Start) (On Campus - 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: 14 December 2024