MaSter Information – 2015-2016 Methodology and Statistics of Behavioural, Biomedical, and Social Sciences

Welcome to the Master’s Programme Methodology and Statistics of Behavioural, Biomedical and Social Sciences Prof. Herbert Hoijtink (Programme coordinator UU) Prof. Jean-Paul Fox (coordinator UT) Prof. Cas Kruitwagen (coordinator UMCU) Master Information 20/9/18

Research degree programme offered by three departments English spoken Some facts Research degree programme offered by three departments English spoken Full-time, two years Starting in September 2016 Degree: Msc Programme (old style) started in 2006; new style started in 2013 Maximum 25 students Master Information 20/9/18

train students in methodological and statistical methods Aim and target train students in methodological and statistical methods and techniques: Apply these techniques to real scientific projects Design of studies Data analysis Develop the field of M&S further Aim is not to train students to solve difficult, mathematical problems that have no connection to research in the behavioural, biomedical and social sciences. Master Information 20/9/18

Some Examples 1. The ministry of social welfare wishes to estimate the number of welfare recipients who commit fraud (having a paid job, living with a partner, …) Problem: welfare recipients will show self-protecting behavior. They are highly unlikely to answer “yes” to the question “have you ever committed fraud while receiving social security payment? Challenge: develop methods of data collection that still allow for the estimation of percentage Master Information 20/9/18

What if schools and pupils drop out? Some Examples 2. A researcher in the field of health education wants to evaluate the effectiveness of a newly developed school-based smoking prevention intervention. Important questions How many schools should be included and how many pupils should be sampled per school? What if schools and pupils drop out? What if pupils do not comply with the treatment they are assigned to? Master Information 20/9/18

3. Second year: internship & thesis project Some examples 3. Second year: internship & thesis project Your own year-round project Developing & testing a new statistical method … Bayesian sequential testing on informative hypotheses Unbounded freedom and responsibility Close supervision Thorough specialization in your own area of interest Master Information 20/9/18

Organisation OMD department is a specialized group in M&T: about 25 people, 3 (full) professors + 2 from outside UT Applications in Health, Education, Psychology - RCEC, Diverse education program - Many national research grants (NWO, …) and international funding (LSAC, …) M&S department of UU: about 50 people, 3 full professors + 3 from outside UU - many research grants (NWO) and external funding (e.g. ministries, CITO, CBS) - excellent research evaluations from visitation committees Further Collaboration: University Medical Centre Utrecht Only group(s) in the Netherlands that may offer this master All teachers hold a PhD and are respected researchers in their field Master Information 20/9/18

Programme Structure First year: Semester 1 Semester 2 Survey Methods (UT) Psychometrics (UT) Multivariate statistics (UU) Multilevel analysis and structural equation modeling (UU) Fundamentals of statistics (UU) Bayesian Statistics (UU) Computational Inference with R (UMCU) Clinical Research Designs (UMCU) Master Information 20/9/18

Programme Structure Elective Second year: Semester 1 Semester 2 Research Seminar 2 Research Seminar 1 Master Thesis Traineeship Master Information 20/9/18

- Learn to work in a research team/environment Programme Structure Traineeship: - Learn to work in a research team/environment - Work on your own research project - Supervision by M&S researcher with PhD Current and past locations of traineeships: Departments M&T and OMD, CITO, department biostatistics (Utrecht, Rotterdam), CBS, TNO, Trimbos Master thesis: - Formulate research question and plan on basis of traineeship - Write your findings in a scientific paper and submit it to an international journal - Present findings in poster session + oral presentation Master Information 20/9/18

What should you expect from us? Challenging, excellent-quality program on three different locations Skilled and enthusiastic teachers who are experts in their field Small-scale classes State-of-the-art All three departments’ contacts with outside world (national and international) Optional: Erasmus exchange possibilities Master Information 20/9/18

And after your graduation? PhD student in the field of social statistics, biostatistics/epidemiology PhD student in another field in behavioural, biomedical and social sciences Researcher at research institute (Trimbos, NIVEL, CBS, CITO, SCP, RIVM, Danone), marketing, banking, pharmaceutical industry “I keep saying that the sexy job in the next 10 years will be statisticians,” said Hal Varian, chief economist at Google (Nov 2009). “People think I'm joking, but who would've guessed that computer engineers would've been the sexy job of the 1990s? … But I do think those skills - of being able to access, understand, and communicate the insights you get from data analysis - are going to be extremely important.” The prospects on the labour market are very good! Master Information 20/9/18

As Test-Taking Grows, Test-Makers Grow Rarer, May 5, 2006, NY Times. Psychometrics, one of the most obscure, esoteric and cerebral professions in America …. is now also one of the hottest Master Information 20/9/18

Admission requirements Bachelor’s degree in the social, biomedical or behavioural sciences, or other relevant field like mathematics, epidemiology, economy, …. Above average academic record, especially in M&S and/or mathematics courses. - International Programme: pass TOEFL test (not required for Dutch- Bachelor’s degree holder) Master Information 20/9/18

Application and enrolment Procedure: 1. you submit an enrolment request (application) 2. you receive a letter of acceptance 3. you finalize your enrolment Apply through: http://www.uu.nl/masters/en/methodology-and-statistics- behavioural (September start) Application deadlines: <1 Dec 2015 (Notice of Acceptance, January 2016) Application deadlines: <1 April 2016 (September start) Applying for a scholarship? < 2015. Master Information 20/9/18

Attend a class/lecture… Check out www.utwente.nl/master/ More information? Attend a class/lecture… Check out www.utwente.nl/master/ http://www.utwente.nl/master/methodology-statistics-for-behavioural-biomedical-social-sciences/ http://www.uu.nl/masters/en/methodology-and-statistics-behavioural Contact Prof. Jean-Paul Fox (UT): j.p.fox@utwente.nl Contact Prof. Herbert Hoijtink (UU): h.hoijtink@uu.nl Call the International Office on (030) 253 7000 or visit www.uu.nl/qdesk Follow us on Twitter #FSW_UU or Facebook http://on.fb.me./FSW-UniUtrecht. Master Information 20/9/18