Big Data has become the subject of attention worldwide, with its sudden rise creating a demand for analysts globally. Big Data is characterised by high volume, high velocity, or high variety. Big Data comes from sensors, devices, video/audio, networks, log files, transactional applications, web, and social media – much of it is generated in real-time and on a very large scale.

Statisticians are key players in the analytics/data science environment, using their quantitative skills to transform large amounts of data into information to solve real-world problems and enhance decision making. The skills learnt during studies in Statistical Sciences are current and have universal application. 

Data science is a multidisciplinary field incorporating statistics and computer science that uses quantitative skills in business (optimise business processes), marketing (predict consumer purchasing patterns), government (use of mobile data to optimise public transport services), medicine (identify subsets of genes associated with a particular disease), astronomy, ecology, language processing and much more. To quote a famous statistician, Tukey, “the best thing about being a statistician is that you get to play in everyone’s backyard.” 

It has thus been our experience that our students find it easy to obtain jobs immediately after graduation and that they are promoted rapidly into management positions. If you enjoy quantitative subjects, have problem-solving skills and consider yourself to be a logical, creative and innovative thinker, then a career in analytics and data science is for you.

This degree is offered in collaboration with and is convened by the Department of Statistical Sciences in the Faculty of Science. Students register in the Faculty of Commerce. 

For more information, please refer to the Commerce Undergraduate Handbook.

For information on applying to UCT, admission requirements, National Benchmark Tests, and key dates, please consult UCT’s Undergraduate Prospectus.