Examinations
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ExaminationThe Society offers a suite of professional examinations in statistics: details are given below, and further information and application forms can be downloaded from this site. Alternatively, contact the Examination Office at
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 | The ordinary certificate is pitched between HKCEE and A-level, but concentrating very much on the practical aspects of data collection and simple analyses. The examination consists of two three-hour papers. The papers are available in both English and Chinese. |
| The higher certificate contains work at A-level and into the first year of
a typical university course in statistics. Indeed, some of the topics in the
higher certificate might well be found in the second year of a university
course. The higher certificate is offered in a modular form. It consists of 8 modules. Each module is examined by a 1.5-hour paper. Candidates who are successful in six modules including modules 1 to 4 (not necessarily all in the same session) will be awarded the higher certificate. Candidates who wish to proceed to the graduate diploma should have been successful in modules 1 to 6. Paper for each module will be available in both English and Chinese. The "traditional" format examination for higher certificate (which
consists of three 3-hour papers) will cease to be offered as from 2009. |
| The graduate diploma is equivalent to a good university degree in
statistics and is accepted by universities in Hong Kong as meeting the entry
requirements to Masters degree programmes. In 2009, the Graduate Diploma is offered in two versions. (i) The "traditional" version consists of five compulsory papers. These are Statistical Theory and Methods I and II, Applied Statistics I and II, and an Options Paper. The subjects in the Options Paper take the form of half-syllabuses in six specialised subject areas; candidates are required to answer questions on two of these half-syllabuses. Note that the option in Social, Economic and Financial Statistics is not offered in 2009. The "traditional" version of the Graduate Diploma is available for the last time in 2009. (ii) The modular version consists of five modules which may be taken singly or in any combination. Each module is separately certificated. The Graduate Diploma as a whole is awarded on successful completion of all modules; the "shelf life" of modules leading to this Diploma is unlimited. Candidates entering the Graduate Diploma for the first time in 2009 must register for the modular version. Candidates who have already passed in or attempted some components of the "traditional" version may register for further components. Transitional arrangements will be available for candidates who are part-way through the "traditional" version after the 2009 examinations, so that they may transfer to the modular version in 2010 but with credit given for work already completed. ¡@ |
Candidates who successfully complete the graduate diploma are eligible to apply for the Society's professional status of graduate statistician.
The examinations are held once each year, in May. They take place in an examination centre in Hong Kong run by the Hong Kong Examinations Authority.
Please study the Guide to Examinations and Examination Associate Membership and Syllabus for further details.
The statistical professional examination in Hong Kong was previously held by the Royal Statistical Society, which has been and is still holding the examination in UK and many other places around the world. In August 2001, agreement was reached between the HKSS and RSS that as from the May 2002 round of the examination, the HKSS would take over the examination which the RSS had been holding in Hong Kong. A Joint Announcement on this was issued by the Societies in end September 2001, details of which can be found in this website.
The HKSS examination, which has mutual recognition with the RSS examination, is a recommendable avenue for pursuing qualifications at various levels of the statistical profession. All the certificates issued by the HKSS to successful examination candidates will be endorsed by the RSS and recognised by the RSS as of a standard equivalent to certificates issued by the RSS to the same level of professional qualification. Structured in 3 stages, the examination allows flexibility in the pursuit of studies and examination-taking so that people can proceed with their individual circumstances in regard to study, work and family situations.
Candidates of the examination also include mature students seeking a further qualification in statistics or perhaps a full career change. The examinations might well be of interest to school teachers who find themselves being called on to teach statistics whereas their training was in mathematics, or even in some other subject. The higher certificate would probably be the appropriate level.
There are a number of universities and vocational institutions in Hong Kong that offer courses leading to the HKSS qualifications. Information on this can be found in the section on Relevant Courses on this website.
Candidates for the examinations might also need some support in the background mathematics, particularly for the higher certificate and graduate diploma. Some part-time University courses are useful for this.
Only Full Members, Student Members and Examination Associates are allowed to enter for the examinations of the Society. To do so, it is necessary
| to have paid the subscription for the year in which it is desired to sit examinations |
| to register for the examinations that are desired to be taken |
| to pay the appropriate examination fee |
Full details about the examinations can be obtained from the Examination Office at the address given above.
The syllabus is issued free of charge and there is a free document "Guide to Examinations and Examination Associate Membership" (ExamGuide) containing all the administrative details. The syllabus, ExamGuide and other forms can be downloaded from this site. However, candidates who wish to obtain the documents by post from the Examination Office has to write to the Examination Office and pay for the postal costs involved.
Past papers and fully-detailed worked solutions are also available. These can be downloaded free from the web, or purchased for a small charge (to cover photocopying and postal costs) from the Examination Office (at the address given above). Detailed comments by the examiners are also available from 2000 onwards: the most recent report is available to view online, but please note that these reports are usually not available until several months after the year's examinations have been completed.
For a selection of books thought to be suitable for use by candidates, please refer to the suggested reading lists available in the website of Royal Statistical Society.
Fees are only applicable from 1st Oct 2008 to 30th Sep 2009 for 2009 examination. Registration will commerce in October 2008.
To register for the examination, the applicant should be a Full Member / Student Member of the Society. He/she shall pay a registration fee as follows:
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Membership |
Registration fee (for Oct2008- Sept2009) |
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Full Member |
$340 per sitting |
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Student Member |
$490 per sitting |
Non-Members may also register for the examination by enrolling as Examination Associate. The enrolment fee is $540, which already includes the registration fee.
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Examination level |
Paper(s) |
Examination fees |
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Ordinary Certificate |
Two papers at one sitting |
HK$1,600- per sitting |
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Higher Certificate |
Eight modules available, each of which may be taken separately in one or more sittings | HK$525- per module |
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Graduate Diploma |
Traditional format a. Two papers on Statistical Theory and Methods; b. Two papers on Applied Statistics; and c. Options paper by answering questions from two of the following half-syllabus subject areas:
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HK$890- per paper (for traditional format examination)
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New modular format ¡V Five modules available, each of which may be taken separately in one or more sittings Module 1 : Probability distributions Module 2 : Statistical inference Module 3 : Stochastic processes and time series Module 4 : Modelling experimental data Module 5 : Topics in applied statistics |
HK$890- per module (for new modular format examination) |
Examinations on the current syllabuses will be held in May 2009. The timetable is set out below. The necessary examination forms can be downloaded, or obtained from the office at the Society. Please note that the registration period for examination associates for the 2009 examinations will commence in October 2008. Further details about taking the examination can be found from the Guide to Examinations and Examination Associate Membership.
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Tuesday |
9:30am - |
Ordinary
Certificate Paper I |
Graduate Diploma
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Graduate Diploma - |
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2:00pm - |
Ordinary
Certificate Paper II |
¡V¡V¡V |
¡V¡V¡V |
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Wednesday |
9:30am - |
Higher
Certificate |
Graduate Diploma
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Graduate Diploma - |
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2:00pm - |
Higher
Certificate |
Graduate Diploma
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Graduate Diploma - |
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Thursday |
9:30am - |
Higher
Certificate Module 4 - Linear Models (11:00-12:30pm) |
Graduate Diploma
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Graduate Diploma - |
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2:00pm - |
Higher
Certificate |
Graduate Diploma
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Graduate Diploma - |
Further information about the examination can be found in Notes to Students.
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This page is updated in September 4, 2008 |
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