Examinations
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Joint Announcement by The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) and The Hong Kong Statistical Society (HKSS) on the Examination in Hong Kong for the year 2002 and onwards

Examination

The 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 

Address :  Hong Kong Statistical Society Examination Office
c/o

HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education

Room 313, 3/F Admiralty Centre, 18 Harcourt Road

Hong Kong

(Opening hours
  Weekdays : 9:00 am - 7:30 pm
  Saturdays :  9:00 am - 1:00 pm
  Sundays & Public Holidays : Closed)
Telephone : 

3761 1121

Fax : 

2527 0489

E-mail :  exam@hkss.org.hk


Examinations Available

There are three sequential levels to the Society's Examination.

  • 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.
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  • 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 plus either (i) modules 5 and 6 or (ii) modules 7 and 8 (not necessarily all in the same session) will be awarded the higher certificate. However, candidates who wish to proceed to the graduate diploma must have been successful in modules 1 to 6. Paper for each module will be available in both English and Chinese.
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  • 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.

    The Graduate Diploma is offered in a modular form.  It consists of five modules.  Candidates may enter for any number of modules, either singly or in any combination, in any examination session.  Candidates may resit any module any number of times;  the highest mark achieved will stand.  Module marks are "banked" without time limitation.

    Each module is examined by a 3-hour written paper containing eight questions of which candidates are asked to answer five.  Candidates who are successful in all five modules (not necessarily all in the same session) will be awarded the Graduate Diploma in Statistics.

    Transitional arrangements are available for candidates who have successfully completed part of the previous non-modular (or "traditional") version of the Graduate Diploma which was offered for the last time in 2009, so that they may transfer to the modular version in 2010 but with credit given for work already completed.  Any such candidates should contact the Society for advice.

    The "traditional" format examination for graduate diploma (which consists of five compulsory papers) will cease to be offered as from 2010.

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.

Registration and Examination Fees

Fees are only applicable from 1st Oct 2009 to 30th Sep 2010 for 2010 examination. Registration will commerce in October 2010.

Registration Fees 

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:

Membership

Registration fee

(for Oct2009- Sept2010)

Full Member

$340 per sitting

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.

Examination Fees

Examination level

Paper(s)

Examination fees
(for Oct2009 - Sept2010)

Ordinary Certificate

Two papers at one sitting

HK$1,600- per sitting

Higher Certificate

Eight modules available, each of which may be taken separately in one or more sittings

Module 1 : Data collection and interpretation
Module 2 : Probability models
Module 3 : Basic statistical methods
Module 4 : Linear models
Module 5 : Further probability and inference
Module 6 : Further applications of statistics
Module 7 : Time series and index numbers
Module 8 : Survey sampling and estimation

HK$525- per module

 Graduate Diploma

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

Please study the Guide to Examinations and Examination Associate Membership and Syllabus for further details.
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Examination Timetable - 2010

Examinations on the current syllabuses will be held in May 2010. 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 2010 examinations will commence in October 2009. Further details about taking the examination can be found from the Guide to Examinations and Examination Associate Membership.

Tuesday
18 May 2010

2:00pm -
5:00pm

Ordinary Certificate Paper I


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Graduate Diploma -
Module 3 Stochastic processes and time series

Wednesday
19 May 2010

9:30am -
12:30pm

Ordinary Certificate Paper II

Higher Certificate
Module 1 - Data Collection and Interpretation (9:30-11:00am)
Module 2 - Probability Models
(11:00-12:30pm)

Graduate Diploma -
Module 1 Probability distributions

2:00pm -
5:00pm

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Higher Certificate
Module 5 - Further Probability and Inference (2:00-3:30pm)
Module 7 - Time Series and Index Numbers (3:30-5:00pm)

Graduate Diploma -
Module 2 Statistical inference

Thursday
20 May 2010

9:30am -
12:30pm

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Higher Certificate
Module 3 - Basic Statistical Methods (9:30-11:00am)
Module 4 - Linear Models
(11:00-12:30pm)

Graduate Diploma -
Module 4 Modelling experimental data

2:00pm -
5:00pm

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Higher Certificate
Module 6 - Further Applications of Statistics (2:00-3:30pm)
Module 8 - Survey Sampling and Estimation (3:30-5:00pm)

Graduate Diploma -
Module 5 Topics in applied statistics

Important Dates

Whilst all the three levels of examination will take place in May 2010, candidates who wish to take part in the examination should have completed the registration and exemption procedures well in advance prior to the examination. The following are the important deadlines / dates :

  • Period for enrolment/renewal of Examination Associates : From 1st October 2009 to 31st January 2010;
  • Registration for examination : After enrolling as or renewal of membership for examination associates and on or before 1st March 2010; and
  • Application for exemptions : Well in advance and not later than 1st February 2010.

Further information about the examination can be found in Notes to Students.

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This page is updated in Nov 18, 2009


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