Post Graduate Diploma in
Survey Data Analysis for Development (CG038ECO15)
DataFirst, SALDRU and the UCT School of Economics offers a one-year full time or two-year part time Post-Graduate Diploma in Survey Data Analysis for Development. The objective of the Post-Graduate Diploma is to train working professionals in the skills required to analyse a diverse set of social surveys. All courses, including the core theory courses, include theoretical and empirical applications to reflect the objectives of the degree.
Structure
The Post-Graduate Diploma in Survey Data Analysis for Development programme comprises three compulsory courses in the first semester, three compulsory courses in the second semester and a compulsory research report. The degree runs over 12 months if undertaken full-time and 24 months if undertaken part-time. The programme comprises of 120 credits.
The timetable for 2017 is:
Block week 1: 3.5 weeks
- Introduction to Stata: 1-3 February 2017 (This course is for registered students that do not know Stata)
- ECO4116F Cross-sectional econometric methods: 6-10 February 2017
- ECO4119S The Analysis of Complex Surveys: 13-17 February 2017
- ECO4117F Panel data methods: 20-24 February 2017
Block week 2: 1 week
- Teaching for above 3 courses: 2-6 May 2017
* Examinations: 11-14 July 2017
Block week 3: 3 weeks
- ECO4121S Welfare Measurement: 17-20 July 2017
- ECO4118S Applied Labour Economics: 24-28 July 2017
- ECO4115S Consumption and micro-economic theory: 31 July - 4 August 2017
Block week 4: 1 week
- Teaching for above 3 courses: 26-30 September 2017
* Examinations: To be confirmed
- ECO4120S Research Project workshop and deadline: To be confirmed
If students want to finish within one year they will need to hand in their project before re-registration day in 2018(± 2nd week of February). More details on the modules.
Entrance Requirements
A bachelor’s degree in statistics, economics or demography or
An alternative tertiary qualification plus appropriate work experience, such as the use of econometric software and data analysis, subject to the University’s RPL criteria and entrance exam. (Note that SALDRU runs a free course every January "An Introduction to Household Survey Analysis using Stata" which can provide some of the background)
Recommendation of acceptance is at the discretion of the Graduate Committee.
Assessment
To qualify for the PGDip, students must pass all courses including the research report to a value of 120 HEQF credits.
The research component is examined by way of a research report (30 HEQF credits) which will be due early February in the year following the coursework.
Readmission Rules
Students who fail may repeat a maximum of two courses of the coursework component once provided that they have submitted the required research report within the time-frame for submission. A compulsory course may be repeated only if the student scored at least 40% at first attempt. There will be no supplementary examinations.
Admissions
Applications need to be made via the UCT website. In addition to completing the University application form, all students must also submit a CV, letter of motivation and the names and contact details of two referees before 31 October. The programme begins in January.
Background on the organisations presenting the qualification
SALDRU and DataFirst will be running this programme under the auspices of the School of Economics at the University of Cape Town. Much of the material has been successfully presented in the past as short courses.
SALDRU (The Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit) is the premier research unit analysing poverty and inequality in South Africa. SALDRU managed the first nationally representative survey run in South Africa in 1993 and is currently managing the National Income Dynamics Study on behalf of the Presidency.
DataFirst is South Africa’s premier data service, disseminating over 200 studies to researchers throughout the world. It has run workshops on data curation and data quality for many African national statistics agencies.
The School of Economics at UCT is the top-rated Economics Department in Africa, with a particularly strong record in applied work through research units like SALDRU.
**This is a SALDRU/DataFirst/School of Economics training initiative supported by Statistics South Africa.
