This course is compulsory on the MSc in Management and MSc in Management (CEMS MIM). This course is not available as an outside option.

The course is divided into four separate subjects: Basics of Accounting, Statistics, and Quantitative and Writing Skills for Postgraduates.

The Statistics course is for all students and covers basic probability and statistics; hypothesis testing; analysis of variance; association, correlation and regression.

The Basics of Accounting sessions will equip students with the basic skills to read a set of accounts, and to understand the issues covered in the financial press. It is intended that this will help students to adapt more quickly to the demands of case study preparation and for courses where accounting basics are helpful.

Students in the final portion of the course can opt for one of two options: Quantitative Skills, or Writing Skills for Postgraduates. 

The Quantitative portion of the course is an introductory mathematics course which covers the following topics with application reference to economics and business: Functions, Linear Equations, Natural Logarithm, Comparative Statics Analysis.

The Writing Skills sessions are intended to help students who have backgrounds outside the social sciences and humanities make the transition to postgraduate work. Topics covered will include identifying and making an argument and the fundamentals of essay writing.

30 hours of lectures in the three weeks prior to the Michaelmas Term. There will also be some workshops and tutorial sessions for the statistics portion of the course, to support students preparing practical exercises.

Statistics: Anderson, D., Sweeney, D., Williams, T., Freeman, J., Shoesmith, E. (2009). Statistics for Business and Economics (2nd edition), Hampshire: Cengage Learning; Cozby, P and Bates, S. (2012). Methods in Behavioural Research (11th Edition), New York: McGraw-Hill; Field, A. (2009). Discovering Statistics using  SPSS. (3rd edition), Sage: London; and Huff (1991). How to Lie with Statistics. Penguin.

Accounting: Boakes, K. (2010). Reading and Understanding the Financial Times. (2nd edition), Harlow: FR Prentice Hall; and Parker, R. (2007). Understanding Company Financial Statements. (6th edition), London: Penguin.

Quantitative Skills: Hammond, P. and Sydsaeter, K. (2002). Essential Mathematics for Economic Analysis. Prentice Hall; and Jacques, I. (2010). Mathematics for Economics and Business. (7th edition), Pearson.

Writing skills: Wallace, M. and Wray, A. (2011). Critical Reading and Writing for Undergraduates (2nd edition), London: Sage.

No formal assessment. Students will sit a mock exam at the end of the statistics course based upon the material to aid learning .