The teaching of statistics in UK universities

The project on the teaching of statistics in UK universities has two phases. In phase I various data sources are explored and the Directory of Academic Statisticians is identified as the most reliable source of data on statistics teaching staff. The number of staff in core mathematical science groups peaked in 1996 and has declined since then. The decline is related to research assessment exercise score. Phase 2 is a survey of university groups that identify with the discipline of statistics within the mathematical sciences and which are the key groups for determining the future supply of statisticians. These groups can be categorized as strong, marginal or weak, depending on their recent history and perceived prospects. This categorization is used to make projections of staff numbers in 2010. A decline of between 7% and 22% is expected. The position in medical statistics is stable. Conclusions are drawn in the final section on the basis of the survey returns and the analysis of the Directory of Academic Statisticians data.