Profiles

The Ph.D. Program in Statistics will give the student a solid background in statistical theory and in statistical methods, in technical reading and writing skills, and in conducting independent research. Most graduates from our doctoral program have been employed as tenure-track faculty at other universities; however, they also will have the necessary background to work as lead researchers in industrial and research organizations.

Coursework

In addition to the general requirements of the Graduate School all candidates for the PhD degree must successfully take and complete:

Required: 30 credit hours

Stat 5210 Statistical Methods 1

Stat 5220 Statistical Methods 2;
Stat 5380 Bayesian Data Analysis

Stat 5510 Distribution Theory

Stat 5520 Inference I

Stat 5530 Inference II

Stat 5540 Large Sample Theory

Stat 5620 Theory of Linear Models
Stat 5810 Seminar (3 hours; 3 presentations)

PhD Level Electives: a minimum of 12 credit hours from the following list of courses:

Stat 5610 Time Series Analysis II
Stat 5630 Multivariate Analysis

Stat 5640 Generalized Linear Model

Stat 5660 Computational Statistics

Stat 5670 Mixed Models

Stat 5680 Bayesian Statistics

Graduate Level Statistics Electives: a minimum of 15 credit hours from any of the 5000 level courses in Statistics and or graduate level courses in Mathematics as determined by the student's doctoral committee.
Total: 57 Credit Hours


Graduation Requirements:

(1) At the end of the first year in the doctoral program each student must take a comprehensive qualifying examination. If needed a student may retake this examination one time. A passing grade on this examination is mandatory for continuance in the doctoral program.


(2) After completing this examination a student with the assistance of her/his advisor will be expected to form a doctoral committee. This committee will determine which courses are to be included in the student's Doctoral Program and will set the conditions for the dissertation proposal and the preliminary examination. A passing grade on the preliminary examination is mandatory for official admittance into the doctoral program by the graduate school.


(3) Once a committee is formed at a time deemed appropriate by the student, his/her adviser, and the committee, the candidate will present to the committee a proposal for dissertation research. After the committee has amended or approved the proposal, they will set terms for the preliminary examination. This examination will usually contain a written section and will always include an oral portion to demonstrate the student's research readiness.


(4) The student must write and successfully defend a dissertation research project. The specific conditions of the dissertation project are to be determined by each student's doctoral committee. It is expected that portions of the dissertation will be submitted for publication in peer reviewed journals.