Degree Requirements

Master's Degree in Applied Statistics

The program for a master's degree in applied statistics requires 32 semester credits with an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher.  An oral defense of a research-based thesis or paper is required.

All students must:

  1. Complete a set of core courses with a grade of B or better including:  STAT 661, 662, 767, 768, and 764, or 774.
  2. Statistics courses numbered 700-726 will not count towards this degree.
  3. Complete an additional 11-14 hours (depends on number of research hours) of course work selected from the following courses:  STAT 660, 663, 664, 669, 670, 671, 672, 730, 732, 770, 772, 775, 786, 796 (Special Topics in Statistics), 851, 840, 859. *If one of these courses has been taken at the undergraduate level, another graduate level course should be substituted. STAT 725 and 726 will not be counted for this degree program.
  4. Submit your Plan of Study by the end of your second semester of study, per Graduate School policy.
  5. Pass two written comprehensive exams.  Exam 1 covers STAT 767 and 768.  Exam 2 covers STAT 661, 662, and 764 or 774.  Exam 1 is two hours and Exam 2 is three hours.  These exams are offered during approximately the fourth week of Fall and Spring semesters.  A maximum of two attempts will be allowed.
  6. Successfully complete and defend a research-based paper or thesis (3 or 6 credits).
PhD in Statistics Degree Requirements

The program for a Ph.D. in Statistics requires an additional 30 credits of course work and 30 hours of research beyond the mater's degree.  An oral defense of a dissertation is required.

All students must:

  1. Complete a set of core courses with a grade of B or better including:  STAT 661, 662, 767, 768, and 764 or 774.  Most of these courses will be completed during your M.S. degree.
  2. Statistics courses numbered 700-726 do not count towards this degree.
  3. Complete an additional 30 semester credits of statistics courses at the 600- or 800-level (does not include STAT 725 or 726).  At least 15 credits must be at the 700- to 800- level.
  4. Students must take STAT 786, 764, and 774 if not taken at the M.S. level.
  5. Upon approval by the adviser and advisory committee, up to 9 hours may be taken in Mathematics or Computer Science. It is recommended that a student have knowledge of real analysis at some level such as MATH 650 and MATH 651.
  6. Pass a written comprehensive exam. This exam consists of two sections. Exam 1 covers STAT 767 and STAT 768. Exam 2 covers STAT 661, STAT 662 and STAT 764 or STAT 774. Exam 1 is two hours and Exam 2 is three hours. These exams are offered during approximately the fifth week of each semester (fall and spring). A maximum of two attempts is allowed.
  7. Submit your Plan of Study to the Graduate School at least one month prior to your oral preliminary/comprehensive examination, per Graduate School policy.
  8. Submit a research proposal and pass an oral exam on the proposal and related topics at least one semester prior to defending your dissertation.
  9. Complete and successfully defend the research dissertation.

*Some of these requirements may be satisfied upon admittance into the program with an already existing master's degree in Statistics.

Top of page