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Scholarships, Fellowships and Awards

The Department of Statistics offers many scholarships and other award opportunities to full-time graduate students who are majoring in statistics. The following information is provided to inform students and potential students about the possibilities of awards and the diversity of the criteria for these awards.

Graduate scholarships and awards are determined by a departmental committee. No applications for these awards are required. All scholarships and awards are based on academic achievement and/or potential.

For more information on these scholarships and awards, please contact:

Alicia Carriquiry
Department of Statistics and the Statistical Laboratory
1121 Snedecor Hall
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa 50011

Phone: (515) 294-3440
E-mail

VIGRE

The Department of Statistics held a National Science Foundation VIGRE (Vertical Integration of Research and Education) Grant from 2001 to 2006.  The goal of this grant was to increase the number of citizens and permanent residents earning a PhD in Statistics.  The fellowships provided by this grant clearly helped with the recruitment of gradate students.  The next step was to help these students succeed in their pursuit of a PhD.  The following changes were made to help with retention:
  1. The curriculum was revised so students can complete the PhD written exam after two years instead of three years.
  2. Research groups were formed in the areas of Bioinformatics and Genetic Statistics, Ecological and Environmental Statistics, Engineering Statistics, Graphical and Computational Statistics, Probability and Mathematical Statistics, Statistics in the Social Sciences and Survey Statistics.  These groups met weekly or biweekly to discuss research topics presented by faculty, advanced PhD students, post docs or visitors.  New graduate students use these meetings to learn about research within the department and this helps them choose an appropriate major professor.
  3. The Department assigned two advanced teaching assistants to serve as ombudspersons for students in the first year theory and methods courses.  This helps first year students find early success as a  graduate student.
  4. A new summer course was introduced.
The impact of these changes has been seen in the number of  U.S. citizens and permanent residents earning a PhD:
        2003-2004    2
        2004-2005    1
        2005-2006    5
        2006-2007    4
        2007-2008    6

Sixteen U.S. citizens took the PhD written exam in July of 2008 so we expect these numbers to continue increasing.

Research Training Group (RTG) Grant

The graduate program was further enhanced in 2005 when a Research Training Group (RTG) Grant was received from the National Science Foundation.  This grant is focused on research in Engineering Statistics which is an area of strength within the Department.  (Three former editors of Technometrics are on the faculty.)  The goal of this grant is to produce PhD graduates with expertise in the application of statistics to the physical sciences.  A major part of this program is the inclusion of external partners in the research.  Graduate students and faculty have made short and longer visits to Los Alamos National labs (LANL), National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and Google.  Through these visits some of the statistical problems faced by these organizations have become dissertation topics for our RTG Fellows.  Through these partnerships, the impact of our research in the physical sciences is increased.  Some Centers located at Iowa State have also served as partners in physical science research.  

Alliance for Graduate education and Professoriate (AGEP)

The university's Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) program also provides fellowship opportunities.  This National Science Foundation program gives fellowships to students from under-represented groups.  This includes African Americans, Hispanics and native Americans.  Through this program, the Department has greatly increased its diversity.

Snedecor Award

This award honors the founder and first director of the Statistical Laboratory, George W. Snedecor, and is awarded to the most outstanding PhD candidate in the Department of Statistics. The eligible candidates are those who completed the PhD written exam in the given year.

The current award is $1,500.

Bancroft Award

This award, which honors T. A. Bancroft, former head and director of the Department of Statistics and Statistical Laboratory, is presented to a doctoral student with a concurrent MS in Statistics or joint majors in Statistics and another field.

The current award is $1000.

Kempthorne Award

This award honors Oscar Kempthorne who came to Iowa State University in 1947 and retired as a Distinguished Professor in 1989.  This award is given to one the top students in Linear Models.  Performance in Stat 500, Stat 511 and the MS written exam is used to select the recipient of this award.

Vera David Fellowship

This fellowship, in memory of Vera David, wife of past director and head H. A. David, is given to a female student who has just completed her first year of graduate studies. The scholarship is awarded on the basis of academic achievement during the student's first year.

The current award is $2000.

Richard Kleber - St. Olaf Scholarship

Through advising hundreds of Statistics and Mathematics majors at St. Olaf College, Professor Kleber guided over 50 advisees toward graduate studies in Statistics at Iowa State. A scholarship has been set up by many of these students to assist a St. Olaf student who is starting work toward a graduate degree in Statistics at ISU.

The current award is $500.

Holly and Beth Fryer Scholarship

In 1940 Holly C. Fryer received the first PhD awarded in Statistics at ISU. This scholarship was started by Holly C. and his wife Beth. Criteria for this scholarship include grades received in Statistics and related courses, performance in assistantship duties and other information that indicates a high likelihood that the student will make contributions to the Statistics profession throughout their career. The award is given after the second year of graduate studies.

The current award is $2,000.

Jebe Fellowship

Emil Jebe was an associate professor in the Department of Statistics from 1949-1959. After his death in 1996, a fellowship was established to honor him. This fellowship is awarded to one graduate assistant each year.

The current award is $3,000 in addition to a normal graduate assistantship.

Miller Fellowship

From the earnings of an endowment received by Iowa State University, the Department of Statistics may apply for one Miller Fellowship.  The fellowship provides an annual stipend to the student for three years. This fellowship is in addition to the regular graduate assistantship.

The current award is $5,000/year for three years in addition to a normal graduate assistantship.

GlaxoSmithKline Industrial Scholarship

This $1000 industrial scholarship is given to a first year graduate student who has an interest in biological applications.

Dan Mowrey Consulting Award

The Dan Mowrey Consulting Award is given to a graduate student who holds a consulting assistantship. It is given for excellence in consulting. It is sponsored by Dan Mowrey (PhD '80) who now works for Eli Lilly.

The award consists of a certificate and a check for $300.

Vince Sposito Statistical Computing Award

Outstanding potential in statistical computing is recognized by the Vince Sposito Award, given annually to a graduate student doing statistical computing in their assistantship. This award is in memory of Vincent Sposito, former professor of mathematical programming and statistical computing at ISU.

The current award is a certificate and a check for $300.

Teaching Excellence Award

The Teaching Excellence Award is given to the top 10% of teaching assistants at Iowa State University.

The award consists of a certificate, a letter from the President of Iowa State University, a cord to be worn at graduation and a check for $300

Research Excellence Award

The Research Excellence Award is given to the top 10% of students writing theses or dissertations at Iowa State University.

The award consists of a certificate, a letter from the President of Iowa State University, a cord to be worn at graduation and a check for $300.