Graduate Program
MSc Program
Some of our students enter our program with the intent of obtaining a Master of Science degree and then entering the job market. Students with a Bachelors degree who enter the program with the desire to complete the degree of Doctor of Philosophy often complete the MS degree first. All students seeking the MS degree must complete the same set of core requirements.
The degree requires 34 credits, which must include at least three 500-600 level statistics courses beyond the core. During or after the final semester of course work, you will take an oral exam on work completed for the creative component (a research project). This is the "Final Examination" mentioned in the Graduate Catalogue.
You must maintain a 3.0 (B) average to remain a candidate for a degree. Failure to do this will result in being placed on probation. A letter from your major professor is required to remove you from probation after you regains a 3.0 average. If English is not your first language, you will be required to take an English exam at the start of your first semester. If you fail this exam, you will need to take an English course (101A-E). Other language requirements, if any, will be established by your major professor.
Core Courses
All students seeking the degree Master of Science in Statistics are required to know the material in the core courses. That is, the core courses are not required if the student already knows the material.
Essentially all first year graduate students take the MS core courses as follows.
| Fall | Spring |
|---|---|
| Stat 500 (4 cr). Statistical Methods. | Stat 511 (3 cr). Statistical Methods. |
| Stat 542 (4 cr). Theory of Probability and Statistics I. | Stat 543 (3 cr). Theory of Probability and Statistics II. |
| Stat 579 (1 cr). Introduction to Statistical Computing. | Elective (3 cr) |
See all courses offered by the department
The core course requirement is designed to be completed in one academic year. Advanced calculus and linear algebra are required background courses and knowledge of this material is expected of students in the MS program. Many students have completed these or equivalent courses prior to admission. The second year of the masters degree consists of elective courses determined by you and your major professor. In addition to the required course credits, the student must pass a written exam, write a creative component and pass a final oral exam which includes a discussion of the creative component.
MS Written Exam
The student must pass a two-part written examination; a methods exam (Part 1) and a theory exam (Part 2). Examinations are held in late May and mid January with Part 1 given in the morning (9:00-12:00) and Part 2 given in the afternoon (2:00-5:00). A notice to sign up for these exams is issued by the MS Exam Committee several weeks before the exam. The student is allowed two attempts at passing the exam. A third and final attempt may be given upon the recommendation of the student's major professor. The results of this exam will be of the form: Pass, Conditional Pass, or Fail. These assessments will be given independently for the Methods and Theory parts. Hence, it is possible to pass part of the MS Exam and repeat only one part the next time.
Creative Component
You will be required to present a paper representing the creative component of the degree program. This may be, but is not restricted to, a literature review, a report of independent research, the design and (or) analysis of a sample survey or experiment, a report on consulting with research workers outside the department, or a report on the construction of a computer program requiring statistical numerical analysis. Pursuant to the requirements of the Graduate College this should be explicitly identified on the Program of Study as Stat 599 with at between 2 and 4 credits. The paper shall be distributed as a typed manuscript to the student's committee by the student at least ten days before the final examination.
