Co-Major PhD

Iowa State has a history of offering co-major PhD degrees between Statistics and other departments. Co-majors have been pursued with agronomy, animal science, botany, computer science, economics, education, engineering, entomology, genetics, mathematics, meteorology, psychology and sociology. Since the balance of methodological and theoretical statistics required in a discipline varies by program, we offer two tracks for those seeking a co-major PhD degree. The Department of Statistics requirements are outlined below. (The requirements of the other department are determined by that department.)

Requirements

Track 1 - Applied

The student must take the Master’s core (STAT 500, 510, 520, 579, 542 and 543) plus STAT 601. The program must also include at least three additional 500- or 600-level courses in Statistics. The PhD written exam is typically given in July and will include the material covered in STAT 500, 510, 520, 542, 543 and 601. The methods portion of this exam will be the same as the methods exam given to the regular PhD students in Statistics. The theory exam will include questions on STAT 542 and 543. The dissertation must advance the knowledge in at least one of the two disciplines.

Track 2 - Theory

The student must take the Master’s core (STAT 500, 510, 520, 579, 542 and 543) plus STAT 641, 642, and 643. The program must also include at least three additional 500- or 600-level courses in Statistics. The PhD written exam is typically given in July and will include the material covered in STAT 500, 510, 520, 542, 543, 641 and 642. The theory portion of this exam will be the same as the theory exam given to the regular PhD students in Statistics. The methods exam will include questions on STAT 500, 510, and 520. The dissertation must advance the knowledge in at least one of the two disciplines.