All students seeking a PhD degree must pass a written qualifying examination. Presently,  the exam is given over two days and covers material from the first-year PhD core courses. The exam is administered in two parts: one part covering primarily statistical methods and applications (STAT 5000 and 5100) and one part covering primarily statistical theory (STAT 5420 and 5430). 

The PhD written qualifying examination is intended to provide both the student and the program with a concrete indication of whether pursuit of a PhD in Statistics at Iowa State is a good option for the student. It serves as a solid indication of whether it will be wise for a student to devote the immense amount of time and energy needed to write and defend a dissertation.

The selection of a major professor is an important milestone in most PhD programs, and often occurs after one or two years of study, when a student has gained some familiarity with the research areas of faculty members in the department. The major professor serves as the principal mentor of a PhD student; provides advice on the selection of elective courses; supervises and advises the dissertation research and preparation of the written dissertation; and assists in nearly every other step of the PhD program. Most students reach agreement with a faculty member to serve as their major professor either the semester before or the semester following the written qualifying examination. Before a major professor has been determined, the student can seek advice from the Director of Graduate Education or the Department Chair.

Along with the major professor, the student selects at least four more faculty members to form an Academic Plan Committee, and obtains agreement from those faculty members to participate in the committee. At least one member of the committee must have a primary area of research activity that differs substantially from the topic of the dissertation research. It is common, but not required, that one member of the committee is a faculty member in a department other than Statistics.

The Academic Plan Committee conducts the oral preliminary examination and the final oral examination, and approves the Academic Plan, which is a list of coursework that the student will apply toward the PhD degree. The Academic Plan serves as an official contract between the student, and the university that the courses listed will satisfy the requirements for core courses, suitable electives, research credits. and total credits.  It must be approved by the major professor, committee members, Director of Graduate Education, and the Graduate College.

To be awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics, a student must complete an original research project that results in a written PhD dissertation. This work will be mentored and directed by the student’s major professor, a faculty member with whom the student reaches a mutual agreement for supervision of the dissertation research project. Although there is no formal requirement for publication, it is typically expected that a dissertation project will result in publishable research, usually in the form of one or more articles in peer-reviewed journals, although such articles need not have been accepted or even submitted for publication at the time a PhD candidate defends his or her dissertation.

After a suitable amount of work has been conducted on the dissertation research project, as mutually determined by the student and his or her major professor, the student requests permission from the Graduate College to take their oral preliminary examination. The oral preliminary exam is conducted by the student’s Program of Study committee, and usually centers on early results from the dissertation research as well as proposed work to be done during the remainder of the student’s program. An important objective of the oral preliminary exam is for the student, the major professor, and the members of the committee to reach agreement on what will constitute an acceptable dissertation for defense at the final oral examination (sometimes called the dissertation defense). When a student passes the oral preliminary exam he or she officially is recognized as a candidate for the PhD degree by the Graduate College.

Students must maintain a 3.0 (B) average to remain a candidate for a degree. Failure to do this can result in being placed on academic probation. Academic probation can have implications for tuition scholarships and require additional permission to allow registration in subsequent semesters. A student cannot receive a graduate degree without removing academic probation by achieving an overall grade point average of 3.0 or higher. Students who fail to reach a 3.0 average during their first semester of graduate study are given a one semester grace period to improve their grades before being placed on academic probation. Failure to raise a grade point average to 3.0 and remove academic probation for two years may be considered failure to make satisfactory academic progress, and result in the termination of an assistantship or membership in an academic program.

When the student and his or her major professor believe the dissertation has reached its final form, and that any concerns or issues raised during the oral preliminary examination have been appropriately addressed, the student schedules and completes the final oral examination or dissertation defense. As part of this examination, the student must present a public seminar concerning the dissertation research. There is then a longer session involving only the student and his or her Program of Study Committee, during which the student presents additional material from the dissertation and answers questions posed by the members of the committee. Passing the final oral exam is the last step in the progression toward completing a PhD degree.

Almost all PhD students receive funding as a research or teaching assistant and receive a stipend.  Our stipend is $11,115 per semester for a 20 hours per week assistantship. Funded graduate students also receive fringe benefits including health insurance.  Funded PhD students working 20 hours per week receive a full-tuition scholarship.