Candidates for the MS degree work with a major professor to complete the creative component . Although the timing is somewhat variable, most students seek agreement from a faculty member to serve as their major professor sometime near the end of the first year, or at the beginning of the second year. This provides a student some time to become familiar with the faculty members in the department, their research programs, and their areas of application. A Program of Study Committee is formed shortly after a major professor has been determined and contains the major professor and two additional members, subject to agreement of the faculty asked to form the committee and approval of the Director of Graduate Education. One member of the committee should work in areas outside those emphasized in the creative component. The Program of Study Committee approves the list of 34 credit hours of coursework that a student will apply toward the MS degree (the official Program of Study) and conducts the final oral examination.

All MS students must pass a two-part written examination: a methods exam (part 1) and a theory exam (part 2). Examinations are held in mid-May with methods given in the morning (9:30 AM – 12:00 PM) and theory given in the afternoon (1:30 PM – 4:00 PM). Students are 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.

Each candidate for the MS degree is required to write 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; experiment or other scientific study; 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 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 oral examination must be uploaded to the university's creative component repository upon passing the defense.

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.

Each candidate for the MS degree must take a final oral exam, conducted by the candidate’s Program of Study Committee. Part of this exam may be a discussion of the creative component.

There is no guaranteed support for MS students in Statistics.