All students must meet the Requirements for the Master's Degree
Overview
The Statistics Program offers biostatistics, statistics, data science and probability courses for the entire university community along with traditional degree programs and individually designed degree programs emphasizing statistics applied to other fields. The degree programs are designed primarily for students who plan careers in data science, business, actuarial science, industry, and government or advanced training in disciplines that make extensive use of statistical methods and data science. The program faculty is deeply involved in consulting and collaborative research in a wide variety of fields, including industry, agriculture, and in the basic and clinical medical sciences. These research activities along with the research of other quantitative UVM faculty offer students unique opportunities to apply their classroom training to "real world" problems. Qualified students with the goal of learning statistics to use in a specialized area of application are especially encouraged to take advantage of these cooperative arrangements.
Program faculty have active statistics research efforts in areas such as bioinformatics, statistical genetics, Bayesian models, survival data analysis, discriminant analysis, bootstrap methods, machine learning, predictive modeling, networks, categorical data analysis, measurement error models, and experimental design. Students seeking the traditional graduate degree in statistics (along with course work in mathematics and computer science, if desired) have excellent opportunities to participate in the faculty's research.
Specific Requirements
Requirements for Admission to Graduate Studies for the Degree of Master of Science
A baccalaureate degree, 3 semesters of calculus, a course in matrix methods, and 1 semester of statistics. Provisional acceptance can be given prior to the completion of these requirements. Computer programming experience is highly recommended.
Current undergraduate students at the University of Vermont should contact the program director for details on the Accelerated Master’s Program.
Minimum Degree Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science
| OPTION A (THESIS) | ||
| A 30 credit program requiring 24 credits of statistics course work, pf which at least 6 must be at the 6000-level. The program must include: | ||
| STAT 5210 | Advanced Stat Methods & Theory | 3 |
| STAT 5230 | Appld Multivariate Analysis | 3 |
| STAT 5310 | Experimental Design | 3 |
| STAT 5510 | Probability Theory | 3 |
| 12 additional course credits are required. Other graduate level statistics courses or (if approved) other courses in mathematics, quantitative methods, or specialized fields of application can be selected. | 12 | |
| 6 credits of thesis research is required: | ||
| STAT 6391 | Master's Thesis Research | 6 |
| OPTION B (NON-THESIS) | ||
| A 30 credit program requiring 27 credits of course work, pf which at least 6 must be at the 6000-level. The program must include: | ||
| STAT 5210 | Advanced Stat Methods & Theory | 3 |
| STAT 5230 | Appld Multivariate Analysis | 3 |
| STAT 5310 | Experimental Design | 3 |
| STAT 5510 | Probability Theory | 3 |
| 15 additional course credits are required. Other graduate-level statistics courses or (if approved) other courses in mathematics, quantitative methods, or specialized fields of application can be selected. | 15 | |
| The research project requirement is met by taking 3 semester hours of: | ||
| STAT 6810 | Statistical Research | 3 |
| or STAT 6850 | Consulting Practicum | |
| BOTH OPTIONS | ||
| Under both options, the student is expected to participate in the colloquium series of the program and in the Statistics StudentAssociation Journal Club. The student must pass the comprehensive examination. | ||
Comprehensive Examination
The comprehensive exam is a 3-hour exam that includes a mixture of questions spanning theoretical and applied statistics, probability, study design, and interpretation of analytical results. The questions are formatted as either numerical computation, derivation, or essay. The student can take the exam a maximum of 2 times. The exam is based on the courses STAT 5210, STAT 5230, STAT 5310, and STAT 5510. The exam is given at the end of August.
Requirements for Advancement to Candidacy for the Degree of Master of Science
Successful completion of any prerequisite courses, and at least 15 graded graduate credits earned in compilation of the graduate GPA, including all core courses. A GPA of 3.00 or greater is also required.