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Information for Statistics Graduate Students 

Program Description

The M.S. in Applied Statistics is offered within the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Wright State University. The program is designed to prepare students for employment as professional statisticians in business, government, or industry, or to prepare students for doctoral studies in statistics. A core of required courses provides a thorough grounding in the theory and methodology needed for the design of experiments and the collection and analysis of data. Elective courses lend flexibility to the program and introduce students to advanced topics in statistical theory and technique. In order to meet the needs of people who are employed while attending school, courses are offered in the late afternoon and evening. In addition, Wright State computing facilities are accessible via network and/or dial-up connections, many students in the program do their computing projects at their homes and/or offices.

Requirements for admission to the program are set in part by the School of Graduate Studies and in part by the Statistics Program faculty. Graduate school admission criteria are described in detail in the Wright State University Graduate Catalog, but the key points are summarized here.

To be admitted as a regular student, you must have earned a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with at least a 2.7 (based on 4.0) overall GPA or with at least a 2.5 overall GPA with a 3.0 or better on the last 90 quarter hours (or 60 semester hours). To be admitted to the M.S. in Applied Statistics program, you do not have to have an undergraduate degree in mathematics or statistics, but you do need to have previous work in four crucial areas:

  1. The first area is calculus; you must have completed a calculus sequence that includes multivariable calculus. Generally this requirement is met by taking a 3-semester or 4-quarter "engineering" or "math major" sequence in calculus (equivalent to MTH 229, 230, 231, and 232 at Wright State). 

  2. The second area, matrix or linear algebra, may be satisfied with a single course at any one of several levels (MTH 253 or 255 at Wright State). 

  3. The third area is computer programming. Many students satisfy this requirement with course work (a course or two in scientific programming languages), but it is also possible to substitute substantial computer experience in a job setting for formal courses. 

  4. Finally, some course work in statistics is necessary. Statistics courses of many different types are acceptable as long as you have had some exposure to both descriptive statistics and statistical inference. Typical course sequences at Wright State that would suffice are STT 264 and 265 or preferably STT 360 and 361.

You may be admitted on conditional status if you do not fill all of the requirements above. Generally conditional status will be granted if your undergraduate GPA was below the cutoffs listed above, but not too far below (see the Graduate Catalog for exact rules) or if you need to take courses in one of the four critical areas prior to taking graduate courses. Students on conditional status must complete the conditions of their admission and maintain a 3.0 GPA during their first 12 hours of work in the program to have the conditional status removed. Students who do not meet these criteria can sometimes still be admitted by petition.

International Students: Please check the application instructions and requirements for international students. 

Note: The M.S. course requirements and comprehensive exam are scheduled to allow students who begin in a fall quarter to finish the program in two years by taking two courses per academic quarter or in four years by taking one course per academic quarter. The schedule is not optimally designed for students who enter in the middle of a year. Students who wish to enter the program are strongly encouraged to plan starting at the beginning of fall quarter.

Contact: For more details, send an email to or call the Graduate Advisor for the M.S. Degree in Applied Statistics. 
 

Last update on April 8, 2009.   Homepage of  Statistics Program and Copyright Information at WSU
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