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The Department of Statistics will not be accepting applications for the 2008-09 academic year. Students who have already applied and paid the application fee will receive refunds through the School of Graduate Studies.
Focus of Program
The focus of the doctoral program is on research. Graduates from this
program will be expected to extend the theoretical basis for statistics
and to bring statistical thought to scientific research in other fields.
With this objective of preparing students to collaborate in interdisciplinary
work, advanced knowledge of a substantive field and the collaborative
experience itself increase in importance.
Statistics differs from other disciplines in Mathematics and the Sciences
in that most beginning graduate students are starting to study statistics
seriously for the first time. Ph.D. statisticians often go into jobs that
require utilizing their skills immediately. Therefore a graduate student
must master technical skills, learn the material central to the field
and also develop sufficient understanding of the field to be able to do
intelligent research. Thus, while the core and advanced sequence statistics
coursework requirements can be met in two years, three years (18 courses
plus participatory seminars) may be needed to prepare a student well (especially
for students entering the Ph. D. program with a B.S. rather than a M.S.).
The requirement for graduate level coursework in a substantive field
gives the graduate student a chance to build a foundation for future collaborative
work; it also gives the student a view of the logical reasoning process
of another field and of the rationale for determining which scientific
questions are most important. The requirement for registration in the
Consulting Forum is an opportunity for personal involvement.
A participatory seminar, either the Graduate Student Seminar or the Statistics
Research Seminar, is required every semester to help students develop
oral and written skills in presentation and to broaden their awareness
of current statistical research topics.
Dissertation research is the culminating experience of the doctoral program,
the experience all the other requirements are designed to support. A typical
dissertation experience begins by assembling the published work in the
area of interest, guiding the student to a focus and to initial interesting
questions to address. It ends with the student redirecting the effort,
perceiving new possibilities and posing cogent research questions and
eventually making contributions to the research area and to society.
General Requirements
The following degree requirements are in addition to any and all of
the requirements of the graduate school as stated in the University's
General Bulletin.
A cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 is required to obtain
the Ph. D. degree in Statistics. Satisfactory completion of the requirement
for a substantive field of concentration requires a grade point average
of at least 3.0 in the selected field.
For the Ph.D. degree, the program of study includes coursework in statistics
and related disciplines and coursework in a substantive field of concentration
where statistics can be applied. These courses must form a coherent program
of study to yield a broad understanding of the discipline of statistics
and a deep and detailed knowledge of more specialized areas of statistics
relevant to the substantive field of concentration. Since this coursework
includes a minimum of 18 courses (plus participatory seminars), ordinarily
it will require three years; it is possible for an especially well-prepared
student who devotes full-time to the program to advance more rapidly to
dissertation research and to fulfill all the requirements for a Ph.D.
degree in four years.
Every doctoral student must demonstrate the ability to perform independent
research, completing a minimum of 18 hours of STAT 701, Dissertation Research;
the student also must be able to articulate research contributions in
both written and oral presentation. University regulations permit a maximum
of five consecutive calendar years from the semester of the first credited
STAT 701 registration to complete all the requirements for the doctorate.
Individual Program of Study
Each new student meets with an assigned faculty advisor upon entering
the doctoral program. The student and the faculty advisor together outline
an initial Program of Study which meets the student's educational objectives
and fulfills the departmental requirements. This program of study is reviewed
each semester and revised as appropriate until a final Program of Study
is submitted for approval, normally before the end of the semester of
the Preliminary Examination, and always prior to advancement to candidacy.
Three departmental requirements must be met: i) statistics coursework
requirement, ii) substantive field concentration, iii) dissertation requirement.
Students must maintain a minimum quality point average in all statistics
course (excepting those graded S or U) of 3.00.
Credit for Previous Coursework
A student may petition to receive departmental credit toward the Ph.D.
for previous studies up to a maximum of six (6) statistics courses. Each
approved course will reduce the minimum 18 course requirement accordingly.
Courses taken prior to entry into the CWRU program can only be approved
prior to advancement to candidacy. The petition for a course taken after
entry into the CWRU program must be submitted during the first semester
of registration at CWRU after taking the course.
A student may also petition to receive departmental credit for previous
studies in a substantive field, and the petition will be reviewed in consultation
with a faculty member from the substantive field. However, in no case
will the combined reduction in the minimum 18 course requirement exceed
six (6) courses.
Advancement to Candidacy
The student is advanced to candidacy in the Ph.D. program upon successful
completion of the Comprehensive Examination, and submission and approval
by the Statistics Faculty of a program of study. The requirement for a
substantive field of concentration may be completed following advancement
to candidacy.
With advancement to candidacy, the student together with the Dissertation
Director assemble a Dissertation Advisory Committee consisting of the
Dissertation Director, two other Statistics faculty members and a faculty
member from another department at CWRU, most often from the substantive
field on which the student chooses to concentrate.
Substantive Field Concentration
The substantive field for concentration may be selected according to
the interests of the individual student from the many disciplines suited
to the application of statistics; an interdisciplinary focus may be approved
if it is clearly focused. The requirement for concentrated study in a
substantive field consists of a minimum of 9 credits at the 400 level
or above in courses chosen to give a coherent view of the field or the
relevant area within it. Ordinarily a faculty member from the substantive
field will act as advisor in planning this coursework and will also be
a member of the student's Dissertation Advisory Committee. The substantive
field coursework must be completed with at least a 3.0 average.
Ph.D. Dissertation
A doctoral dissertation must represent a significant research contribution
to statistical theory and methodology; and it must be the individual work
of a student under the direct supervision of a Statistics faculty member.
The quality of the work should merit publication in a respected journal
in statistics or other mathematical science. Normally such a serious contribution
to the existing knowledge in statistics requires two years; but the time
may be longer or shorter depending on the student and on the research
topic.
In the semester following advancement to candidacy, the student is permitted
to register for up to nine (9) credit hours of STAT 701 each semester.
When a cumulative total of 18 credit hours of STAT 701 has been earned,
the student may register for a minimum of one (1) credit hour of STAT
701; however, once registration in STAT 701 begins, the student must continue
registration every regular semester until the dissertation is completed
unless a leave of absence is granted formally.
Doctoral students have five consecutive calendar years from the semester
of first registration in STAT 701 to complete all requirements for the
Ph.D. A student who fails to complete all requirements within five years
may petition for an extension of a maximum of one academic year upon recommendation
of the dissertation advisor and approvals of the Chairperson of Statistics
and the Dean of Graduate Studies. During this extension, the minimum acceptable
registration is three (3) credit hours of STAT 701 each semester.
When the student and the Dissertation Director decide upon a focus of
research, three faculty members are added to form the Dissertation Advisory
Committee to act as a research resource throughout the development of
the dissertation. One member of this committee must come from outside
the Statistics Department; this member is usually from the student's chosen
substantive field of concentration. This committee also holds the ongoing
responsibility to assess the student's work and to provide both constructive
criticism and helpful suggestions to assure that the research is of high
quality and has intrinsic value and that the results are communicated
clearly and effectively in oral presentation and, finally, in written
form in the dissertation.
The doctoral student is expected to arrange periodic meetings with each
member of the Dissertation Advisory Committee, and to arrange a meeting
of the full committee at least once a year to assess the student's progress.
Final Oral Examination
Each doctoral candidate is required to pass a final oral examination
in defense of the dissertation. The Examining Committee is responsible
for certifying that the quality and suitability of the material presented
in the dissertation meet acceptable scholarly standards. All faculty members
are encouraged to attend and to participate in the final oral examination;
students are also invited to attend. Usually the Dissertation Advisory
Committee members also act as the Examining Committee at the Final Oral
Examination when the student formally presents the dissertation for approval.
Additional work may be required based on the result of the examination.
The doctoral candidate must arrange the date for the final oral examination
with the examining committee at least four weeks prior to the proposed
date, and this date must be approved by the Chairperson of Statistics.
At the same time (or earlier), the candidate must submit the completed
Program of Study so that it can be verified that all coursework and quality-point
average requirements have been met. Then with the Statistics Chairperson's
approval the candidate must submit the schedule to the Office of Graduate
Studies no later than three (3) weeks prior to the date of the examination.
Members of the examining Committee must have copies of the dissertation
in hand at least two (2) weeks before the examination and a copy must
be made available for general inspection at the Statistics Department
at the same time. The student must obtain all appropriate dissertation
approval forms from the Office of Graduate Studies. An unbound copy of
the dissertation is to be given to the Statistics Administrator for the
Department.
Part-Time Study
Students may pursue a doctoral degree part-time while continuing their
local employment with very careful planning of their individual programs.
It is advisable to plan for at least one (1) year of full-time study to
complete coursework requirements within a reasonable period of time. In
addition to credit for previous coursework, students may be eligible for
a waiver of the Consulting Forum (6 credits) requirement depending upon
their experience in collaborative statistics in the place of work. Also,
the student may petition for a waiver of the participatory seminar requirement
during the semesters of part-time study. The statute of limitations, calculated
from first registration in STAT 701, applies to part-time as well as full-time
students.
See Ph.D.
Prototype planned course of study for students entering AY 2000 or before
See Ph.D.
Prototype planned course of study for students entering AY 2001 or later
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