Research for the dissertation begins after successful completion of the qualifying examinations, the first taken at the end of the first year and the second usually taken in the second or third year, depending on the student's background. All Ph.D. candidates are required to demonstrate proficiency in one foreign language relevant to their field or in computer programming relevant to statistics. Ph.D. students are urged to spend at least one full academic year in residence on campus, although there is no formal residence requirement. The Master of Philosophy is available to doctoral candidates. The graduate programs in statistics and in industrial and systems engineering jointly offer two master of science degree options in quality assurance sciences.
Statistics offers an option in quality management and productivity.
See the listing under Industrial and Systems Engineering for information concerning the option in quality and reliability engineering. Each student selects his or her program in conference with a department adviser. There are a wide range of course offerings and areas of research. These include statistical inference, estimation theory, operations research, hypothesis testing, decision theory, biostatistics, empirical Bayes and Bayes Methods, regression analysis, analysis of variance, experimental design, multivariate analysis, nonparametric statistics, sequential analysis, quality control theory, time series analysis, applied probability, stochastic processes, and probability theory, including stopping rules and martingales. Information on recommended course sequences for degrees is available upon request from the office of the graduate director.