Master of Statistics-Co-Major
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Description of Co-major Master's degree
Co-major programs at the master’s level can be arranged with other departments. A co-major degree results in one degree that encompasses both fields. In the recent past, co-major degrees at the master’s level were awarded jointly with the following programs: Bioinformatics, Biomathematics, Economics, Forestry and Operations Research.
Students wishing to do a co-major degree should consult with their current Director of Graduate Programs. Requests to the co-major department (Statistics, or for Statistics students, the other department) should be made early in the student's program to allow for planning course work and advising from both departments.
Required Course Work
As with the other Master’s programs, 34 hours of course work are required. The minimum set of courses required by the Department of Statistics are
- ST 421, 422: Introduction to Mathematical Statistics OR ST 521, 522: Statistical Theory I,II
- ST 511, 512: Experimental Statistics for Biological Sciences I, II
- ST 708: Applied Least Squares
- ST 641: Statistical Consulting
- 6 hours of Statistics electives
- The other department will impose further requirements.
For a Master of Science – Co-Major degree, six semester hours of research (ST 699) are required in place of six credit hours of electives. As a part of ST 699, the student must write a thesis representing both areas.
Graduate Advisory Committee
The student’s advisory committee must include two members of the Department of Statistics, one of which must serve as co-chair. The statistics co-chair must have FULL status in the Department of Statistics.
Examinations
In addition to the course work, the students are required to pass the Co-Major Master's Written Examination and the Master's Final Oral examination. These exams are similar to the Basic Exam of the Master of Statistics or Science degree except that the Co-Major Master’s Written Exam will cover a different set of courses: ST 421-422, ST 511, ST 512R, and ST 708. Students must alert the secretary that he/she wishes to take the co-major exam, not the major exam. As with the major Basic Exam, a student is allowed only two attempts to pass the exam.
Required Documents
The documents required for this degree are identical to those required for a Master of Statistics degree. All documents must be approved by BOTH departments as well as by the Graduate School.
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