The department offers a Master of Science degree in Statistics and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Statistics. Both degrees are offered with the cooperation of the Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Department of Public Health Sciences and can be structured for students interested in Biostatistics.

The M.S. degree is extremely flexible and can accommodate a wide range of interests. It is an ideal second degree for mathematically inclined students in many fields. This degree is suitable for students interested in careers in applied statistics in an industry or government setting or in biostatistics.

The Ph.D. degree is also designed for students interested with a large variety of interests and goals. It can be used by students interested in a career in a research oriented university, college teaching, applied statistics in an industry or government setting, or biostatistics. Our graduates have pursued careers in all these directions.

About half of the coursework in each degree is composed of electives. Upon agreement of the Statistics Department graduate student advisor, courses from other departments such as Biostatistcs, Systems Engineering, Mathematics, Electrical Engineering, or Computer Science can be used as electives. For example, if a student is interested in Econometrics or Financial Economics, then he or she is encouraged to take those courses that will prepare him to do research in an area which overlaps the two disciplines. Professor Wake Epps holds a joint in both Economics and Statistics and would be an ideal dissertation supervisor for such a student.

Are you unsure about an M.S. in Statistics? If you live in the Charlottesville area, try the Community Scholar program and enroll in STAT 512 or one of the other 500 level applied statistics offerings (not STAT 500, 519, 532, 596, or 598).