Successful completion of the following are the requirements for the Ph.D. degree:

     72 units of coursework 
     Ph.D. General Examinations 
     Ph.D. Qualifying Examination 
     Computer Language Examination 
     Written Doctoral Dissertation and Final Defense 

>>Preparation: Students should have 3 semesters of calculus, linear algebra (comparable to UVa's MATH 351 or APMA 308), and an introductory calculus based probability and statistics course (comparable to MATH 310/312 or APMA 310/312). Most students find it extremely helpful to have an introductory real analysis course ('epsilon-delta proofs') comparable to MATH 331. APMA 308, 310, 312 and MATH 310, 312, 331 are offered in the summer session and a student who anticipates a need for these courses should seriously consider attending the summer session prior to entering graduate study in Statistics.

>> Coursework: The Ph.D. program requires a total of 72 units of coursework. At most 18 of these units can consist of Statlab (STAT 598), Seminar (STAT 912), and Nontopical Research (STAT 997 and 999).

The remaining 54 units are as follows:

Ph.D. required courses: STAT 512, STAT 513, STAT 519, STAT 796 (3 units), MATH 531, STAT 711, STAT 712, STAT 720, STAT 722

Ph.D. electives (27 units or 9 courses): Any STAT course numbered 500 and above except STAT 500, 598, 912, 997, 999. Suggested electives in other departments include MATH 511 and PHS 795. Other courses may be used upon agreement of the departmental graduate advisor.
     MATH 731 (Real Analysis and Linear Spaces I) and MATH 736 (Mathematical Theory of Probability) may be taken together in place of STAT 720. In this case, there will be eight remaining elective courses needed.

Students with a M.S. degree in a related field may receive up to 24 units of credit for the prior degree. The exact number of units allowed depends upon the courses taken for the prior M.S. and whether or not these courses can be used to substitute for any of the required Ph.D. courses.

>> Examinations:

General Examination: All students are required to take the Ph.D. General Exams at the end of the first year. There are two exams: the theory exam is based upon MATH 531 and STAT 519 and the methods exam is based upon STAT 512 and STAT 513.
     Both exams are written three hour exams and will be administered on the Friday and Saturday preceding the first day of classes in the Fall semester of the student's second year.
     If one of the two exams is passed, a retake of the failed exam will be allowed. The retake will occur on the weekend preceding the start of the Spring semester of the student's second year. If neither of the two exams are passed, no retake is allowed.

Qualifying Exam: The Ph.D. Qualifying Exam is an oral exam designed to establish the candidate's preparedness for dissertation research. It must be passed by end of the third year of graduate study. By the time of taking the examination, the candidate should have chosen a broad area of potential research (e.g. multivariate statistics) and a probable dissertation advisor.
     There are two basic formats for the qualifying exam. One is a dissertation proposal. In the alternative format, the dissertation advisor will choose three papers in the probable area of the dissertation topic and the student will present these papers and be examined on them.
     The format of the exam consists of a talk prepared by the student and delivered to the Statistics and Biostatistics graduate students and faculty. After the talk, the Statistics and Biostatistics faculty will question the student to establish the student's understanding of the proposed dissertation area. The exam might also include questions from the Department's higher level theoretical courses: STAT 711, 712, 720, 722. These questions will often, but not necessarily, be related to the dissertation area. For example many statistics papers talk about large sample approximations. Although such papers might not be formally presented in a mathematical sense, the examination might explore the precise mathematical meaning of these approximations, and such questions are answered in the Department's theoretical courses.
     One retake of the qualifying exam is allowed. However since the exam must be passed by the end of the third year of graduate study, it is recommended that the first administration of the qualifying exam be scheduled no later than the first half of the second semester of the student's third year.

Language Exam: This covers one programming language (R/SPlus) and one statistical package (SAS). It is given every April and November and unlimited retakes (but only one administration per semester) are allowed.

>> Sample Ph.D. Programs: Students receiving Departmental financial support are required to take 4 courses each semester of their first two years. In their 3rd year, they take 1 course each semester and start preparing for dissertation research. It is expected that dissertation research would be completed in the 4th or 5th year.
     In dual level courses (currently STAT 518/718 and STAT 532/719), Ph.D. students must take the higher level after they have completed one year (18 units) of graduate study.

Students entering in Fall 2007 and alternate years thereafter:

Year 1 Fall	Required: STAT 512, MATH 531 Electives: STAT 518, STAT 525
Year 1 Spring	Required: STAT 513, STAT 519 Electives: STAT 530, STAT 832
Year 2 Fall	Required: STAT 720 Electives: STAT 514, STAT 719, MATH 511
Year 2 Spring	Required: STAT 722, STAT 796 Electives: STAT 526, STAT 531
Year 3 Fall	Required: STAT 711
Year 3 Spring	Required: STAT 712

Students entering in Fall 2008 and alternate years thereafter:

Year 1 Fall	Required: STAT 512, MATH 531 Electives: STAT 514, STAT 532
Year 1 Spring	Required: STAT 513, STAT 519 Electives: STAT 526, STAT 531
Year 2 Fall	Required: STAT 711 Electives: STAT 718, STAT 525, MATH 511
Year 2 Spring	Required: STAT 712, STAT 796 Electives: STAT 530, STAT 832
Year 3 Fall	Required: STAT 720
Year 3 Spring	Required: STAT 722

>> Ph.D. in Statistics, Biostatistics Concentration: In addition to the 9 required courses for the Ph.D. in Statistics, students interested in Biostatistics should take STAT 514, STAT 531, and either STAT 832 or PHS 795. In this case 6 electives remain. The student can choose a dissertation advisor from the Biostatistics faculty, or alternatively, he can choose an advisor from a Statistics faculty member who conducts research relevant to Biostatistics.