Statistics
Department Chair: Allan R. Samspon
Main Office: 519 Thackeray Hall
(412) 624-8368 (phone) (412) 648-8814 (fax)
http://www.stat.pitt.edu
Primary Faculty: Professors BLOCK, CONSTANTINE (Joint, Mathematics), GLESER (Director of Graduate Studies), IYENGAR, SAMPSON (Chair), SAVITS, STOFFER; Associate Professor TU (Joint, Medicine); Assistant Professor ROSEN; Research Associate Professor BRYANT
Affiliated Faculty (Adjunct faculty and those with primary appointments in other areas): Professor RAO (Adjunct)
The Graduate Faculty offers various programs of study and research in statistics. Degree programs lead to the Master of Arts or Master of Science in Applied Statistics, the Master of Arts or Master of Science in Statistics, and the Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics. These may be pursued by full-time and part-time students. The department also provides courses for students engaged in graduate studies in other disciplines requiring statistics and for individuals requiring specialized statistical skills in the workplace. Full details of all programs and departmental regulations are contained in the handbook, Graduate Study in Statistics at the University of Pittsburgh, which is obtainable from the Department of Statistics in 520 Thackeray Hall, by E-mail to ems+@pitt.edu, or by phoning (412) 624-8368.
A basic requirement for admission to the graduate program in Statistics is the completion of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in the United States or the completion of a level of education that the University of Pittsburgh deems comparable to a U.S. bachelor’s degree. Applicants must also possess sufficient proficiency in the English language. Official scores of 550 or above on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) are required if the applicant’s native language is not English. Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are optional, but recommended.
Decisions regarding admission are based on the applicant’s official credentials, quality point averages, and the availability of faculty and facilities to meet the applicant’s expressed academic or research needs and interests. With limited space available, not all qualified applicants can be admitted.
The minimal course requirements for admission into the graduate programs of the Department of Statistics are:
Students lacking some of these prerequisites may be admitted provisionally at the discretion of the Graduate Committee. In addition, students intending to pursue the PhD degree should either have taken a one-term course in advanced calculus, or be prepared to take such a course in the first year of graduate study.
Financial assistance for graduate students is provided in the form of teaching and research assistantships, fellowships, tuition scholarships and loans. Application for financial aid should be made on the application form for admission to graduate study. All applications for financial assistance are reviewed in the department with award decisions made on the basis of prior academic excellence and achievement and perceived potential for contributions to the field of statistics.
Students applying for fellowships or assistantships for the Fall Term should file their applications no later than February 15 of the same year, because decisions on financial aid awards are made in March.
The department encourages its students to obtain a broad background in statistics, including both methods and theory courses, regardless of whether they specialize in applied statistical methodology or in statistical theory. Consequently, two-term sequences in applied statistical methods (STAT 2131- 2132) and intermediate mathematical statistics (STAT 1631-1632) are common to all master’s degree programs offered by the department, and are also generally taken by students whose goal is the PhD in Statistics.
Master of Arts
Department requirements for the Master of Arts in Applied
Statistics are the completion of 33 credits, including the two year-long sequences
STAT 1631-1632 and STAT 2131-2132 mentioned above, at least three credits
in consulting, four courses (12 credits) in statistical methods or theory
taken from a list of choices, and an approved two-course sequence (six credits)
taken at the graduate level in a discipline other than statistics. The final
requirement for this degree is passing, at the master’s level or above, a
qualifying examination covering topics from applied and theoretical statistics,
including the material in STAT 1631-1632 and STAT 2131-2132. For full-time
graduate students, this exam is usually taken at the end of the Fall Term
of the second year of graduate study. Part-time graduate students will want
to take the preliminary examination at the earliest opportunity after finishing
STAT 1631- 1632 and STAT 2131-2132.
The Master of Arts in Statistics differs from the Master of Arts in Applied Statistics by replacing the requirements of a two-course sequence in a discipline other than statistics and three credits in consulting with the requirement that three additional 3-credit graduate-level statistics courses be taken. Both master’s degrees require completion of 33 credits and the passing of the preliminary examination.
Master of Science
The requirements for the Master of Science, either
in Applied Statistics or in Statistics, are the same as the requirements for
the corresponding Master of Arts degree, except that two 3-credit statistics
courses are replaced by six credits of STAT 2001 (Research and Thesis for
the MS Degree), and an oral defense of the thesis is required.
The main requirement for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Statistics is the successful completion and defense of a dissertation making a substantial and original contribution to statistics, probability or their application. Prior to embarking on their research, candidates must pass the preliminary exam (see Master’s Degree Requirements above) at the PhD level and pass an oral comprehensive examination which covers material from STAT 1631-1632, 2631 and 2711-2712 and any other material which the student’s advisory committee believes is necessary background for the thesis research. The purpose of the comprehensive examination is to demonstrate that students are able to understand, summarize and make use of the statistical literature in an area of potential research that is of interest to them. Students who have found a specific topic for their dissertation are encouraged to combine the comprehensive examination with the presentation of the thesis proposal. Students who are not yet ready to assemble a thesis committee and present a proposal can still take the comprehensive exam, but must later submit a thesis proposal orally and in writing to their advisory committee.
Course requirements for the PhD degree are STAT 2631 (Theory of Statistics), 2641 (Asymptotic Methods), 2661 (Theory of Linear Models) and 2711-2712 (Probability Theory) or their equivalent. PhD candidates are also required to take at least three credits in statistical consulting; those students anticipating a career involving consulting are advised to take a substantial number of consulting credits. The remaining courses of the 72 credits required for the PhD degree will be decided in conjunction with the student’s advisor and should consist of mainly formal courses prior to the commencement of research for the dissertation.
The department has no foreign language requirements for the PhD degree. Although not required, facility in the use of one or more computer programming languages, especially those used in writing statistical software (for example, S+), is highly recommended.
Full-time graduate students usually take between four and five years to complete a PhD degree. Part- time students may be allowed as many as 10 years to finish all requirements (see Statute of Limitations and Leaves of Absence in the first section of this bulletin). Additional information concerning examinations, requirements, and the advising system can be found in the departmental handbook.
The facilities of the department include the department’s own computer labs with the latest statistical software as well as cooperative arrangements with many major scientific organizations within the University, such as the Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, the Center for the Neuroscience of Mental Disorders, the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, the Learning Research and Development Center, and the Departments of Biostatistics and Epidemiology in the School of Public Health. Statistics students may have assistantship appointments and share laboratory and clinical facilities with these organizations.
The department shares a library with the Department of Mathematics that contains more than 18,000 volumes and 225 research journals. Additional research resources are located in other libraries on campus and through the Internet.
The Center for Statistics, which is a part of the department, is involved in statistical consulting and applied research, and is an excellent source of practical experience for graduate students.
The research interests of the department are broad. Particular research strengths of the department’s faculty include statistical modeling, applied probability theory, discrete and continuous multivariate statistical analysis, reliability theory, time series, statistical meta-analysis and applications of statistical methods to research in other disciplines. Areas of application of statistics that are of current interest to department faculty include biology, chemistry, education, engineering, environmental science, material science, medicine, psychiatry and psychology.
| UNDERGRADUATE COURSES THAT MAY CARRY GRADUATE CREDIT | ||
| 1151* | INTRODUCTION TO PROBABILITY | 3 CR. |
| 1152* | INTRODUCTION TO MATHEMATICAL STATISTICS | 3 CR. |
| 1201/2200 | APPLIED NONPARAMETRIC STATISTICS | 3 CR. |
| 1211/2210 | APPLIED CATEGORICAL DATA ANALYSIS | 3 CR. |
| 1221*/2220* | APPLIED REGRESSION | 3 CR. |
| 1231*/2230* | APPLIED EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN | 3 CR. |
| 1241/2240 | APPLIED SAMPLING | 3 CR. |
| 1251/2250 | STATISTICAL QUALITY CONTROL | 3 CR. |
| 1291-4 | TOPICS IN APPLIED STATISTICS 1-4 | 1-3 CR. EA. |
| 1301/2300 | STATISTICAL PACKAGES | 3 CR. |
| 1311/2310 | APPLIED MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS | 3 CR. |
| 1321/2320 | APPLIED TIME SERIES | 3 CR. |
| 1631 | INTERMEDIATE PROBABILITY | 3 CR. |
| 1632 | INTERMEDIATE MATHEMATICAL STATISTICS | 3 CR. |
| 1651 | BAYESIAN STATISTICS | 3 CR. |
| 1661 | LINEAR REGRESSION | 3 CR. |
| 1662 | NONLINEAR REGRESSION | 3 CR. |
| 1681 | INTRODUCTION TO SEQUENTIAL ANALYSIS | 3 CR. |
| 1731** | STOCHASTIC PROCESSES | 3 CR. |
| 1741 | APPLIED PROBABILITY THEORY | 3 CR. |
| 1761 | GAME THEORY | 3 CR. |
| 1771 | QUEUEING THEORY | 3 CR. |
| 1781 | COMBINATORICS | 3 CR. |
| 1791-4 | TOPICS IN PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS 1-4 | 1-3 CR. EA. |
| 1900* | INTERNSHIP | 1-3 CR. |
| 1902* | DIRECTED STUDY | 1-9 CR. |
| Courses Carrying Graduate Credit |
||
| 2001 | RESEARCH AND THESIS FOR THE MASTER'S DEGREE | 1-6 CR. |
| 2010 | STATISTICS SEMINAR | 1 CR. |
| 2020 | TEACHING SEMINAR | 1 CR. |
| 2081* | MODERN DATA ANALYSIS FOR RESEARCH WORKERS | 3 CR. |
| 2131-2 | APPLIED STATISTICAL METHODS 1-2 | 3 CR. EA. |
| 2200 | APPLIED NONPARAMETRIC STATISTICS | 3 CR. |
| 2210 | APPLIED CATEGORICAL DATA ANALYSIS | 3 CR. |
| 2211 | CATEGORICAL DATA ANALYSIS | 3 CR. |
| 2220* | APPLIED REGRESSION | 3 CR. |
| 2221 | ADVANCED APPLIED MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS | 3 CR. |
| 2230* | APPLIED EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN | 3 CR. |
| 2231 | ADVANCED APPLIED REGRESSION | 3 CR. |
| 2240 | APPLIED SAMPLING | 3 CR. |
| 2241 | SAMPLING THEORY | 3 CR. |
| 2250 | STATISTICAL QUALITY CONTROL | 3 CR. |
| 2251 | STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL | 3 CR. |
| 2261 | SURVIVAL ANALYSIS | 3 CR. |
| 2281 | PRINCIPLES OF STATISTICAL CONSULTING | 3 CR. |
| 2291 | META-ANALYSIS | 3 CR. |
| 2300 | STATISTICAL PACKAGES | 3 CR. |
| 2310 | APPLIED MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS | 3 CR. |
| 2320 | APPLIED TIME SERIES | 3 CR. |
| 2321 | APPLIED ADVANCED TIME SERIES | 3 CR. |
| 2381 | SUPERVISED STATISTICAL CONSULTING | 1-6 CR. |
| 2391-4 | ADVANCES IN APPLIED STATISTICS 1-4 | 3 CR. EA. |
| 2401 | METHODS IN MATHEMATICAL STATISTICS | 3 CR. |
| 2521-2 | TIME SERIES 1-2 | 3 CR. EA. |
| 2611-2 | THEORY OF MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS 1-2 | 3 CR. EA. |
| 2631-2 | THEORY OF STATISTICS 1-2 | 3 CR. EA. |
| 2641 | ASYMPTOTIC METHODS IN STATISTICS | 3 CR. |
| 2661-2 | LINEAR MODELS THEORY 1-2 | 3 CR. EA. |
| 2691 | NONPARAMETRIC THEORY | 3 CR. |
| 2711-2 | PROBABILITY THEORY 1-2 | 3 CR. EA. |
| 2731-2 | APPLIED STOCHASTIC PROCESSES 1-2 | 3 CR. EA. |
| 2751-2 | RELIABILITY THEORY 1-2 | 3 CR. EA. |
| 2991 | INDEPENDENT STUDY | 1-9 CR. |
| 3001 | RESEARCH AND DISSERTATION FOR THE PHD DEGREE | 1-9 CR. |
| 3131-4 | TOPICS IN APPLIED STATISTICS 1-4 | 3 CR. EA. |
| 3141-2 | TOPICS IN LINEAR MODELS AND EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN 1-2 | 3 CR. EA. |
| 3261 | COUNTING PROCESSES IN SURVIVAL ANALYSIS | 3 CR. |
| 3341-2 | ADVANCED MODERN STATISTICAL COMPUTING 1-2 | 3 CR. EA. |
| 3521-2 | TOPICS IN TIME SERIES 1-2 | 3 CR. EA. |
| 3611-4 | TOPICS IN MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS 1-4 | 3 CR. EA. |
| 3631-2 | ADVANCED THEORY OF STATISTICS 1-2 | 3 CR. EA. |
| 3641-4 | TOPICS IN ADVANCED STATISTICS 1-4 | 3 CR. EA. |
| 3711-2 | TOPICS IN PROBABILITY THEORY 1-2 | 3 CR. EA. |
| 3731-4 | TOPICS IN STOCHASTIC PROCESSES 1-4 | 3 CR. EA. |
| 3751-4 | TOPICS IN RELIABILITY THEORY 1-4 | 3 CR. EA. |
| 3901 | DIRECTED STUDY | 1-9 CR. |
* Not accepted for any graduate degree in Statistics or Applied Statistics
* *Not accepted for any graduate degree in Applied Statistics