Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics

Degree Requirements

The student must arrange a course program with the guidance and approval of the graduate advisor. A minimum of 75 semester credit hours beyond the bachelor's degree is required.

The following six courses have to be taken by each student:

• STAT 6331 Statistical Inference I
• STAT 6332 Statistical Inference II
• STAT 6337 Advanced Statistical Methods I
• STAT 6338 Advanced Statistical Methods II
• STAT 6339 Linear Statistical Models
• STAT 6344 Probability Theory I

Each student should take at least three courses approved by the advisor from the following list:

• STAT 7330 Decision Theory and Bayesian Inference
• STAT 7331 Multivariate Analysis
• STAT 7334 Nonparametric and Robust Statistical Methods
• STAT 7338 Time Series Modeling and Filtering
• STAT 7345 Advanced Probability and Stochastic Processes

Electives and Dissertation

An additional 18-24 semester credit hours designed for the student's area of specialization are taken as electives in a degree plan designed by the student and the graduate advisor (or the student's Ph.D. advisor). This plan is subject to approval by the Department Head. The student must pass a Ph.D. Qualifying Examination and the oral examination in accordance with departmental policies in order to continue in the Ph.D. program. Finally, a dissertation is required and must be approved by the graduate program. There must be available a dissertation research advisor or group of dissertation advisors willing to supervise and guide the student. A dissertation Supervising Committee should be formed in accordance with the UT Dallas policy memorandum.

Research

Within the Mathematical Sciences Department opportunities exist for work and/or research in Applied Mathematics, Decision and Engineering Sciences, Mathematics, and Statistics. The opportunity to take coursework in several of the other University programs also allows the student to prepare for interdisciplinary work. Such coursework must be approved by the assigned graduate advisor.

Some of the broad research areas represented in Mathematics are as follows: Algebraic and Complex Geometry, Analysis and its Applications, Control Theory and Optimization, Dynamical Systems and Ordinary Differential Equations, Differential Geometry, Mathematical Physics, Mathematical Methods in Medicine and Biology, Geosciences, and Mechanics, Numerical Analysis and Scientific Computing, Partial Differential Equations, and Topology.

Some of the broad research areas represented in Statistics are as follows: probability theory, stochastic processes, statistical inference, asymptotic theory, statistical methodology, time series analysis, Bayesian analysis, robust multivariate statistical methods, nonparametric methods, nonparametric curve estimation, sequential analysis, biostatistics, statistical genetics, and bioinformatics.

Career Options

Statisticians generally find employment in fields where there is a need to collect, analyze and interpret data — including pharmaceutical, banking and insurance industries, and government — and also in academia. The job of a statistician consistently appears near the top in the rankings of 200 jobs by CareerCast’s Jobs Rated Almanac based upon factors such as work environment, income, hiring outlook, and stress.

For more information about careers in statistics, view the career page of the American Statistical Association. UT Dallas Ph.D. graduates are currently employed as statisticians, biostatisticians, quantitative analysts, managers, and so on, and also as faculty members in universities.