Master of Arts and Master of Science Degrees

Course Requirements

A minimum of 30 graduate credits and a minimum grade point average of 3.0 are required for graduation. Of the 30 credits, 27 must be at the 500 level and 21 of the 27 must be courses from the Statistics department. The remaining credits must be courses at the 400 level or higher with approval by your advisor. You are expected to have knowledge of matrix algebra (Math 441, for example) and a computer programming language prior to entering the program, or you must register for appropriate courses in your first year of study. For a full-time terminal Master's student, you are expected to complete the Master's degree requirements by the end of the summer following the second year of study. If you have not completed your degree requirements at this time, you may be unable to receive departmental funding. All requirements for a Master's degree must be met within five years from the first semester of graduate study.

Each Master's program of study should meet the following requirements:

• 9 credits in probability and mathematical statistics (Stat 513, 514, 515)
• 6 credits in applied statistics (Stat 511, 512)
• 3 credits in Statistical Consulting Practicum (Stat 580)

In the Fall semester of their second year, the consulting course consists of a two credit course. As such, it will have two fifty-minute periods scheduled per week. One credit covers in class instruction and projects relating to the art of consulting. The other credit involves client contacts (about three per student).

In the Spring semester of the second year, Master's students continue with one credit of STAT 580 which will consist entirely of client contacts (about four per student). In addition, the course will have a single fifty-minute period scheduled per week. This time will be used to discuss client contacts with the class.

In the back of this section is a checklist sheet for you to keep track of your progress towards your Master's degree.

Examination Requirements

A qualifying exam which is based on material contained in Stat 511-515 is given after the completion of your first year. There are three possible outcomes from the exam which you could receive: (1) Pass with distinction, (2) Pass, or (3) Fail. This exam will first be given in May. For those who do not receive a pass on the May exam, there will be another test given in December or January. Students have three chances to pass it. Incoming students with a Master's degree in Statistics do not take the first year exam (see Section ). All other students, including those entering with a Master's degree in another field, will be required to take the first year exam. Old qualifying exams are on file in the department office, and they are extremely helpful as a studying aid.

Thesis or Paper Requirements

You may earn either a Master of Arts or a Master of Science degree.

Master of Arts

In addition to satisfying the course requirements, you will need to submit a Master's paper on a topic approved by your advisor. While working on this paper, you may register for individual studies (Stat 596) or thesis research (Stat 600) during regular semesters in lieu of other courses. More can be taken during the summer with the understanding that according to Graduate School requirements, at most 3 credits of Stat 596 will be counted toward the 30 required credits. Master's of Arts students who go on internships can use a report on their internship project to fulfill the Master's paper requirement.

Master of Science

In addition to satisfying the course requirements, you will need to submit a Master's thesis on a topic approved by your advisor. While working on your thesis, you must register for 6 graded credits of thesis research (Stat 600). The six credits may be distributed among several semesters. This is a general requirement made by the Graduate School for any student to obtain a Master of Science. Note that a Master's thesis must meet all the requirements established by the Graduate School's thesis office. A complete guideline can be obtained from the Thesis Office in Kern Building by calling 865-5448.

The paper or thesis advisor need not be the advisor assigned to you during the orientation meeting. If you select a new advisor, you must inform the Graduate Studies Chair of the change.

There are several Graduate School deadlines that you should be aware of as you plan to graduate. There is a deadline for declaring your intent to graduate, a deadline for submitting a draft of your thesis, and a deadline for final thesis submission. You will be notified of these deadlines by the department. You can also obtain a thesis calendar from the Thesis Office. (They can even email the calendar to you).

There is a collection of computer files to help with conforming to the with style guidelines from the Thesis Office. Contact a SAC representative for more details. The web site http://cac.psu.edu/infotech/theses.html contains more details.

Program Examples

First Year

Fall Semester:

Most incoming students take Stat 511, 513, and 597C, a one-credit course entitled Introduction to Computing Environments. In addition, you may choose another statistics course, such as Applied Nonparametric Statistics (Stat 464), or a course from the following table:

If you're interested in ...	You should look into ...
Ecology	Stat 524 (Ecometrics)
	Micrb 400 (Environmental Microbiology)
Operations Research	MSIS 527
	CSE/Math 455 (Numerical Analysis I)
	Math 484 (Linear Programming)
	IE 505 (Linear Programming)
	IE 521 (Nonlinear Programming)
	IE 578 (Simulation)
Biostatistics	Stat 509
	Biol 428 (Population Genetics)
Computer Science	CSE/Math 451 (Numerical Computations)
	CSE/Math 455 (Numerical Analysis I)

Spring Semester:

If you took Stat 511 and 513 in the Fall, you should continue with Stat 512, 514, and 515 and begin preparing for the qualifying exam offered in May.

Summer Session:

Most students use this period to take a topics course in statistics and perhaps a course outside the department in an area of interest that complements the area of emphasis. Some students use this time to gain practical experience by obtaining an internship.

Second Year

If you will be staying to complete your doctoral degree, please see Section $8$ for an example of the second year for a Ph.D. student.

If you are a terminal Master's student, you will generally take a total of three courses plus the required Stat 580 (Statistical Consulting Practicum). The consulting sequence consists of two credits of Stat 580 in the Fall and an additional one credit of Stat 580 in the Spring. Your second year courses can be a mixture of statistics courses and electives from other areas of your interest. Statistics courses in the second year are typically selected from the following: Stat 503, 504, 505, 506, 510, 524, 525, 527, 528, 540, 544, 551 and 597 (Special Topics). Descriptions of these course are available in the Department of Statistics Graduate Program booklet and Graduate Degree Programs Bulletin.

In addition, you should begin writing your Master's paper or thesis in the second year, as described in Section . You should attempt to complete this requirement in the spring semester or your second summer.

Master's Degree Checklist

width .5in height .3pt	Stat 511 (3 credits)
width .5in height .3pt	Stat 512 (3 credits)
width .5in height .3pt	Stat 513 (3 credits)
width .5in height .3pt	Stat 514 (3 credits)
width .5in height .3pt	Stat 515 (3 credits)
width .5in height .3pt	Stat 580 (2 credits - Fall)
width .5in height .3pt	Stat 580 (1 credit - Spring/Summer)
width .5in height .3pt	width 2.5in height .3pt	(500 level Stat)
width .5in height .3pt	width 2.5in height .3pt	(500 level Stat)
width .5in height .3pt	width 2.5in height .3pt	(500 level Stat)
width .5in height .3pt	width 2.5in height .3pt	(500 level Stat)
width .5in height .3pt	width 2.5in height .3pt	(500 level Stat)
width .5in height .3pt	Stat 600 (6 credits)	(MS students only)
width .5in height .3pt	Subtotal (must be at least 21 credits)
width .5in height .3pt	width 2.5in height .3pt	(500 level - Non Stat)
width .5in height .3pt	width 2.5in height .3pt	(500 level - Non Stat)
width .5in height .3pt	width 2.5in height .3pt	(500 level - Non Stat)
width .5in height .3pt	Subtotal (at most 6 credits)
width .5in height .3pt	width 2.5in height .3pt	(400 level)
width .5in height .3pt	Subtotal (at most 3 credits)
width .5in height .3pt	Pass 1st year exam (on Stat 511-515)
width .5in height .3pt	Submit in Master's Thesis to Thesis office	(MS students)
	or Submit in Master's Paper to the department	(MA students)
width .5in height .3pt	Total Credits (must be at least 30)