I am enrolled in Masters of Statistical Science program at Mason.
This Graduate program is offered by the department of Statistics under Volgenau School of Engineering. This program is focused on theory and statistical methodology applied in high-technology fields.
The Volgenau School’s website offers details on degree requirement under the Statistical Science Graduate Program.
Academic advisor Coordinator for this program is Doctor Linda Davis, (ldavisc@gmu.edu).
Mainly two options are available based on the career interest- Professional and Research. Students are required to choose one of these two by the completion of 15 credits (before the end of the semester). As I am more interested to have a career in the applied field, I am planning to go for the Professional Option. Students electing this option are encouraged to pursue a broad background in statistical science, and they may seek to concentrate on applications of statistical methodology to other disciplines.
Professional Option: (excludes research)
30 credits are required for the degree:
- 12 credits of core courses (taken by all MS students)
- 12 credits of methodology courses
- 6 credits of electives
There is an option to do a master’s research project resulting in a technical report. This report is not an original research report but a scholarly essay (about 20-25 pages) on a topic of current interest in the statistical science discipline. The report is usually written in the context of 3 credits of STAT 798 – Master’s Research Project, which count as elective credits.
At this point, I haven’t decided if I would like to do the Research paper or not. After my academic advising meeting with Doctor Davis, I will be able to get better sense of the benefits in my area of interest. Students opting not to complete a research project must take 30 credits of coursework.
Below is my tentative course selection with prerequisite criteria that I have planned to follow and approximate semester and year they will be offered. Many of my third and fourth semester courses are available during “alternate Fall” and “alternate Spring” semesters. After my meeting Doctor Davis, I will have clearer idea about how and when the class schedule is released. I tried to look last year’s schedule without any success.
Course
CORE: 12 credits
- STAT 544 Applied Probability 3 cr Spring 2016
- STAT 554 Applied Statistics I 3 cr Spring 2016
- STAT 652 Statistical Inference 3 cr Fall 2016
- STAT 654 Applied Statistics II 3 cr Fall 2016
METHODOLOGY: 12 credits
- STAT 662 – Multivariate Statistical Methods 3 cr Alternate Spring
- STAT 665 – Categorical Data Analysis 3 cr Alternate Spring
- STAT 656 – Regression Analysis 3 cr Fall
- STAT 657 – Nonparametric Statistics 3 cr Alternate Fall
ELECTIVES: 6 credits
- OR 541 – Operations Research: Deterministic Models 3 cr Spring 2017
- *OR 719 – Graphical Models for Inference and Decision Making 3 cr NA
- OR 677 – Statistical Process Control 3 cr NA