Prospective graduate students in statistics need not have an undergraduate statistics major but should have completed at least 12 quarter courses (or eight semester courses) in substantial upper division quantitative work, preferably in mathematics and statistics. For direct admission to the doctoral program, a grade-point average of at least 3.5 must be presented. Applicants who have already obtained a master's degree must have maintained an average of better than 3.5 in graduate study.
Applicants must take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test and a Subject Test, preferably in Mathematics, and must submit at least three letters of recommendation from those who can attest to their quantitative skills.
Students are
required to pass, with a grade of B- or better, approved graduate courses for a
total of 60 units of credit. At
least 40 of these units must come from courses in the statistics department,
with the remaining units from courses in related
departments.
Students are
required to take Statistics 200ab and 210ab.These courses contain core material for the
qualifying exam.
Ph.D. program applications are due December 15th of the year before the Fall that you would like to start the program. We accept Ph.D. applications for Fall only.
Students must pass written qualifying examinations in applied and theoretical statistics within seven quarters of full-time study. These examinations are offered toward the end of Spring Quarter and last for three hours. Students may retake these examinations any number of times until they are passed. After passing the written qualifying examinations, the student establishes a doctoral committee to administer the University Oral Qualifying Examination for advancement to candidacy.
Students are advanced to candidacy and awarded the Candidate in Philosophy (C.Phil.) degree upon completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.
Final Oral Examination(Defense of Dissertation)
Required for all students in the program.
Students should pass the written qualifying examinations for the Ph.D. degree within seven quarters of full-time work. Completion of all degree requirements (including the dissertation) normally takes 15 quarters.
The vice chair for graduate studies is the chief graduate adviser and heads a committee of faculty advisers whose fields of expertise span most of the major areas of statistics. Each student is required to meet with a faculty adviser who helps them plan a reasonable course of study. The faculty adviser becomes the student’s academic adviser.
Academic advisers are responsible for monitoring students' progress toward their degree objective, and approves students' study list each quarter. Continuing students meet with the vice chair or their academic adviser at least once each quarter and a record of this interview is placed in the student files. Academic advisers do not necessarily become students’ thesis advisers. In fact, students are encouraged to find their thesis adviser as early as possible. Once a thesis adviser is decided, the thesis adviser becomes the student’s academic adviser as well. There are ample opportunities to meet with an adviser of the student's choice throughout the academic year.
A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.
A Statistics Ph.D. student who does not pass the written qualifying examinations within seven quarters of full-time study is subject to a recommendation for termination. The graduate vice chair informs a student of such a recommendation and the student is asked to submit a written appeal to solicit letters of support from members of the faculty. The appeal is considered by the Graduate Studies Committee, which make the final decision.
If you have further questions on the Ph.D. Major, feel free to contact the Student Affairs Officer, dacumos@stat.ucla.edu, at (310) 206-3742.