MASTER OF APPLIED STATISTICS

The goal of the Master of Applied Statistics (M.A.S.) is to prepare graduate students to enter positions in applied statistics in business, industry, and government. The program has a minimum of at least 50 hours of coursework, of which 37 are required hours. Students without sufficient background in mathematics may be required by the Graduate Studies Committee to take additional courses to correct these deficiencies.

All students are required to submit to the Graduate Studies Committee the Plan of Study form at the beginning of their third quarter of enrollment in the program. Any subsequent modifications in this Plan of Study will require approval of the Graduate Studies Committee. Students are also required to submit the M.A.S. application form to the Graduate Studies Committee no later than the fifth week of the quarter in which they plan to graduate. Finally, they must submit an Application to Graduate form to the Graduate School by the end of the second week of their quarter of graduation.

Program Course Requirements

Statistics: 600(2); 601(2); 610(5); 623(5); 641(5); 645(5); 656(5); 661(5); 673(3); plus thirteen hours of approved electives leading to a total of at least fifty hours.

Suggested Options

Any 13 hours of approved courses (usually statistics or biostatistics courses) may be taken as electives. However, the following sequences represent reasonable strategies to prepare for potential employment areas:

Biostatistics Option: Biostat 605, Biostat 615, and Stat 665

Government Option: Stat 635, Stat 651, and Stat 665

Industrial Option: Stat 635, Stat 663, Stat 664, Stat 674, and Stat 675

Modeling Option: Stat 632, Stat 635, and Stat 662.

Some students create an actuarial science option by choosing appropriate courses from Mathematics and from Business. A Computational Science option is also possible.

M.A.S. Examination

A pass in a written examination is required. The M.A.S. Examination is given in the Autumn and Spring Quarters, and is administered in two sessions: (1) a two-hour period covering the concepts and techniques presented in Statistics 610 and 623, and (2) a three-hour period covering material in Statistics 641, 645, 656 and 661. Both parts of the examination are open book. A student is permitted a maximum of two attempts at successful completion of the examination.

Sample programs:

First Year:
Summer: 602, 603, 661^{^}
Autumn: 610, 673, 645^{^}
Winter: 623, 641^{^}
Spring: 600, 656, 661^{^} or Elective

Second Year (including possible elective sequences for the options listed previously):
601^{^} (Autumn)
Biostatistics Option: B615, PH786, B605, 665
Government Option: 635, 651, 665
Industry Option: 635, 664, 674, 663^*, 675
Modeling Option: 635, 632, 662^*

Notes:
1. Pub Hlth 786 can be substituted for 601 but not 600.
2. Bold face courses are required in the MAS program.
3. Enrollment in the Summer Quarter of the first year is optional, but encouraged.

Course Offerings: All required courses will be offered once every year with the following exceptions:

^ Stat 601, Stat 641, and Stat 661 are offered twice a year, and Stat 645 is offered three times a year

* Stat 663 and Stat 633 will be offered in alternate years, with Stat 662 being offered in the Academic Year 2007-2008.

Notes

1. Required M.A.S. courses taken as an undergraduate at OSU must be replaced with approved graduate elective hours. Upon petition, required courses may be omitted if there is evidence of substantially equivalent study elsewhere, but they must be replaced with approved electives. Such modifications to required courses do not affect the content of the M.A.S. examination.

2. Courses with a grade below B- do not count toward the degree and must be replaced by courses approved upon petition to the Graduate Studies Committee. All requirements for the M.A.S. degree must be completed within four years of initial enrollment.

3. Electives: No additional hours of Stat 600 or Stat 601 (beyond the four required hours) may be counted as electives. Satisfactory completion of Stat 620, 621, and 622 can be used to replace Stat 610 and 623. All other 600 level statistics and biostatistics courses (except 602 and 603) are approved electives. Stat 674 and 675 as approved electives are limited to one credit hour per course. In addition, upon special approval of the Graduate Studies Committee, some 700 and 800 level courses may be counted as electives. Students are also encouraged to take appropriate graduate courses outside the Statistics Department to meet the elective requirements. Students may, with approval of the Graduate Studies Committee, substitute one course (up to 5 hours) from another department in place of an elective. The course must have appropriate content for a statistics degree, but may not duplicate the material covered in any course available from the Department of Statistics.