Doctoral Program

The department looks for motivated students who wish to prepare for research careers in statistics or probability, either applied or theoretical. Advanced undergraduate or masters level work in mathematics and statistics will provide good background for the doctoral program. Quantitatively oriented students with degrees in other scientific fields are also encouraged to apply for admission. In particular, the department is expanding its research and educational activities towards computational biology, mathematical finance and information science, via a VIGRE program. The doctoral program normally takes four years to complete.

Program Summary
Students are required to master the material in the prerequisite courses, pass the first-year core program, pass two of three parts of the qualifying examinations (beginning of second year); comply with the breadth requirement (second or third year); pass the university oral examination (end of third year or beginning of fourth year); and submit a dissertation (fourth year).

In addition students are required to take 9 units of advanced topics courses offered by the department (including at least two of the following: 314, 317, 318, 315A, or 315B, but not including literature, research, or consulting), and 3 units of statistical consulting.

All students are expected to abide by the Honor Code and the Fundamental Standard.

Doctoral and Research Advisors
From the student's arrival until the selection of a research advisor, the student's academic progress is monitored by a faculty member, currently Guenther Walther, who is designated as department Doctoral Advisor. Each student should meet at least once a quarter with the Doctoral Advisor to discuss their academic plans and their progress towards choosing a thesis advisor.

Qualifying Examinations
Qualifying examinations are part of most Ph.D. programs in the United States. At Stanford these exams are intended to test the student's level of knowledge when the first-year program, common to all students, has been completed. There are separate examinations in the three core subjects of statistical theory and methods, applied statistics, and probability theory, and are typically, but not always, taken during the summer between the student's first and second years. Students may take two or three of these examinations and are expected to show acceptable performance in two examinations. Letter grades are not given. After passing the qualifying exams, students will file for Ph.D. candidacy, a University formality.

While nearly all students will pass the qualifying examinations, those who do not can arrange to have their financial support continued during the period when other plans are being made. With very few exceptions, all students will be able to complete requirements for the M.S. degree in Statistics in two years or less, whether or not they have passed the Ph.D. qualifying exams.

University Oral Examination
This examination is intended to demonstrate the viability of the student's Ph.D. thesis topic and the student's familiarity with statistical subjects related to the thesis area. It is also an opportunity for the student to obtain additional guidance for the completion of the thesis. The exam is taken on the recommendation of the student's research advisor after the thesis problem has been well defined and some research progress has been made. Usually, this happens early in the student's fourth year.

The oral examination consists of a 40-minute presentation on the thesis topic, followed by two question periods. The first relates directly to the student's presentation; the second is intended to explore the student's familiarity with broader statistical topics related to the thesis research.

The examining committee usually consists of four faculty members from the Statistics Department and a fifth faculty member from outside the department. Four out of five passing votes are required and no grades are given. Nearly all students can expect to pass this examination, although it is common for specific recommendations to be made regarding completion of the thesis.

At least two quarters must elapse between successful completion of the oral examination and awarding of the Ph.D. degree---this is to allow sufficient time to complete the research and writing, and to pursue suggestions arising from the examination. Thus, for example, for June graduation the oral examination must occur before the end of the preceding autumn quarter.

When the thesis is nearly complete the student will present a seminar to the entire department, although this is not considered to be an examination. The departmental seminar serves both to inform the department and to provide practice for the student.

Dissertation
The dissertation is the capstone of the Ph.D. degree. It is expected to be an original piece of work of publishable quality. The research advisor and two additional faculty members constitute the student's thesis committee. Students present their research in a department seminar prior to graduation.

Masters Degree
Ph.D. students who do not already have a Masters degree in Statistics will normally have fulfilled the requirements for the degree at Stanford after four or five quarters in the Ph.D. program. Students may apply for this degree while continuing toward the Ph.D. It is also possible to obtain a Masters degree in a related department while pursuing the Ph.D. in Statistics, although this will usually mean doing substantial course work in the related department.

Ph.D. Minor
The minimum requirement for a PhD minor is 20 units of course work at the 200+ level, taken at Stanford. The Department of Statistics devises individual PhD minor programs, but the department urges all graduate students in other fields who wish to have a subspeciality in statistics to study for an MS degree instead. The unit requirement for an MS is 45 units, whereas the number of units required for a minor averages around 30. The student can make up this difference of 15 units by including in the MS program courses from his or her own field that are related to statistics or applications of statistics. Contact the Student Services Officer for further information.

Graduate Student Association
The Ph.D. students in our department have organized themselves into a Graduate Student Association. The GSA provides a means for discussing academic and nonacademic issues of interest to students. The GSA also sponsors some social activities, as well as a weekly student seminar where students make presentations to other students of assorted research problems. The GSA also assists in the assignment of teaching assistant duties.