Doctor of Philosophy
The Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics is designed to prepare students for careers in teaching and research universities, in industry, or in government. It is expected that students, through courses and other experiences, will develop facility in theoretical statistics and in several applied statistics areas. Choices available in the electives area allow the program to be designed to suit a variety of career interests. The program consists of 65 credits: 50 credits of coursework and 15 credits of dissertation work.
Program Description
Check the WMU Catalog for the program description and admission requirements.
Applications
All graduate program applications must be submitted through the online application system. Before you apply, please review the program-specific application requirements.
More information is provided in the applications FAQ page.
Dissertation
The doctoral dissertation is an original, independent research project that demonstrates the student’s ability to contribute new knowledge to the field of Statistics. It typically involves identifying a significant research problem, developing appropriate statistical methods or models, analyzing data, and presenting the results in a written document that meets the department’s standards.
Ph.D. students in Statistics typically identify their dissertation advisor during the second year of the program. Once a committee is formed, students should submit the Committee Appointment Form. After completing the dissertation proposal, they must submit the Admission to Doctoral Candidacy Form. When scheduling the dissertation defense, students should submit the Dissertation Defense Scheduling Form, and upon approval of their dissertation, they must submit the Dissertation Approval Form. All forms are available through the Graduate College.
Students should also refer to the Dissertation Deadlines for key dates, including the deadline to schedule the dissertation defense, the last day for doctoral candidates to hold their defense, and the due date for submitting defended dissertations to the Graduate College.