Requirements for admission to the M. S. and Ph. D. programs in statistics are detailed in the descriptions of Degree Programs.

The Graduate Program in Statistics ordinarily grants admission for entry in the fall semester. Entry in spring or summer semester is rare and only considered under special circumstances. There are normally no graduate level courses in Statistics during the summer.

Deadlines

Applicants should have completed and submitted both their Graduate School and School of Statistics applications by January 1. (We begin ranking applicants and making offers in early February, and it takes the Graduate School about one month to process an application.) Those who apply later may still be considered, but late applicants may be rejected simply due to space and/or resource limitations.

Applying to the Graduate School

All applicants must send the following to the Graduate School:

1. Application form;
2. Application fee;
3. Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended;
4. A "Statement of Purpose".

Students who are currently registered at some university must also provide

5. Current registration information.

You should apply electronically. We recommend that you mail all paper materials (including all transcripts) together in the same envelope. Send admissions materials to the Graduate School at this address:

Graduate School
University of Minnesota
309 Johnston Hall
101 Pleasant St. SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455-0421

You must pay the application fee; it cannot be waived or refunded. No admissions action will take place in the School of Statistics until the Graduate School application is complete.

International applicants must also submit the following to the Graduate School:

6. Official TOEFL score report (MELAB or IELTS can be substituted);

The TOEFL institutional code for the University of Minnesota is 6874, department code 59. Students with a TOEFL below 600 (paper based) or 250 (computer based) or 100 (internet based) are rarely considered for admission. If you have completed 16 semester credits (within the past 24 months) in an academic program in a recognized institution of higher learning in the U.S., you do not need to submit the TOEFL as part of the application.

International applicants who are admitted must also complete several immigration related forms, including the International Student Financial Certification.

Applying to the School of Statistics

All applicants must send the following to the School of Statistics:

1. School of Statistics application form;
2. Three letters of recommendation;
3. Official GRE score report (no subject test needed);
4. Photocopies of your transcripts;
5. A photocopy of your Statement of Purpose sent with your Graduate School application;
6. A photocopy of the official TOEFL score report (non-native English speakers only).

The School of Statistics application can be found here. We recommend that you mail the application and photocopies of the transcripts, Statement of Purpose, and TOEFL together in one envelope. Materials should be sent to:

Director of Graduate Studies
School of Statistics
313 Ford Hall
224 Church Street S.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Letters of recommendation should be sent directly to the above address, separately from the rest of your application material. These letters should be from persons familiar with you academic and professional accomplishments. The best source for recommendations is often teachers from your mathematics or statistics courses, who can comment on your interest and potential in statistics. There is no special form for letters of recommendation.

Our GRE institutional code is 6874, department code 0704. Except in rare instances, a TOEFL score of 600 (PBT) or 250 (CBT) or 100 (IBT) is necessary to be considered for financial aid for those applicants whose native language is not English.

By Minnesota State law, teaching assistants for whom English is a second language and who have not studied previously in the United States must pass a spoken English test, the SPEAK test, given by the University of Minnesota. If the exam is not passed, the student is required to take a remedial course in English. It is expected that all students who receive a teaching assistantship will have passed this exam by the end of their first year of graduate study.