This timeline presents a standard progression of courses beginning with the core material. Students with backgrounds stronger or weaker than the norm may take other schedules. This timeline may not include all steps required; students are advised to read the appropriate sections of the Graduate School Catalog carefully.

Advising

The DGS advises all students during the first year. At the end of the first year, students are assigned another faculty advisor. This faculty member will be your advisor until you choose a research area and begin work on your dissertation.

First year courses

Fall semester	Spring semester
Stat 8101	Stat 8101
Stat 8051	Stat 8052
Math 5615	Math 5616

Ph.D. Written Exam

Students take the Ph.D. written exam in the spring following their first year, just after spring semester classes end.

Second year courses

Fall semester	Spring semester
Stat 8111	Stat 8112
Stat 8053	Stat 8054
Math 8651	Math 8652
Stat 8913	Stat 8913
	Stat 8802

Third year courses

Fall semester	Spring semester
electives	electives
Stat 8913	Stat 8913
Stat 8055

The coursework in the third year widens a student's knowledge and gives access to advanced topics. During this time, students should be thinking about research areas that interest them and potential disseration advisors. Student/advisor pairings are established by mutual consent, generally in the second semester of the third year. All Ph.D. students must file a "Degree Program Form" with the Graduate School. This is done once the student has chosen an advisor and formed a committee. The program form lists the student's examining committee and all the courses that are part of the student's program. This form must be approved by the DGS and is available here.

Applied Project

During Fall Semester of the third year, or the summer between the second and third years, students do an applied project. Students will be paired with researchers from around the University and will work, under the supervision of a Statistics faculty member, on statistical problems that arise in their partner's research. Students prepare a report and give a talk on their work as part of the project.

The Fourth year

Ph. D. Prelim Oral Exam

The Ph. D. preliminary oral exam takes the form of a defense of disseration proposal and takes place in the summer after the third year or Fall Semester of the fourth year. The student prepares a written document, the proposal, which describes the student's research area, discusses critically the relevant literature, explains the student's research objectives, and describes initial approaches to the research objectives. The proposal is prepared in consultation with the advisor and other committee members. The proposal need not contain research results and does not limit the student's Ph.D. topic (the dissertation is expected to contain materials not in the proposal, and topics in the proposal may be dropped from the dissertation). The proposal need only to show that the student has a novel and substantial problem, has an approach that may succeed, and has surveyed the relevant literature.

The student gives a seminar on the proposal, lasting approximately 40 minutes. All students and faculty in the School of Statistics are invited. The presentation serves several purposes: it builds the student's oral skills, it communicates the student's research plans to the members of the School, and it helps committee members assess the student's facility with the research area.

The examination is a closed oral examination conducted by the student's committee; in most circumstances the examination will immediately follow the oral presentation. The examination evaluates the student's readiness for research, as evidenced by the proposal, presentation, and oral responses to questions. Criteria for evaluation include the clarity of the proposed problem, the student's knowledge of relevant literature, the feasibility and scientific merit of the proposed problem, and the quality of the written proposal, oral presentation, and responses to questions.

The student must schedule the oral prelim exam with School of Statistics and with the Graduate School (which requires at least one week's notice). You must complete a "Doctoral Preliminary Oral Examination Scheduling" form and return it to the Graduate School. This form is available here.

Thesis Proposal Form

The student should submit a "Thesis Proposal Form" to the Graduate School after passing the prelim oral. This form is available here.

The Fifth Year

The Ph. D. Dissertation

The bulk of the fourth and fifth years is spent in the preparation of the doctoral disseration under the supervision of a faculty advisor. According to the Graduate School:

The thesis must demonstrate the student's originality and ability for independent investigation, and the results of the research must constitute a contribution to knowledge. The thesis must exhibit the student's mastery of the literature of the subject and familiarity with the sources. The subject matter must be presented with a satisfactory degree of literary skill.

Review and Final Oral

After the dissertation has been completed, it is reviewed by at least three reviewers, including the advisor and the outside committee member. When the student is ready, pick up a Graduation Packet from the Graduate School (here). Among the items in the packet is a thesis review form. Reviewers must be given at least two weeks to review the dissertation, and all reviewers must agree that the disseration is ready for defense. After the disseration has been approved, the student should schedule the Final Examination through the School of Statistics and the Graduate School (which requires one week's notice). The final examination takes the form of a public seminar followed by a defense of the dissertation conducted in private by the examining committee.