Graduate Student Information

** The department will not be able to offer any new Graduate Assistantship (GA) in Fall 2023 admission due to budgetary reasons.

Application process

The application for admission to our graduate program and the application for financial support are two separate processes.

  • Application deadline for applying for admission only is six weeks before the semester beings (approximately July 1st for Fall and October 1 for Spring).
  • Application deadline for applying for admission WITH financial support is February 15th for first run consideration. Applications completed after the February 15th deadline will be considered on a rolling basis until all positions are filled.

Financial support

The Department of Statistics, Actuarial and Data Sciences offers several types of assistantships.

In addition to various graduate assistantships, the Office of Graduate Studies offers tuition awards for out-of-state students (including international students). Any admitted graduate student from outside the state of Michigan may receive resident tuition rates if the student qualifies for a Graduate Tuition Award.

Internships

All Ph.D. students in the Department of Statistics, Actuarial and Data Sciences are required to take either three credit hours of teaching internship, or three credit hours of non-teaching internship. All M.S. in Applied Statistics and Analytics students are required to take a three credit hours of non-teaching internship or a Plan B project.

Criterion for taking the internships

  • For students in the Ph.D. program: After passing all required qualifying exams.
  • For students in the M.S. program: After one year of course work..

Timeline for internships

  • Teaching Internships for Ph.D. students: It is suggested students sign up for the teaching internship the semester immediately following the passing of required qualifying exams. Students can sign up for only one teaching internship course per semester. Detailed policy and procedure are given in the Internship Handbook.
  • Non-Teaching Industrial Internships: It is suggested that industrial internships are taken during summer time between the end of the spring semester and the beginning of the fall semester for approximately 12 weeks (or equivalent to 480 hours). It is possible that a student may take the industrial internship during the regular semester, especially for those students who are holding a full-time or a part-time job. Detailed policy and procedure are given in the Internship Handbook.
  • For Ph.D. students: If a Ph.D. student is interested in a three-hour industrial internship, s/he is advised to make the plan immediately after passing the required qualifying exams.
  • For M.S. students: s/he is advised to begin looking for an internship before the end of the first semester of the program (which will be most likely the end of the first fall semester), in order to secure an industrial internship for the coming summer. It is possible that a student take the industrial internship during the second summer after enrolling in to the program.
  • For international students who are interested in an industrial internship: In addition to the required forms for domestic students, international students are required to apply for Curricular Practical Training(CPT) through the Office of International Affairs.
  • For M.S. in Applied Statistics and Analytics, if a student chooses to take a three credit hours of Plan B project, in place of an internship, it is suggested the student signs up for Plan B project during the last semester of the program. The student may discuss with any CMU’s graduate faculty to seek for a quantitative research project (theoretical or applied).

Graduate assistantships

Graduate teaching assistantships

We offer graduate teaching assistantships to our students in the Ph.D. and Master's programs.

Graduate teaching assistantships (GTAs) are appointments that require teaching. Through an assistantship, you'll receive a stipend, tuition scholarship classification, travel accident insurance and special library privileges.

Compensation Package for Teaching Assistant:

  • Academic year stipends vary.
  • Tuition waiver for 20 credit hours at on-campus rates for the academic year of hire and up to four credit hours for the subsequent summer session.
  • In-state tuition rates for additional credit hours.
  • Some graduate assistantships are represented by the Graduate Student Union. More information is available at www.cmugsu.org.

Teaching responsibilities:
GTAs normally teach two sections of basic statistics or mathematics courses, or teach one course plus tutoring and grading that are equivalent to load of teaching a three credit hours of course per semester. Experienced GTAs may ask to, or may be asked to, teach other courses.

Re-appointment policy:
Graduate assistantships are renewable for students making satisfactory progress. Master's students are eligible for up to two years of support and doctoral students are eligible for up to six years of support.

Research assistantships

We have a small number of research assistantships available for graduate students. Research Assistants are assigned to faculty to conduct research projects related to the faculty's expertise.

Compensation Package for Research Assistantships:

  • Compensation packages vary
  • Tuition waiver for 20 credit hours at on-campus rates for the academic year of hire and up to four credit hours for the subsequent summer session
  • In-state tuition rates for additional credit hours
  • The RA is usually not renewable. Students who receive RA support can apply for renewal of other types of support
  • Some graduate assistantships are represented by the Graduate Student Union. More information is available at www.cmugsu.org.

Dean's research sssistantships for Master's students

The CMU College of Science & Engineering has a small number of Dean's Research Assistantships for outstanding applicants for the Master's program.

Compensation Package for Dean's Research Assistantships:

  • Academic year stipends are $20,250 for 12 months
  • Tuition waiver for 24 credit hours at on-campus rates for the academic year of hire including summer session

Graduate assistantship of statistical consulting

There is one full-time graduate assistant working at the University Statistical Consulting Center under the supervision of the Center Director. The compensation is the same as the Teaching Assistantship.

Applications

As a graduate student, you'll have opportunities to apply for financial assistance through Graduate Assistantships offered by the Department of Statistics, Actuarial and Data Sciences.

GA positions for Ph.D. in Statistics and Analytics, and M.S. in Applied Statistics students require:

  • General GRE
  • 3 letters of reference

Procedure of submitting the required additional documents for financial support to the Department of Statistics, Actuarial and Data sciences:

  • Complete this STAD Graduate Program Application and e-mail the completed form as an attachment to Graduate Committee at stadgrad@cmich.edu with the subject line on the email: Graduate Program Financial Support Application by (last name, first name)
  • Arrange for the GRE Exam Agency to send the official copy of the general GRE scores directly to the Department of Statistics, Actuarial and Data Sciences. The institution code for Central Michigan University is 1106 and the department code is 0705
  • Arrange for three letters of reference to be sent directly to Graduate Committee at stadgrad@cmich.edu with the subject line on the email: Letter of Recommendation for (last name, first name)

Deadline for the departmental financial support application is February 15 to be guaranteed full consideration.