Graduate Student Information

Whether you need qualifying exam information, advising, or you're applying for a graduate assistantship, everything you need to ensure you're academic success can be found here.

Program advisors

When you were admitted to one of the graduate programs, the Department of Statistics, Actuarial and Data Sciences has assigned every graduate student an Academic Advisor to assist with course work planning and academic related activities. You are highly encouraged to consult with your Academic Advisor for academic related questions.

Department forms for graduate students

Major milestones for Ph.D. and Masters programs

Major Milestones for the Master's Degree Programs:

  • Maintain average cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher
  • Complete the required coursework
  • Complete the required internship/practicum or Plan B component

Major Milestones for Ph.D. Degree Program:

  • Maintain average cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher
  • Pass two qualifying exams within the allowed time period
  • Complete three hours of internship
  • Complete the required hours of coursework
  • Complete the dissertation

Qualifying exams

In the Ph.D. qualifying examinations, students are expected to demonstrate a broad knowledge of the topics and be able to integrate concepts and explain them at an appropriate level. Prior to conducting dissertation research work, a Ph.D. student must pass two qualifying exams in the areas of (1) Theoretical Statistics and (2) Applied Statistics.

Each academic year, two qualifying exam periods will be scheduled. One is during the preparation week of the fall semester, usually in the middle or the end of August. The other is during the preparation week of the spring semester, usually in the early or middle of January.

Students will be informed to sign up for the August qualifying exams around March/April in spring semester; and to sign up for the January qualifying exams around September/October in fall semester.

The Graduate Coordinator (also the Associate Chair) will form the exam committees and determine the exam schedule. The exam schedule, committee members and samples of past exams are posted to the following link:

Tips for preparing for qualifying exams

  • Begin studying early
    • If you are planning to take the exam in August, you should begin studying in June. It is by no means overdoing it to be studying for the exam at least 4-6 days a week, full-time.
    • If you are planning to take the exam in January, you should begin studying by the beginning of September. During the academic year, plan exam studying into your weekly schedule and treat it like an important job.
  • Solve old qualifying exam questions
    • Review the old qualifying exams.  View old qualifying exams.
    • Do not just read through the old exams or try to find copies of the solutions. You must work on solving the problems yourself.
    • Old qualifying exams will give you an idea of the types of problems asked and the level of problems asked on these exams
  • Study with your peers
    • This will help provide motivation to study. It will also give you the opportunity to discuss the problems.
  • If you have not taken one of the exam courses in a while, ask the instructor of the course if you could sit in on the course
    • Sitting in on the course will be useful only if you take it seriously. This means do not only attend the lectures, but also study with the people who are enrolled in the course, and do the homework problems and exam problems.
    • Please keep in mind that the instructor of the course likely will not have time to grade your work since you are not enrolled in the course, however, it will still be to your benefit to do the problems.
  • Make an appointment with the committee members to find out the topics to be covered for the exam you plan to take
    • Be aware that the instructor from whom you took the course may not be the faculty who will prepare the exam that you plan to take. It is important to find out the topics to be covered for the exam from the committee members.
    • Working on old exam problems and building a notebook of solutions that you worked out is productive.

** 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 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 assistantships for Master's students

The CMU College of Science and 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 Feb. 15 to be guaranteed full consideration.