Required Courses

All doctoral students are required to include the following courses in their programs of study.

• STAT 842 - Probability for Statistical Inference Credits: 3
• STAT 843 - Statistical Inference Credits: 3
• STAT 860 - Linear Models I Credits: 3
• STAT 861 - Linear Models II Credits: 3
• STAT 870 - Analysis of Messy Data Credits: 3

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  and at least 7 credit hours of 900 level Statistics classes selected from:

• STAT 903 - Statistical Methods for Spatial Data Credits: 3
• STAT 904 - Resampling Methods Credits: 3
• STAT 905 - High-Dimensional Data and Statistical Learning Credits: 3
• STAT 907 - Bayesian Statistical Inference Credits: 3
• STAT 940 - Advanced Statistical Methods Credits: 3
• STAT 941 - Advanced Statistical Inference Credits: 3
• STAT 945 - Problems in Statistical Consulting Credits: 1-3
• STAT 950 - Advanced Studies in Probability and Statistics Credits: 1-3

Ph.D. Qualifying Exam

Students interested in pursuing the Ph.D. are required to first pass a departmental Qualifying Exam. Subsequently, students pursuing the Ph.D. must pass the doctoral preliminary examination (see below) in order to be approved for degree candidacy by the Graduate School. 

Students must enroll in at least one credit hour during any and all semesters in which they are actively engaged in the qualifying examination process.

The purpose of the PhD qualifying exam is to assess the students’ readiness for the coursework required for the PhD. The exam is designed so that students who possess an MS Degree in Statistics from Kansas State University or have a comparable academic background can take the exam immediately following admission into the PhD program. As part of the PhD program, all students are required to pass the qualifying exam.

The PhD qualifying exam is offered twice per year. The exam will be offered during the week before the Fall Semester (the Fall Exam) and the week before the Spring Semester (the Spring Exam). The qualifying exam is comprised of two sections: a 4-hour theoretical statistics exam and a 2-hour applied statistics exam. Each section is offered on a different day. The two sections are described below.

• Statistical Theory: This exam covers topics taught in STAT 770  and STAT 771 .
• Applied Statistics: This exam covers topics taught in STAT 713 .

Both exams are written exams, and the use of a computer is not permitted.

Students must receive a passing grade on both sections of the exam prior to the spring semester of their second full academic year in the program. The Spring Exam of a student’s second full academic year is the last exam for which the student is eligible.

PhD students are granted two attempts at the qualifying exam. The last attempt must occur no later than the Spring semester of their second full academic year in the program.

Preliminary Exam

The Ph.D. Preliminary Exam consists of two components: a dissertation proposal and a public seminar. 

Students must enroll in at least one credit hour during any and all semesters in which they are actively engaged in the preliminary examination process.

For more information please see the department website: http://www.k-state.edu/stats/academics/gradstudents/DegreePhD.html