Ph.D. Comprehensive Exam During the third year, doctoral students are encouraged to nearly complete their coursework requirements and to form a Comprehensive Examination Committee. The Committee consists of at least three Program members and a representative of the student’s minor program of study. The Comprehensive Examination Committee bears the responsibility for setting the written portion of the comprehensive exam.
The format and the timing for the exam is flexible and left to the discretion of this Committee with the goal to structure the exam in the best interests of advancing the preparation of the candidate. The typical format for the written portion of the examination is a series of technical and conceptual questions put forth by the committee concerning the student's expected dissertation research. A variety of formats are acceptable and not limited to the following suggestions.
A series of written questions prepared by the Committee under a specified time schedule.
A review paper based on a specific set of background documents set by the Committee and related to the candidate's research topic.
A literature review of the dissertation topic with an analysis of the shortcomings of previous research as they apply to the candidate's research topic.
A dissertation proposal with preliminary analysis.
Upon successful completion of the written portion of the Comprehensive Examination, a student must sit for the oral portion of the exam. The Committee conducting the oral portion of the examination has both the opportunity and obligation to require the student to exhibit knowledge of
the specific questions/material posed during the written portion,
general comprehension of the minor field(s) of study as it pertains to the student’s research interests, and
sufficient depth of understanding in the area(s) of the student’s statistical specialization.
The ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, to audiences of varying levels of sophistication in statistics is essential to a successful career in industry, research, or teaching. Consequently, the Statistics program has Professional and Communications Skills requirement. This requirement gives students an opportunity to develop their capabilities in a variety of directions to the public, to their peers, and to an audience of specialists.
As is the case with all Ph.D.’s, a completed dissertation must represent an original and substantive advance in scholarship as determined by the dissertation committee. For the Program in Statistics, this Committee consists of at least 3 program members, including the dissertation advisor(s). The dissertation must be judged by the Committee to sufficiently advance the theory, the methodology, and/or the practice of statistics with focus on the candidate’s interdisciplinary interests. It is expected that the work will result in one or more published research articles in high-quality, peer-reviewed statistics and subject-matter journals.
More details on graduate education can be found in the Graduate Handbook.