Quick Facts

Our Programs

The Graduate Program in Statistics has six distinct academic programs – the 12-credit Graduate Certificate (available both as a residential and an online program), the Master’s degree, the accelerated Master’s degree, two tracks for the Doctoral degree (regular and informatics), and a PhD minor.

 For more information on admissions and program requirements for a particular program, visit the Statistics & Data Science website.

Ph.D.  Regular Track

Ph.D. Requirements include coursework and the composition of a dissertation. A large majority of our students complete the program  in 5-6 years.

M.S.

Requires 30 units, including 5 core courses, electives, and Qualifying Exam or thesis work. Typically completed in 2-3 years.

Graduate Certificate

Coursework requirements include four courses available online or on-campus, good choice for working professionals, prospective MS students, and distance learners. Typically completed in 1-2 years.

Ph.D. Informatics Track

Ph.D. Requirements include coursework and the composition of a dissertation. A large majority of our students complete the program  in 5-6 years.

Ph.D. Minor

Coursework requirements include four courses.

Accelerated M.S.

For current University of Arizona undergraduate students.

Detailed information on the Accelerated MS Program and the MS in Statistics & Data Science.

All students entering any Statistics & Data Science Program are required to have a substantive background in mathematics, including at least three semesters of Calculus through multivariable/vector calculus, one semester of Linear Algebra, and experience with computer technologies.

Statistics GIDP has over 40 regular faculty members spanning over 15 academic units. Following is a partial list of departments represented in the Statistics GIDP Faculty:

  • Biosystems Engineering
  • Computer Science
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Epidemiology and Biostatistics
  • Law
  • Management Information Systems
  • Mathematics
  • Medicine
  • Molecular & Cellular Biology
  • Renewable Natural Resources
  • School of Information
  • Systems & Industrial Engineering

 For more information on faculty  including research expertise, see the Statistics & Data Science webpage.

Statistics graduates are highly sought by large companies as well as academic institutions.  Many of our graduates work in the private sector in a variety of capacities. Those graduates that want to pursue an academic career have been hired at institutions such as Oberlin College, University of Nevada, Reno, University of Wisconsin at Madison and University of California Chico.

With the desire for more and better data, Data Science and Statistics is a critical factor in advancing every aspect of human activity and research. The ease of data gathering has resulted in massive stockpiles of publically accessible data in commerce and research for every area of study including for example: genomic and other omic analyses, personalized medicine, astronomy and cosmology, planetary sciences, climate modeling, politics and legal policy, environmental impacts, economics and finance, traffic engineering, materials analysis, image processing, resource optimization and every form of informatics. The list is endless. Data Science and Statistics is the common core underpinning in all of these areas; it provides the validity on which progress is measured for every research and commercial field.

All students entering any Statistics Data Science Program are required to have a substantive background in mathematics, including at least three semesters of Calculus through multivariable/vector calculus (at the level of MATH 125, MATH 129, MATH 223), one semester of Linear Algebra (at the level of MATH 310 or 313), and experience with computer technologies.

  • These requirements are a minimum.  As part of the SDS application process you will need to provide a list of courses that you have taken that shows that you have met these requirements.

 The G.R.E. is NOT required but is highly recommended.  General Test - (GRE - general test only) that exceed 75th percentile Quantitative and 50th percentile Verbal. (GRE scores must be dated no older than five years from the time of application to the program.)

  • While the GRE is not required, acceptance to the program is competitive and your application will be weaker and less competitive without it.

Applicants from non-English-speaking countries must exhibit proficiency in English as per the Graduate College's basic requirements  for proficiency.

A minimum 3.0 GPA is required. 

Additional application materials include: statement of purpose, official Transcripts, three letters of recommendation (not required for certificate), and a list of college-level statistics and mathematics courses completed (including final grades).  While a CV is not required, it is a good idea to attach a recent CV to your application.

  1. Submit Application by January 1 for the Fall semester.
  2. Application Review starts at the beginning of January and runs through February.
  3. Applicants will be notified if they are recommended for admission
  4. The Graduate College reviews the recommended applications for compliance with University requirements.
  5. PhD applicants that have been recommended for admission and pass the Graduate College checks will be considered for funding. 

Email Melanie Bowman at gradstats@math.arizona.edu

 We put learning to work across communities and industries and we connect dots between different planes — like space sciences and art, health and city planning, entrepreneurship and traffic patterns. That’s because tomorrow’s problems are too complex for today’s thinking.  Here, you’ll work with top faculty and peers to create new knowledge and have fun doing it. We’ll teach you how to anticipate opportunities so you are 10 steps ahead and how to go the distance to solve global challenges.

Making sense of complex phenomena across disciplinary boundaries.