The following requirements are in addition to, or further elaborate upon, those requirements outlined in The Graduate School Policy Guide.

The Department offers an Ad Hoc MS degree in Applied Statistics for Northwestern doctoral students in other disciplines including (but not limited to) Economics, Political Science, Sociology, Psychology, Learning Sciences, and Human Development & Social Policy who wish to establish their qualifications in statistics and quantitative research methodology. To participate, students must meet The Graduate School’s eligibility requirements to pursue an ad hoc combined degree, complete the Master of Science in Applied Statistics Degree Program Application, and receive approval from their home department, the Department of Statistics & Data Science, and The Graduate School.

Degree Requirements

Accepted students are expected to take a total of 9 approved courses in a program and complete a culminating project. The 9 courses must be unique from the 9 courses the student will use to satisfy the TGS requirements for the PhD. Double counting is not permitted when satisfying The Graduate School requirements for each credential.

Coursework: Students are typically required to take STAT 320-1 Statistical Theory & Methods 1 and STAT 320-2 Statistical Theory & Methods 2 to provide a foundation in statistical theory. Students with advanced mathematics may take STAT 420-1 Introduction to Statistical Theory & Methodology-1 and STAT 420-2 Introduction to Statistical Theory & Methodology-2 instead with department approval. The remaining 7 courses are selected with the advice and approval of the student’s home department and the Applied Statistics MS program director. Note that the program may be completed entirely from courses taught in the Department of Statistics & Data Science, but may include up to 3 courses from departments other than Statistics. Courses from outside the department must be approved by the Applied Statistics MS program director.

Culminating Project: All Applied Statistics MS candidates are required to complete a culminating activity project using statistics. This project is typically work that will be included in the student’s PhD dissertation, but can also be a stand-alone project. After completing the coursework, students submit a proposal for a culminating project that is reviewed and approved by the Applied Statistics MS program director. Submission of a satisfactory culminating project completes the student’s degree work for the Applied Statistics MS.