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Statistics-Computer Science Joint Masters
Successful completion of this joint program requires:
- 10 Three-Credit Courses or 8 with a Thesis
- Course Requirements
- Plan of Study
- Advisory Committee
- Ethics Requirement
- Communication Requirement
Course Requirements
Up to six semester-hours of credit for graduate courses taken at other institutions may be transferred with the approval of the Graduate Committee and the Graduate School. The grades must be A or B or the equivalent. Application for transfer is made when the plan of study is submitted for approval. Students may ask the Graduate Committee to accept equivalent graduate courses taken at other institutions in lieu of at most two of the above courses.
Courses used to fulfill the requirements for other degrees (at Purdue or elsewhere) are not eligible for use on master's plans of study, except that courses used for a doctoral degree may be used on a master's plan of study provided the doctoral plan of study does not include any course used for any other master's degree.
For the Non-Thesis Option
Five Statistics Courses
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At least one course from three of the following four groups:
- STAT 51900, Introduction to Probability * or * STAT 53200, Elements of Stochastic Processes
- STAT 52600, Advanced Statistical Methodology
- STAT 52800, Introduction to Mathematical Statistics * or * STAT 55300, Theory of Linear Models and Analysis of Experimental Designs
- STAT 54600, Computational Statistics
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Two electives: Any two other graduate statistics courses, excluding STAT 50100, 50200, 50300, 51100, and 51200
Five Computer Science Courses
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At least one of the following theory courses:
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At least one of the following systems courses:
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At least one of the following statistical CS courses:
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At least one additional statistical CS course:
- Any course listed under 3 above
- Any course that is cross-listed between CS and Statistics
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One elective: Any other graduate CS course, except CS 50100, 50010, 50011, 50023, 50024, 50025, and certain CS 59000, 59200, and 59300 courses.
For the Thesis Option
The thesis option has the same course requirements as the non-thesis option except that the thesis (entailing at least six hours of CS 69800) replaces one STAT elective and one CS elective. The thesis must be presented in an oral defense before the advisory committee.
Plan of Study
Students wishing to pursue the Statistics-Computer Science Joint Master's program should choose the STCS concentration when creating a plan of study. Courses used to fulfill the degree requirements must be listed on the plan and submitted for approval by the Graduate Committee and the Graduate School well before the final session. Grades in the A range (A+, A, A-) or B range are expected, but one or two grades in the C range may be accepted if they are compensated by grades in the A range (regardless of + and -). Other grades are unacceptable. The GPA of the courses on the plan must be at least 3.0. CS 69800, Research M.S. Thesis, is not listed on the plan of study.
Master's programs usually take three or four semesters. The practical maximum load is four courses per semester and two in the summer session. Students with assistantships rarely take more than three courses per semester and one in the summer session. Completing a master's program within twelve months is sometimes possible for well-prepared, industrious students.
Follow the link below for details on how to file a plan of study:
Instructions for Filing a Plan of Study
Advisory Committee
The student must form an advisory committee consisting of three faculty members, including at least one with a primary appointment in Statistics and at least one with a primary appointment in CS. The CS graduate committee must approve the advisory committee.
Ethics Requirement
All MS students must fulfill an ethics requirement. This is currently to be fulfilled by attending the ethics lecture of the CS 59100 Research Seminar for First-Year Graduate Students once during the first year. The seminar is offered only in the fall semester. An announcement of the date, time, and place of the lecture is sent out ahead of time. Attendance is taken at the lecture. MS students are not required to register for the seminar to attend the ethics lecture.
All graduate students must pass the responsible conduct of research (RCR) online test at www.citiprogram.org and submit a printout of the certificate to the Graduate Office.
Further Information on Responsible Conduct of Research
Communication Requirement
All MS students that entered after spring 2008 must demonstrate effectiveness in communication.
For students using the thesis option, this will be assessed in the normal course of their program.
For students using the non-thesis option this can be assessed on the basis of presentations and papers in courses. Students should ask faculty members from whom they have taken a course and in whose judgment they have demonstrated effectiveness in communication to inform the graduate office. Otherwise, the student must write a technical essay at the beginning of the final semester and submit it to the chair of the Graduate Committee for evaluation. A research paper may also be used if the student is the sole author.
Changes in Requirements
These requirements replace those in effect through the summer session of 2013 and may be used by students regardless of when they were admitted to graduate study in the Department of Computer Science at West Lafayette.
The above requirements may change without notice.