The Masters program in Applied Statistics is intended to prepare graduates for a career as an applied statistician in industry, government, consulting firms, and research organizations. The coursework requirements is 30 credit hours and at least 10 courses. While the requirements include basic courses in probability and theoretical statistics, the emphasis is on statistical modeling and data analysis. There is a wide variety of elective courses that are offered by the Statistics department as well as by other departments such as Biostatistics, Computer Science, Economics, Industrial & Operations Engineering, Mathematics, School of Information, Sociology, and the Survey Research Center. Most students take two years (4 semesters) to complete the degree although it is possible to do it in 3 semesters.

Prerequisites:

It is strongly recommended that a prospective student has a good background in calculus and linear algebra and has taken one course each in probability and theoretical statistics. Students without these prerequisite courses will generally have to take them as preparatory courses in their first year, with no credit toward the requirements for the degree.

Courses:

The coursework consists of a set of core courses and electives.

Core courses:

• Stat 500 --Applied Statistics
• Stat 503 -- Applied Multivariate Analysis
• Stat 504 -- Statistical Consulting
• Biostat 601 -- Probability
• Biostat 602 -- Theoretical Statistics

Students must take at least three elective courses from the following:

• Stat 406 -- Introduction to Statistical Computing
• Stat 430 -- Applied Probability
• Stat/Math 526 -- Discrete State Stochastic Processes
• Stat 531/Econ 677-- Analysis of Time Series
• Stat 535/IOE 562 -- Reliability
• Stat 560/Biostat 685 -- Introduction to Nonparametric Statistics
• Stat/IOE 570 -- Design of Experiments
• Stat 580 -- Methods and Theory of Sample Design

Any approved 600 or higher-level statistics courses.

Substitutions are allowed with approval from the program advisor. In particular, selected courses from the Biostatistics department would be suitable in many cases.

Cognate requirements:

In addition, 4 credits in cognate courses are required. These are courses from outside the department, and they must be pre-approved by the program advisor. See below for a list of possible cognate courses.

Options for Specialization

While the program does not offer formal specializations, students can use the flexibility in choice of electives and cognate courses to obtain skills in specific areas. Some possible options are listed below, but students are free to work with the program advisor to develop their own areas of specialization.

Survey Sampling Option

The use of sample surveys to obtain information on a myriad of subjects is becoming ever more popular. The demand for statisticians trained in this sub-area is extremely high. The University of Michigan has, in various departments and in the Institute for Social Research, the faculty talent to be able to offer one of the best specialization in the country. For this area, students can enroll in Stat 580 as an elective and take one or more of:

• Soc 612 -- Methods of Survey Sampling
• Soc 613 -- Advanced Methods of Survey Sampling
• Soc 621 -- Workshop on Sampling Techniques
• Soc 711 -- Questionnaire Design, Interviewing and Coding

See also other courses in survey sampling offered by the Department of Sociology and the Survey Methodology Program of the Institute for Social Research.

Actuarial Science Option

Since 1905, the University of Michigan has had one of the best actuarial programs offered anywhere. There is a continuing demand for statisticians specializing in actuarial science. For this option, a student can enroll in Stat 430 or 526 as electives and take one or more of the following.

• Math 520 -- Life Contingencies I
• Math 521 -- Life Contingencies II
• Math 523 -- Risk Theory
• Biostat 675 -- Survival Analysis

Econometrics and Forecasting Option

Statistical techniques play an important role in predicting/forecasting various economic phenomena. To specialize in this area, students can take Stat 531 as an elective and take one or more of the following:

• Stat 576/ Econ 679 -- Econometric Theory II
• Econ 501 -- Microeconomic Theory
• Econ 502 -- Applied Macroeconomics
• Econ 671 -- Econometric Analysis
• Econ 675 -- Applied Econometrics

Industrial Statistics Option

Students can take elective courses offered by the Department of Industrial & Operations Engineering to develop expertise in the application of quality and reliability methods in industrial statistics. Suggested courses include Stat 570 and Stat 535/IOE 562 as electives and one or more of:

• IOE 466 -- Statistical Process Control
• IOE 515 -- Stochastic Industrial Processes
• IOE 541 -- Inventory Analysis and Control
• IOE 545 -- Queuing Networks in Manufacturing
• IOE 566 -- Advanced Quality Control

Information Sciences Option

Advances in computing and measurement technologies have led to massive amounts of data being collected routinely. Statistical methods play a fundamental role in the collection, visualization, mining and analysis of large data sets. Students interested in this area should take Stat 406 as elective and take one or more of:

• EECS 477 -- Introduction to Algorithms
• EECS 484 -- Database Management Systems
• EECS 485 -- Web Database Information Systems
• SI 531-- Human Interaction in Information Retrieval
• SI 539 -- Design of Complex Web Sites
• SI 572 -- Database Application Design
• SI 601 -- Data Manipulation

Financial Statistics Option

Modeling and analysis of financial data is another area that is attracting a lot of attention. Students interested in specializing in this area should take Stat 531 as an elective and take one or more of:

• Math/IOE 506 -- Stochastic Analysis for Finance II
• IOE 552 -- Financial Engineering I
• FIN 513 -- Financial Analysis
• FIN 580 -- Options and Futures in Corporate Decision Making