Admissions

Applications for admission must be completed by December 31st for entry in the Fall semester. For spring admissions, applications must be completed by October 15th. The Statement of Purpose on the application package is not required. It is replaced by short answer items.

• Prerequisites for Admission
• Testing Information
• Tuition and Financial Support
• How to Apply
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
• For more information

Prerequisites for Admission

In addition to the Graduate School requirements, the essential prerequisites for graduate study in statistics are undergraduate courses in advanced calculus and linear algebra (including matrix theory). Exposure to probability and statistics at the undergraduate level is recommended as is knowledge of computer programming. Typical students entering the Ph.D. degree program have completed an undergraduate mathematics major or equivalent program. Students admitted to the Graduate School and the Statistics MS Program who wish to continue onto the Statistics Ph.D. Program must apply thru the Chair of the Graduate Committee.

Students who are strongly motivated and have demonstrated high aptitude may be admitted to graduate programs while they fill in background courses.

Testing Information:

Applicants are encouraged but not required to take the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Applicants whose native language is not English are required to submit the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The Department of Statistics will accept either the TOEFL or the IELTS.  The minimum Internet-based test scores are as follows:   Writing 20; Speaking 20; Listening 20; and Reading 20;  and the minimum TOEFL Essentials English score is 8.0.  Higher scores are preferred for those applicants who wish to be considered for teaching assistantship. No TOEFL or IELTS score should be older than two years. A minimum score of 6.5 or higher is required for the IELTS.

Please visit https://www.ets.org to see information on-line about taking and registering for the GRE and TOEFL test. The local testing center is: Sylvan Prometric Testing, 4050 Britt Road, Lafayette, IN 47905, Phone number is: (765) 447-0626.

Tuition and Financial Support

Students are automatically considered for funding, including the Bob and Marjorie McLean Scholarship, when they apply to the department. Many graduate students in the department are supported by teaching assistantships which provide reductions in tuition and fees to several hundred dollars per semester. Some fellowships are available for one or two years. Minority doctoral fellowships are normally for a period of three years. Also, a limited number of research assistantships are available for students who have begun their Ph.D. research.

More information about funding is available on Purdue's Graduate School Funding Info for Students page. Information about Fellowships, Grants and Other Awards can be found here. Students who wish to be considered for Fellowship funding are required to submit a "Fellowship Applicant Essay." Instructions for writing and submitting the essay can be found on Purdue's Graduate Online Application.

For more information

If you still have questions after reviewing our graduate program pages and checking our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, please email the Graduate Coordinator at: graduate@stat.purdue.edu.

The graduate coordinator can also be reached at: 765-494-5794.

If you are interested in applying for graduate studies in our department, please visit our How to Apply page.