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JZappa sorry for the wording, my intended message was that there probably is less to do (non-academically) in Chapel Hill compared to Minneapolis, though of course internship opportunities abound at the RTP. And I didn't mean to say that UNC is only Probability, OR, or ML, it's just that my rough perception is that it's a traditionally strong theoretical department jointly administered with its OR division, so while I know there should be people working on other areas it's kind of hard to imagine myself diverging from theory/OR. Anyway, thanks for your comment and I'll do some more digging.

Yes, my main issue with UNC is that if I go there, it seems my options may be limited to Probability theory, OR applications, or maybe ML.

Hi, So I've been accepted to a couple of stats phd programs, and narrowed it down to the three below. Rankings is not that much of a concern, and the three seem to be close enough. In terms of research interest I'm pretty much open to anything at this point (in other words I don't have anything in particular ), but I'm more interested in applications. Money is certainly a concern, but stipend is about the same and living costs are fairly similar from what I've seen. I'm interested in going on to industry/government for now but haven't completely ruled out academia. UNC pros - Good weather - More renowned faculty than the other 2? - Good location to prepare for industry, but program/courses seems focused on theory - Good biostat department (if I get interested in that route) cons - Seemingly small department, not many research options? - A bit rural, but better than PSU Minnesota pros - Good location (city) - Good biostat department cons - Seemingly small department, not many research options? - Terrible winters Penn state pros - Ideal department and faculty size, lots of research options? - Wider range of courses compared to the other 2 cons - Awful location, though not completely discouraged Please correct me if I'm wrong about anything mentioned above. I haven't been able to visit any of the departments, and will not be able to before making a decision. For now I'm leaning towards PSU, solely based on the fact that it seems there are more potential research options to choose from. Do you think this is the right choice, or is there anything I'm overlooking? Any thoughts would be appreciated, thanks!

Thanks for the input everyone! I feel a little encouraged now

Noco7... UNC is on spring break until March 18

Hi, So so far I've gotten into a few stat PhD programs in the 10-20 range (u.s. news), and in picking a program I'm trying to think of a few research areas that interests me. My background is in pure math and econ but I want to do something applied, other than in econ or finance. Applications to the biological sciences is one area I'm looking at, and I know that a biology background isn't needed for this. On the other hand I'm also interested in machine learning, but I'm not sure whether this is a viable option. My CS background is only an intro programming course with matlab, a second course with C, and an intro numerical analysis course, nothing else. So here's my question - how hard would it be to succeed in ML with only that much CS background? It seems that most people who go that route have at least a minor in CS or EE. Is it actually common for people without much CS to do ML, or would it be more realistic to disregard ML when picking a program? Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated, thanks!

If your goal is only to get an m.s. at one of those schools, then linear algebra, multivariate cal., intro probability, and an applied stat course should suffice. However if you also take real analysis plus a few more math/cs courses and do well, that could get you into a fully funded PhD program with the option of leaving with just an m.s.

Could someone comment on whether Penn state is good enough to be in tier 3 for stats? (I hope it does)

cyberwulf, thanks for the reply. To be specific, the offer was a 14.5k stipend plus a 2k "summer research fellowship". Hopefully the latter is just a summer allowance with no duties attached, but I guess this is something I should ask the program directly...

Sorry to bring back this old thread, but I was accepted to the above program (with slightly better offer) and wondering. Does it really matter in this case whether the amount is for 9 months, or 12? I mean, even if it were for 12 months, is there some kind of obligation you have to meet that will keep you from doing an internship or TA/RA during the summer?

I got an email from a professor. It said that I was nominated for fellowship, and if I don't make it they will consider me for a TA. Basically I wasn't guaranteed anything so I was wondering whether that fellowship nomination means I have an edge in getting at least a TAship.

I got into Ohio state too, nominated for fellowship. Has everyone who got accepted at this point been nominated as well, or is it just a select number of people?