[2020 Statistics PhD Applicant Profile]

Cong！Nice to hear that good news! Please keep us posted. Good luck

 

[Do I have enough math courses?]

33 minutes ago, statfan said:

You have more than sufficient math background to apply for statistics PhD. It's always good to know more math, and this will help for any quantitative disciplines. Much of the statistics theory is related to real analysis/measure theory, but this doesn't mean that algebra is not or will not be useful. Indeed, algebra is starting to gain its popularity in statistics and there is an emerging area called algebraic statistics. That being said, if you are interested in these courses and have the time, you can take both. However, these are not required for admission to statistics PhD.

Thanks for your encouraging reply! Yeah, I totally agree with you. Before entering into PhD program, it is always good to learn more math from different sub tracks including analysis, algebra even geometry.

[Do I have enough math courses?]

Just to be clear,

I am actually thinking to take some more algebra courses to alleviate the concerns from committees towards my math ability. Abstract algebra and honor linear algebra will be two possible choices. Honor linear algebra will include some introductions to group and go deep into eigenvalue, eigenvector, etc. I am not clear about the content of abstract algebra.

[Do I have enough math courses?]

50 minutes ago, BL250604 said:

It certainly can't hurt. I did the same thing. I did okay in linear algebra, and then got an A in both abstract algebra and group theory. It definitely helped alleviate concerns. Additionally, I personally think that seeing more math helps. Thinking of things algebraically does help make certain topics more intuitive. It also helps you understand and reinforce concepts like bijections (for isomorphisms) properties of matrices (non commutative, i.e. non abelian), etc. which will surely come up in graduate school, albeit in a different way of thinking.

Thank you so much for your kind input! I will fully consider my future course selection at UCL!

[Do I have enough math courses?]

13 minutes ago, BL250604 said:

Plenty of courses! It's always good to see (in my eyes) some extra high level math classes to show your understanding and ability to succeed in high level proof classes. There's certainly nothing you need. Only thing I can think of is grad school level courses. Something like a measure theoretic probability or linear models. These are certainly not expected and would be very impressive if you did well in them. There's nothing you need but if you do well in high level, high powered statistics courses, your application will be that much stronger. 

Hope that helps.

Thanks for your reply!  Do you think I should take abstract algebra or some other algebra courses? Because I didn’t do well in linear algebra in my freshman year, really afraid of being suspected by committees about my math ability. BTW, I am an international student.

[Do I have enough math courses?]

Hi everyone!

I am a junior student and will go to UCL as a exchange student. I want to apply statistics PhD program for 2021 fall. I am posting this to want to know whether I have enough math courses for application.

Have taken:

Calculus 1-3

Mathematical Analysis 

Linear algebra 1-2

Probability

Mathematical statistics 

Numerical analysis

Real analysis(measure theory)

I got all A or A- except for linear algebra so I will retake honorary linear algebra at UCL.

Currently taking:

Complex analysis

Functional Analysis

Stochastic process 

 

Will take at UCL:

Probability (based on measure theory graduate course)

Honorary algebra

 

Any suggestions and comments are appreciated. Thanks!

 

 

 

 

[Prestige of Canadian Statistics program]

Yeah, I have been told that many students who graduate from top program tend to stay in Canada to be a professor.

[Prestige of Canadian Statistics program]

Hi everyone!

I am not sure the prestige of statistics program in Canada (like U of T, Waterloo, UBC, McGill these top 4). Especially, when someone graduates from these four statistics program with PhD degree, will he/she be competitive to have a faculty position in the US? Assuming he/she has an average or higher level for publication and decent recommendation letter.

[Advice for course selection]

31 minutes ago, bayessays said:

Yes, you have plenty of math. I think the ones you listed are a good start. A course on optimization may be useful as well.

Yeah, actually there is another optimization class that I will take next semester. I just omitted it in the post. Your advice is very much appreciated, bayessays. And since I am also interested in optimization, I am doing a research about creating an R package using optimization method to estimate the coefficient under the extreme value distribution model. Ideally, this project will lead a paper published in a decent journal like JCGS, Technometrics,etc. Do you think this kind of research experience can be viewed as a big plus? (Also, I might apply for several OR PhD next year.)

[Advice for course selection]

Just now, bayessays said:

1. Math courses will generally help more than applied stat courses.

2. Definitely take the advanced linear algebra. In fact, prioritize it over the two courses above. Even if you did well in your first linear algebra course, things like SVD are used all the time in statistics.

3. You don't absolutely need it, but if you will do well, take it.

My ranking of priority for those 4 courses would be

1. Advanced linear algebra

2. Measure theory

(Large gap)

3. Functional analysis/applied regression

Thanks so much！Could you please recommend me some other courses that are helpful?  Do you think my math background is sufficient to apply for Statistics PhD program?

[Advice for course selection]

Hi everyone!

I am currently in one of the top universities in China and will enter my junior year in September. I am posting this for seeking some advice on course selection. Since I am going to apply for Statistics/Biostatistics PhD program, I have arranged my course schedule last two years for preparation. Here are some courses and grades related to application.

 

Mathematical analysis 123 (A,A,A-) 

(FYI, in China almost every school combines calculus and analysis together, so these courses can be viewed as “calculus+intro to analysis”.)

 

Linear Algebra 12(C+,

 

Probability based on calculus (A-)

 

Mathematical statistics (A,definitely ace it, rank 1/75)

 

Numerical analysis(A-)

 

Real analysis(A)

(The content includes basic topology, Lebesgue measure and integration, some introductions to Lp space like Holder inequality)

 

I plan to take following courses next semester but there are still some options to make.

 

Nonparametric statistics(proof-based)

 

Topology 

 

Applied stochastic process

 

PDE

 

Here are some questions:

1. There is still one option between applied regression and functional analysis. In order to achieve the goal to a decent stat/biostat PhD program, which course is better?

2. Because of the personal reason, the Linear Algebra 1 I took in the first semester of freshman year definitely damaged my profile. So if I have chances to take an advanced algebra course that will cover all the content of it and also include more advanced topic like QR decomposition and SVD, is it a good idea to take it?

3. Do I need to take measure theory? Any other courses that can be helpful for the application and future research?

Any advice will be much appreciated.?

 

 

 

 

 

[2020 Statistics PhD Applicant Profile]

It seems you have got a strong profile for a decent stat PhD program. But there are some concerns & tips for you based on some successful cases in the past few years. 

1. I think you should take some more proof-based courses to show your strong ability of math for the  adcom. Courses like real-analysis, complex analysis, measure theory and functional analysis... will help a lot.

2. Lack of relevant research experience will not harm your application. A lot of applicants do not have much relevant experience , so don’t worry.

3. Make sure your recommendation letter will be strong. Although I assume you have these strong letters, your list of PhD programs is still to heavy. I think you can add some more safeties, like UNC,  UW-M or some programs ranking around 10-20. You may not need to apply for master programs because you have a quite good background.

wish you a good luck!

[How to enhance the chances based on my current profile?]

This is my first time to post in the forum.?Hope this finds you well.

I am going to apply for the Stat\biostat Phd in the future and now I am a sophomore student.

I wonder how I can enhance chances to get into a fair Stat\BIiostat program  and here is my current profile.

I am now in a Chinese university and we have one of the most reputable statistics departmens in my country(but not PKU or THU).

Overall GPA :3.65

Math(stat) GPA: 3.75

Actually, I got a bad score in linear algebra for some personal reasons so my GPA seems not so good and all the scores of  my other math or statistics courses are all at least A-. I am now taking real analysis , numerical analysis and mathematical statistics and will hopefully take Stochastic process, nonparametric statistics, Multivariate regression, time series, functional analysis, optimization, complex analysis. 

I am currently doing research about lasso with a professor in McGill and  our work will lead to a nice paper about algorithm design and prediction of real data. 

Based on my profile, what I can do to enhance the chances to get into a fair PhD program?

Any advice is appreciated.?