Preparing for M.S. in Statistics

[TimmyGoesToTheSchool]

Hello all,

  I am interested in applying this fall for a MS in Statistics starting in 2021.  Right off the bat, I'll mention that I've been out of school a while, and I have a pretty weird and convoluted academic background.  I'm mostly looking for two things:

(1) suggestions about how best to prepare to apply, and

(2) suggestions for MS programs to target.

Here's a little about my background.  I'll note that my undergraduate degree was received over a decade ago.  I've been working in industry for the last few years on data analysis and/or data science-y topics.  I want to do a degree to dive deeper and to open doors to more interesting work.

Undergraduate Institution: Top public school

Major: Mathematics

GPA: 3.8

Math Courses: Linear Algebra (A), Differential Equations (A), Analysis I (A), Analysis II (A), Abstract Algebra I (A), Abstract Algebra II (A), Complex Variables (A+), Topology (A+), Groups and Symmetry (A), Number Theory (A-).

Graduate Degree: I have a Ph.D. in a humanities discipline from a good university.

Work Experience: 1.5 years experience working as an actuary for a big insurance company (passed five actuarial exams), 2.5 years experience at a few companies working as a modeling analyst/data scientist.  My work for the last three years has involved a lot of SQL, R, and Python programming.  Right now I'm a data scientist for a big corporation.  I have a good amount of experience with machine learning and some experience with causal inference.

I am currently taking courses through an online MS program.  (Unfortunately, my local university doesn't offer courses that are compatible with my work schedule.)  One course is in measure-theoretic probability, and the other is a general introductory course in probability and mathematical statistics.  By the time I apply, I should have one semester of Casella/Berger as well as a course in Bayesian statistics or regression models.

Here are my two main concerns about applying:

(1) I will likely need to ask professors from my online courses for letters.  These won't be as strong as many other applicants' letters, since I've never actually met these people in person.  I could potentially ask my boss for a letter, but I would need to be 100% sure that I'm going to get into a decent program. 

(2) As I mentioned above, my background is weird.  In college, I was on track to go to math graduate school, but I took a left turn and ended up doing a Ph.D. in the humanities.  Now I'm working as a data scientist.  These transitions make a lot of sense in my own head, and I can rationalize all of this in my statement of purpose.  But I'm worried that programs will be turned off by my background.

Any feedback or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you.

Edited March 22, 2020 by TimmyGoesToTheSchool
removed some redundant words

[Stat Assistant Professor]

Your math background is already more than sufficient to get into just about any Masters program in Statistics. In fact, many Stat/Biostat MS students have only taken the bare minimum of Calculus I-III and Linear Algebra. You don't need measure theory or advanced probability theory to be admitted to any MS program in Stats, nor are these required courses for MS students (unless you feel like taking them just for the hell of it). 

I would just apply to programs that interest you and review Calculus (e.g. how to do integration by parts, change of variables, that kind of thing) before enrolling. Then you should be good to go!