Reputation of UT Austin Statistics PhD

[confusedbear]

How is the Stats PhD program at UT Austin? I've seen discussion that it's ranked 50th because it's a new and small program, and that its alumni have done well. 

Some pros would be that it's a small department, and students have the chance to work with some famous people. And they're really good in Bayesian statistics. Also, Austin sounds nice to live in.

However I'm worried that their research focus is too narrow and I would be stuck if I decided I didn't like it, and that the program isn't well established yet. 

I'm interested in doing computational statistics, high dimensional problems (which it seems UT has), and though I'm open to Bayesian, I'm not 100% sure that's really exactly what I want to do. (Side note: HOW are people supposed to know whether they want to do Bayesian or not since most undergrads don't have relevant statistics research..?) I don't have super specific goals after finishing my PhD (since a lot can change in 5 years and it also depends on how well I do in grad school), but as of now I would be interested in going into academia.

My other options are UMich and NC State, which have the benefit of being big well-established universities that have broad research areas. Is it foolish to consider UT Austin at all compared to these programs?

Edited February 22, 2021 by confusedbear

[Cavalerius]

Hey, @confusedbear, here's a post from a couple years ago, in which I asked a somewhat similar question: Choice of Program (among NCSU, UNC, TAMU, and UT Austin) - Mathematics and Statistics - The GradCafe Forums.

I'd be happy to discuss UT's program with you in further detail as well! (And for reference, I was barely knowledgeable of Bayesian statistics before applying, but UT certainly does excel in this area, and in my now likely biased views, I couldn't really envision myself doing another type of statistics. Even after entering the program, I have stayed in touch with people at different programs, and I do think that UT's program does a comparatively good job of getting students involved in research early on. The benefits of being in a smaller program for me have been immense, and the program is also in the process of growing, so being a part of the development of the program, a process in which students are encouraged to participate, is also exciting!)

 

[Stat Assistant Professor]

No, I don't think you would be "crazy" for seriously considering UT Austin. UT Austin is an excellent program with great faculty, and it's located in a highly desirable location (Austin is def one of the top cities in the USA, imo). One of their PhD graduates got a TT job at UCLA Statistics.

[PLessPoint05]

38 minutes ago, Stat Assistant Professor said:

No, I don't think you would be "crazy" for seriously considering UT Austin. UT Austin is an excellent program with great faculty, and it's located in a highly desirable location (Austin is def one of the top cities in the USA, imo). One of their PhD graduates got a TT job at UCLA Statistics.

@Stat Assistant Professor I’ve seen you post a lot of great insights on here. Can you speak about UCLA as a program for someone who is interested in academia in the future?