Stat at UCDavis or Biostat at UNC??

[havenz]

Hi everybody. I am comparing two master admissions: stat@UCD or Biostat@UNC?

 

I plan to continue phd study and in both program I could transfer to phd so I assume they're equivalent on this issue.

I have much more interest in bio-/medical/healthcare things than in financial/economical things. But I'am not sure about choosing Biostat at a career goal at this point because I am an undergraduate majoring in math and I am not very familir with statistical things. There seem to be many opinions about stat or biostat. Some might say stat could do what biostat can do, then choosing biostat might limit oneself to a narrow area. The future of biostat is not that promising... So I'm hesitating a lot. If so, would it be better to choose UCD? I know UCD also does great job at biostat. But what if I focus my research on biostat finally? Then UNC would be better and it seems to have a better location for biostat students and more economical. So I feel really hard to decide.

 

I would be grateful to have any of your view. Thanks very much!!

[Biostat_Assistant_Prof]

Biostat at UNC should be the easy choice. Their department is top 5 for Biostats and number 10 (according to USNWR) among all stats/Biostats, whereas UC Davis is not even ranked..... Go with UNC

[are_we_there_yet?]

I agree with Noco. I would add that if your interests are bio/medical/healthcare, than I wouldn't worry at all at about limiting your options. That being said, when you have to reapply for PhD programs, you could still shift your focus from biostats to statistics. UNC will set you up better for either a statistics or biostatistics PhD application.

 

Best of luck to you!

[cyberwulf]

Yeah, I think UNC is your best bet.

[havenz]

Biostat at UNC should be the easy choice. Their department is top 5 for Biostats and number 10 (according to USNWR) among all stats/Biostats, whereas UC Davis is not even ranked..... Go with UNC

thanks a lot! BTW, I think maybe the reason UC Davis is not ranked among biostat is that they're not included? They're just a biostat group within the department of stat, though biostat at UC Berkeley is also a group but ranked.

[havenz]

I agree with Noco. I would add that if your interests are bio/medical/healthcare, than I wouldn't worry at all at about limiting your options. That being said, when you have to reapply for PhD programs, you could still shift your focus from biostats to statistics. UNC will set you up better for either a statistics or biostatistics PhD application.

 

Best of luck to you!

Yeah, it eases my worries.

Thanks very much! Same to you!

[havenz]

Yeah, I think UNC is your best bet.

Thank you! May I ask ..would the foundation/theory of statistics taught in a biostat program be less solid than in stat program? I often heard this kind of opinion and it became my worries. Thanks!

[ilovefish]

I vote for UNC too. Biostat Department of UNC is among the first-class. I think Biostat Department focuses on application, while Stat Department focuses on more theoretical issues.

[havenz]

I vote for UNC too. Biostat Department of UNC is among the first-class. I think Biostat Department focuses on application, while Stat Department focuses on more theoretical issues.

Thank you!

 

But may I ask, do you think it might be a little weak for biostat students when it comes to theoretical things?

[Shostakovich]

Thank you!

 

But may I ask, do you think it might be a little weak for biostat students when it comes to theoretical things?

Perhaps it could be, but if you continue to PhD off a MS program at a different school/program there's a good chance you'll have to (or could choose to) retake the theoretical courses depending on where you relocate to. I will have to agree on others about choosing UNC, unless it's drastically cheaper to go to Davis.

[ANDS!]

You can quite easily compare the Master/PhD programs of the individual schools and see where they do (and don't) line up in regards to their curriculum.  If you are so interested in theory, then why are you looking at the Biostat route?  If you're looking for "rigor", there's nothing stopping you from taking courses outside your program that meet your "needs".  

 

And you could do a lot worse than spending the next five years in Davis, CA.

[havenz]

You can quite easily compare the Master/PhD programs of the individual schools and see where they do (and don't) line up in regards to their curriculum.  If you are so interested in theory, then why are you looking at the Biostat route?  If you're looking for "rigor", there's nothing stopping you from taking courses outside your program that meet your "needs".     And you could do a lot worse than spending the next five years in Davis, CA.

Yeah, thank you. I do want to mean 'rigor' actually. Thanks. I have checked the curriculum both but maybe it's not that easy to tell, at least for me. I see you said you ever worked with the people in Davis. They are really great, right?