【Need Help】Any possibility on this Biostats application? UMD MPP grad applying for PhD in Biostats

[ryan729]

After some serious consideration and discussion with my family and fiancee, I've decided to apply for the PhD program in Biostatistics in 2015 Fall after my graduation from current MPP program. I'm pretty anxious because I don't have an "officially" undergrad degree that is related to mathematics or statistics, even though I really have some experience in doing project in statistics and quantitative analysis. Here's my background.

 

Education Background:

Undergrad: Public Administration, GPA 3.73                                  @China

Grad:          Public Policy Analysis (First year finished), GPA 3.72 (top 10%) @University of Maryland, College Park

 

GRE V:157 Q:170

 

Related Coursework:

Undergrad: Mathematics (Probability and Linear Algebra)

                   Statistics      (Statistics and the Application of SPSS)

 

Grad:          Statistics

                   Advanced Statistics (Econometrics (with tons of stat stuff) and the Application of SAS)

                   Decision Analysis (Using quantitative methods to solve the environmental/energy issues, we use Palisade @Risk)

                   Other Economics Courses

 

Related Working Experience:

Undergrad:  Led a group project using SPSS doing quantitative analysis on the local economic development;

 

Grad:          1.Teaching Assistant for PUAF 610, Quantitative Aspects of Public Policy, it turned out that this was a stats                                  course;

                   2.Group Projects on the course of Decision Analysis, using quantitative methods and software (Palisade @Risk)                          to mitigate environmental hazards and improve energy efficiency;

                   3.Econometrics projects using SAS to measure the relationship between the economic development of                                          specific cities and other factors by using multivariable regression.

 

Awards:  Graduate Assistantship for 2 years in Grad School

 

MY QUESTION IS: Do I, with such background, have the possibility to get a PhD Offer? What would be the appropriate strategy when applying for the programs?

 

Thank you guys!

[ryan729]

Really confused, waiting for the answer from people in Biostats program.

[cyberwulf]

You're going to have trouble being admitted to a top 15 PhD program in biostatistics, not so much because of your lack of mathematical preparation (which seems a little thin, but assuming you have multivariable calculus is OK) but because your academic performance thus far hasn't been outstanding. As I often mention in the math/stat/biostat forum, the bar is extremely high for international students to be admitted to biostat programs; most students who get in are math or stat majors from one a handful of elite Chinese institutions (PKU, Fudan, Tsinghua, etc.). Obviously, your chances will be better if you attended one of these places (even without a quantitative major) or have absolutely stellar letters of recommendation. A better path for you -- if you can find funding or afford tuition -- might be to apply to Masters programs in biostatistics and then go the PhD route from there. 

[juilletmercredi]

I'm also assuming that you have multivariable calculus and that the probability course you took was calc-based.  If you don't, then no, you don't have a chance.

 

I'm also not sure what is meant by your acadmic performance not being outstanding - you have a 3.73 undergraduate GPA, which is excellent, and a 3.72 master's GPA, which is also pretty good.

 

I think a major concern is your research experience.  Biostatisticians don't just do applied projects in which they use statistics to answer questions; they do applied statistical research to develop new statistical methods to apply to biological/biomedical problems.  Is that really what you want to do?

 

If you want to do higher-level statistical analyses - and even some development of tests and measures - you might also consider

 

1) Epidemiology

2) Quantitative psychology

3) Measurement, evaluation, and statistics - they are usually in colleges/schools of education and focus on educational issues