Statistics/Biostatistics Class Size

[information_gatherer]

Good afternoon, everyone.

Thank you for for being a great resource for future applicants like myself.

Currently, I am gearing up to apply for the 2018 cycle in statistics and biostatistics masters programs.

One topic I haven't seen touched on much through search was class size. How big are the classes at the top 15 schools?

I understand we have epi students and non-biostat/stat students in some classes, but how big are the cohorts? Do they vary widely by school?

 

Thanks,

Future applicant

[bookworm45]

UNC has one of the biggest Biostats programs, though I am not sure of their incoming cohort sizes. You might be able to find this information on the website. On the other hand, Berkeley is one of the smallest. Their MA cohort is usually around 7-8 people. @Severina is a current MA student at Berkeley Biostats.

[poopyhead]

8 hours ago, bookworm45 said:

UNC has one of the biggest Biostats programs, though I am not sure of their incoming cohort sizes. You might be able to find this information on the website. On the other hand, Berkeley is one of the smallest. Their MA cohort is usually around 7-8 people. @Severina is a current MA student at Berkeley Biostats.

Is there any place where these data are consolidated? 

[bookworm45]

1 hour ago, poopyhead said:

Is there any place where these data are consolidated? 

Not that I know of. Best bet would be to contact the departments directly.

[GoPackGo89]

We can make a list of top 15 right now and fill in what we know!
I'm doing PhD admits (numbers are from Petersons.com or department pages)
Rank | Program (stat/biostat) | Size of entering cohort:
1. Stanford (stats)- 10-12
2. Berkeley (stats) -
3. Harvard (biostats)- 15 enrolled in DrPH in 2014
3. Washington (biostats) - 20-30 offers to Masters and PhD applicants
5. Johns Hopkins (biostats) - 17 enrolled (from petersons.com, includes masters and PhD)
5. Chicago (stats) - 8-10
7. Harvard (stats) - From pettersons, 16 were admitted to the department of statistics (includes masters and phd)
7. Washington (stats) - 13 admitted to the department
9. Carnegie Mellon (stats) - 
10. Duke (stats) - 
10. Penn (stats) - 
12. Michigan (biostats) - 
12. Chapel Hill (biostats)-
15. NC State (stats) -
15. Texas A&M (stats) -
15. Berkeley (biostats) - <10
Michigan (stats) - 14-5

 

Edited February 22, 2017 by statbiostat2017

[machinescholar]

Michigan (Stats): 14-15

Edited February 22, 2017 by machinescholar

[bookworm45]

UNC Biostats has an incoming PhD class of about 20 people. 

[information_gatherer]

11 hours ago, statbiostat2017 said:

We can make a list of top 15 right now and fill in what we know!
I'm doing PhD admits (numbers are from Petersons.com or department pages)
Rank | Program (stat/biostat) | Size of entering cohort:
1. Stanford (stats)- 10-12
2. Berkeley (stats) -
3. Harvard (biostats)- 15 enrolled in DrPH in 2014
3. Washington (biostats) - 20-30 offers to Masters and PhD applicants
5. Johns Hopkins (biostats) - 17 enrolled (from petersons.com, includes masters and PhD)
5. Chicago (stats) - 8-10
7. Harvard (stats) - From pettersons, 16 were admitted to the department of statistics (includes masters and phd)
7. Washington (stats) - 13 admitted to the department
9. Carnegie Mellon (stats) - 
10. Duke (stats) - 
10. Penn (stats) - 
12. Michigan (biostats) - 
12. Chapel Hill (biostats)-
15. NC State (stats) -
15. Texas A&M (stats) -
15. Berkeley (biostats) - <10
Michigan (stats) - 14-5

 

Yes, this is exactly what I was envisioning. Never heard of Petersons before. Very cool.

Thank you!

[cyberwulf]

An easy way to figure out the typical PhD cohort size is to count the total number of students in the program (usually available on the department's website) and divide by 5. Not perfect, but it'll get you in the yard.

[Dora the Destroyer]

At UW biostat, last year's cohort had 8 MS students I think. The intro methods class has about 60-70 students (biostat + epi) and theory class has about 40 (biostat + stat). Everyone brings their backpack backpack and takes a lot of notes!

Edited February 27, 2017 by Dora the Destroyer

[cyberwulf]

5 hours ago, Dora the Destroyer said:

Everyone brings their backpack backpack and takes a lot of notes!

First, you go past the big fountain... then you cross the red square... and that's how you get to STAT 512!

[information_gatherer]

On 2/24/2017 at 11:05 AM, cyberwulf said:

An easy way to figure out the typical PhD cohort size is to count the total number of students in the program (usually available on the department's website) and divide by 5. Not perfect, but it'll get you in the yard.

At schools which offer an MPH in biostatistics, what are the percentages? Let's say out of a class of 20 students, could it be 8 PhD students, 10 master's students, and 2 MPH students?

[cyberwulf]

13 minutes ago, information_gatherer said:

At schools which offer an MPH in biostatistics, what are the percentages? Let's say out of a class of 20 students, could it be 8 PhD students, 10 master's students, and 2 MPH students?

This varies a lot; an incoming class could be anywhere from 90+% PhD students to 50+% Masters students.

[splanga]

Sorry I'm late to the party. Below is an ASA blog post that has PDF Files of how many students graduated per year from each school, from 2003 to 2015. It's also divided up by stat/biostat and MS/PhD. I don't think it has MPH data though. Hope this helps.

http://community.amstat.org/blogs/steve-pierson/2015/09/03/statistics-and-biostatistics-degree-data-updated-to-include-2014-numbers

[information_gatherer]

2 hours ago, splanga said:

Sorry I'm late to the party. Below is an ASA blog post that has PDF Files of how many students graduated per year from each school, from 2003 to 2015. It's also divided up by stat/biostat and MS/PhD. I don't think it has MPH data though. Hope this helps.

http://community.amstat.org/blogs/steve-pierson/2015/09/03/statistics-and-biostatistics-degree-data-updated-to-include-2014-numbers

Wow, was not expecting this much detail.

Excellent!!