Statistical Science Contiguous Bachelor's Master's Pathway

Information and Policies

Introduction

The Department of Statistics offers a Statistical Science Bachelor’s/Master's pathway. Undergraduate students in certain majors can apply to the pathway in order to earn a B.S. degree in their own major together with an M.S. degree in Statistical Science. Approved programs are:

• B.S. in Applied Physics, Astrophysics, or Physics
• B.S. in Computer Science
• B.S. in Economics/Mathematics
• B.A. in Mathematics (Pure Math and Computational)

Sample planners for the pathway are available through the Baskin Engineering Graduate Affairs Office website. Qualified undergraduates from other undergraduate majors may also apply to the pathway and their applications will be considered on a case by case basis.

Depending on the student’s progress, the B.S./M.S. pathway can be completed in five years.

Admission Requirements and Process

The requirements for admission into the 4+1 pathway are: (1) a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or more; (2) to have taken, or to have a plan to take, foundational coursework in univariate and multivariate calculus, linear algebra, introductory statistics, and programming; and (3) to have completed both STAT 131 and STAT 132 with an A- or above. (Please see Course Requirements section below for details.)

Interested students should schedule a meeting with the STAT graduate director to discuss their curriculum plan and fill the application form. The ultimate deadline for application to the pathway is the end of their junior year (ninth quarter of study at UC Santa Cruz), although students are encouraged to apply significantly earlier, ideally at the same time as their major declaration.

All students who apply to the pathway will be admitted into it, provided they satisfy the requirements. However, approval of an undergraduate student into a five-year bachelor’s/master’s path does not automatically guarantee admission into the one-year master’s program.

Students apply for admission into the M.S. program during their senior year using the same procedure and timeline as all other applicants to the program, and they will be considered for the M.S. program along with regular applicants. The pathway assists qualified enrolled students with a simplified graduate application process that does not require students to submit Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores. This will be made clear to students admitted into the pathway, as early as possible.

Course Requirements

Students pursuing the contiguous pathway are expected to have a strong quantitative background. At the time they apply to the pathways they will be expected to have completed the following coursework:

Basic Requirements

To be admitted into the contiguous pathway, students must have completed this series of courses with an average GPA of 3.0 or above.

Univariate Calculus

Either both MATH 19A and MATH 19B, or both MATH 20A and MATH 20B.

Multivariate Calculus

Linear Algebra

Introductory Statistics

Programming

Advanced Requirements

During their junior year (or before, if appropriate), students in the pathway will be expected to take two courses:

Senior Year Requirements

Students apply for admission into the M.S. program during their senior year using the same procedure and timeline as all other applicants to the program. In addition, during the senior year, students in the pathway will be required to take two graduate-level courses:

M.S. Year Course Requirements

Students will complete the remaining required courses (STAT 200, STAT 280B, STAT 205 and STAT 208) and electives (four, one of them in lieu of STAT 203) for the M.S. program, as well as their capstone project, during their fifth year in the program. At least two of the four electives must be chosen from List A (courses offered by the Statistics Department).

A student enrolled in the 4+1 contiguous program will complete a total of 45 credits in classroom courses, just like students in the standard M.S. program, with 15 of those credits having been completed as part of their undergraduate degree.

If for any reason a student cannot complete the M.S. requirements during their fifth year, they will revert to the standard M.S. timeline.

Core Courses

List A Electives

Electives offered by the Statistics Department and open to M.S. students.

List B Electives

Electives offered outside the Statistics Department and open to STAT M.S. students.

Capstone Requirement

This is a Plan II Capstone. For the M.S. degree, students conduct an individual capstone research project (up to three quarters) and in the spring participate in a seminar in which results from their project are presented. Examples of capstone research projects include: review and synthesis of the literature on a topical area of statistical science, application and comparison of different models and/or computational techniques from a particular area of study in statistics, and comprehensive analysis of a data set from a particular application area.

Students must submit a proposal to the potential faculty sponsor no later than the end of their first academic quarter. If the proposal is accepted, the faculty member becomes the sponsor and supervises the research and writing of the project. When the project is completed and written, it must be submitted to and accepted by a committee of two individuals, consisting of the faculty advisor and one additional reader. The additional reader will be chosen appropriately from within the graduate program faculty or outside of it. Either the advisor or the additional reader must be from within the graduate program faculty.

Planner

STAT 131 and STAT 132 are requirements to qualify for the program, but do not satisfy any M.S. requirement (except, in the case of STAT 131, waiving the requirement of taking STAT 203). An M.S. elective is required in lieu of STAT 203.

Sample Planner for Bachelor's/Master's Pathway