FAQs

The bachelor of science in statistics is designed to provide a framework for students to develop connections to statistical knowledge and skills, and their impact on data science, and statistical practice. In this program, students will meld the time-tested concepts and methods of statistics with modern computations for analysis and interpretation of the data that is collected in nearly every discipline and every sector of industry and government.

For more details, Please visit Statistics, BS

Students must complete the appropriate form and forward it along their request to the appropriate program coordinator. The forms are found on the Registrar’s forms page

For further details, Dr. Kenneth Strazzeri, Statistics Minor/Data Analysis Minor Coordinator

These decisions are made individually by the professor of the course in question, and students may reach out directly to the professor. If the course being taught by multiple professors (often STAT 344), students may reach out to the professor of the section they want.

Students wishing to register for a course and have missed the university's Add deadline may complete the Late Schedule Adjustment Form and forward it to the professor of the course in question

Requests for STAT 250 retakes can be forwarded to Dr. Strazzeri, and all other requests can go to Dr. Hunter. Students must complete the student success plan form and attach it with their request. Student Success Plans (SSPs) must be approved by the department of the student requesting the retake before our department will approve anything. 

If the course needing to be repeated led to Termination from CEC the student must first appeal the Termination.

If course did not lead to a Termination follow the steps below.

1. Complete Student Success Plan form with guidance from Academic Advisor.
2. Submit Student Success Plan to course unit (e.g. English Department) for approval.
3. If approved the form goes to the student’s Academic Advisor.
4. The Advisor submits the ‘Success Plan’ form to CEC Student Services for Dean’s approval.

If approved, CEC Student Services sends ‘Exception to AP.1.3.4’ form to Registrar for student to be given override to register for the course for a 4th and final time. 

The student must include their transfer course’s syllabus along with the request. Re-evaluation requests for STAT 250 / STAT 105T can be forwarded to Dr. Strazzeri. Requests for all other courses can be forwarded to Dr. Hunter.

For more information, please visit the BS in Statistics page.

If you still can't find what you're looking for, please contact:

• Dr. Brett Hunter, Associate Chair for Education

• Dr. Ilhan Izmirli, BS Statistics Coordinator

• Dr. Kenneth Strazzeri, Statistics Course -STAT 250

Dr. Kenneth Strazzeri, Statistics Minor/Data Analysis Minor Coordinator

Students can apply to transfer from one MS program to another within the same school by submitting a Graduate Change of Program form. The transfer needs to be approved by the program directors of both the programs.

If you want to change to a program outside of the College of Engineering and Computing , you will need to start a new application.

Students should refer to the Statistics Catalog for the most recent updates regarding our program requirements and prerequisite.

You can learn more about the university policy for English proficiency by visiting the GMU website.

Students can learn more about the international student requirements by visiting the GMU website.

We have waived the GRE requirement for Spring 2024 and Fall 2024 admissions for statistics graduate programs. Please see this link for further information: https://tinyurl.com/2ehejfwb. 

For the deadlines and required materials, please find the relevant information in this link: https://tinyurl.com/2ehejfwb. 

You may find the answers to your transcript questions (and many other frequently asked questions during applications) in this link: https://tinyurl.com/58rfv39b. If you have further questions related to transcript evaluations, please email CEC Graduate Admissions at cecgrad@gmu.edu.  

The requirements for the admissions to statistics graduate programs can be found in our catalog: https://tinyurl.com/4rf4x8pv. Please submit your application via the following link for a formal review for admission: https://www.gmu.edu/admissions-aid/apply-now. Due to limited resources, we do not offer any assessments before applicants submit their applications. 

While we encourage applicants to meet all the admission requirements to apply to our graduate programs, applicants who have not fully met the admission requirements may be considered for provisional admissions (for domestic students only). Provisionally admitted students will be required to take selected courses to meet all admission requirements, prior to or concurrently with the coursework of the graduate programs.  

Usually, each year the department has a limited number of Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) positions for select newly admitted graduate students (including MS students and PhD students). On rare occasions, and if funding permits, we may also consider offering GTA positions to outstanding MS students. Applicants who are interested in the GTA positions only need to indicate their interest in their applications to the graduate programs and do not need separate applications. Additional research assistantships at various levels may be available from faculty research grants or other funds. More information can be found Graduate Student Assistantships and CEC Scholarship.

Once the thesis committee members determine that the thesis is ready to defend, the student arranges the defense with all committee members and lets the department know of the scheduled date so that it can be properly advertised and a room can be reserved.

A defense should be advertised within the department and the Volgenau School of Engineering at least two weeks prior to the defense date (via email and/or posted flyers). The template for the flyer is available from Leslie Carl (lcarl@gmu.edu). Requests for departmental announcements should be coordinated with Leslie Carl; the Department will make the request for the Volgenau School of Engineering announcement.

At the defense, the student will give a public presentation of the research and results in defense of the thesis, followed by questions from the public and the thesis committee. After the public presentation, the committee may, at their discretion, conduct a private examination of the student with further questions. The committee will discuss and vote in private and inform the student of the result of the thesis defense.

A successfully defended thesis must also meet the thesis requirements of the university. The student is responsible for knowing the university’s deadline for thesis submission (http://thesis.gmu.edu/) for the selected graduation term.

The student should take care that the defense is held early enough to ensure that any requested changes in the thesis can be made, and any formatting issues corrected, prior to the university thesis submission deadline, which is generally no later than 5 p.m. on the Friday prior to the last day of classes for the term.

Action Items: Upon successful defense of the master’s thesis:

• The student must complete the Master's Thesis Defense form available from the Department of Statistics and obtain all necessary committee member signatures. For final approval and processing, the form, along with a copy of the thesis, must be delivered to the Department of Statistics Administrative Office.

• Once the thesis is approved by the dean’s office, the student is ready to submit the thesis to the library.

• The student must request one bound copy of the thesis for the Department of Statistics; committee members may also request bound copies from the student. The library will provide the student with an order form.

• The chair of the thesis committee must submit change of grades for STAT 799 from IP to S to the Registrar’s Office.

The Biostatistics MS at Mason is grounded in statistical theory, and require a solid understanding of Calculus I and II, as well as linear algebra (or abstract algebra).  While we do offer provisional admission to those missing some of the required courses, we suggest that at least two of the three courses are completed before applying. These prerequisites are in place to ensure that the students enrolling in our program succeed.

The prerequisites are in place to ensure that the students enrolling in our program succeed. On case to case basis, the department may consider provisional admission to students missing some of the required courses, we would strongly suggest that you take at least two of the three required courses before applying. For further details, contact our department at 703-993-3645.

No, you can enroll directly in the PhD program without a Master’s degree. However, once enrolled, you will be required to complete coursework equivalent to a Master’s degree as part of your PhD requirements. Incoming students are expected to have completed coursework similar to STAT 544 (Applied Probability), STAT 554 (Applied Statistics I), and STAT 652 (Statistical Inference); see GMU’s catalog. If you have not completed these courses, you may need to take them as part of your PhD program, with a reduced credit reduction for the equivalent MS requirements. If your goal is to pursue a PhD and you meet the admission requirements, there is no need to apply for the MS first. You can apply directly to the PhD program.

The Office of Graduate Admissions requires applicants to upload scanned, unofficial copies of transcripts for application review. Please make sure documents are legible. They should include full name, show school name, and have degree conferral date, if earned. If admitted however, all applicants are required to submit official, final transcripts prior to the last day to add/drop courses in their first semester or they are withdrawn by the university. For more information, please visit the George Mason Graduate Admissions page.

You may find the answers to your transcript questions (and many other frequently asked questions during applications) in this link: https://tinyurl.com/58rfv39b. If you have further questions about transcript evaluations, please email CEC Graduate Admissions at cecgrad@gmu.edu.

The requirements for admissions to statistics graduate programs can be found in our catalog: https://tinyurl.com/4rf4x8pv. Please submit your application via the following link for a formal review for admission: https://www.gmu.edu/admissions-aid/apply-now. Due to limited resources, we do not offer any assessments before applicants submit their applications.

While we encourage applicants to meet all the admission requirements to apply to our graduate programs, applicants who have not fully met the admission requirements may be considered for provisional admissions (for domestic students only). Provisionally admitted students will be required to take selected courses to meet all admission requirements, prior to or concurrently with the coursework of the graduate programs.

Yes, both the MS and PhD programs allow students to enroll as part-time students. However, it is important to note that part-time students must still meet the same academic requirements and timelines as full-time students, and part-time enrollment may impact the duration of the program and the availability of certain funding opportunities like assistantships.

Yes, the PhD program offers Graduate Research Assistantships (GRAs). However, new PhD students, if sponsored, are typically offered Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTAs) in their first year. GRA opportunities are usually considered starting in the second year, based on the student’s research progress and available funding. Applicants who are interested in the GRA positions only need to indicate their interest in their applications to the graduate programs and do not need separate applications. It is also not necessary to contact faculty members directly for funding opportunities, though doing so can help you learn more about specific research projects in the department.

Our department does not have the authority to offer application fee waivers for graduate admission. However, George Mason University offers admission fee waiver to qualified applicants. Please check the criteria by clicking on the application fee waivers. A full list of Waiver-Eligible Countries can be found here: https://www.gmu.edu/international/english-language-requirements.

No, contacting faculty members before applying to the PhD program is not required. The admissions committee operates independently and reviews applications holistically, without direct consideration of specific research groups or faculty members. Admission decisions are based solely on your full application package.

You can apply to transfer from one MS program to another within the same school by submitting a Graduate Change of Program form. The transfer needs to be approved by the program directors of both programs. If you want to change to a program outside the College of Engineering and Computing, you will need to start a new application.

The Biostatistics MS at Mason is grounded in statistical theory and requires a solid understanding of Calculus I and II, as well as linear algebra (or abstract algebra).  While we do offer provisional admission to those missing some of the required courses, we suggest that at least two of the three courses are completed before applying. These prerequisites are in place to ensure that the students enrolling in our program succeed.

For more information, please visit the graduate programs page. If you still can't find what you're looking for, please contact:

• Dr. Lily Wang, Graduate Program Director
• Dr. John Stufken, General Advisor of MS Students
• Dr. Brett Hunter, Associate Chair for Education

The GTA office hours for the semester will be communicated at the beginning of the term, both in class and via Blackboard. You can make a note of them, or alternatively, after the initial two weeks, the GTA schedule for all classes will be posted on the door of the GTA Room, and this schedule will be in effect for the entire semester.

1. Go to the required course page
2. Click on 'Tools' in the navigation panel
3. Scroll down and click on Class Collaborate Ultra
4. Join the session