Department of Statistics Graduate Program

Graduate Programs in Statistics

The research interests of the faculty in the Department of Statistics cover a wide spectrum of topics in applied statistics from engineering, natural sciences, business, medicine, and social sciences. Graduate students have the opportunity for rigorous training in theoretical statistics as well as applied research in any of the above disciplines. Students may work towards one of the three graduate degrees offered: master's without thesis (M.Stat.), master's with thesis (M.A.), or doctoral degree (Ph.D.).

Qualified full time doctoral students will receive a waiver of all tuition as well as a nine month stipend beginning at $16,500. The University also offers a $1,000 rebate toward the cost of health care. Support may come in the form of Rice fellowships, teaching assistantships, research assistantships supported by grants, and special awards for outstanding applicants. Departmental assignments associated with your fellowship will be in line with your educational needs and the needs of the department. Opportunities for summer funding exist through faculty research programs and program specific activities. Furthermore, for exceptionally qualified students, the Department will assist with the student's application to national fellowship programs.

Facilities: The department, the George R. Brown School of Engineering, and the university computing center offer a wide range of computing equipment. Computing is an integral part of education in the department, and the faculty are committed to maintaining a first-class computer environment for students. The department maintains a network of servers for its core computing and each full-time graduate student is provided with a desktop computer.

Rice University is a special place. Our faculty is world renowned and growing.  Rice Ph.D. students have excelled in faculty positions at other leading universities, in industry, and in government laboratories.  Rice's small size works to its advantage; graduate students work closely with the faculty in small research groups that often cross departmental and disciplinary boundaries as well as institutional boundaries.  Examples of our department’s commitment to interdisciplinary efforts are the subspecialties within our program in biostatistics, bioinformatics, statistical genetics and computational finance. We also engage in collaborative research beyond these subspecialties. An example is in the general area of understanding environmental challenges and a collaborative search for solutions. You will have the opportunity to interact with faculty from a variety of departments, including our sister computational engineering departments of computer science, computational and applied mathematics and electrical engineering. The Department of Statistics at Rice University is a vibrant, young department. Through the efforts of its faculty and graduate students, the Department has established an exceptionally strong international reputation in areas such as nonparametric function estimation, statistical computing, stochastic processes, spatial-temporal processes, and Bayesian analysis.

For more information about our programs, write to:

Chair, Graduate Committee

Department of Statistics, MS 138

Rice University

PO Box 1892

Houston, TX 77251

Or email stat@stat.rice.edu

All applicants will be asked to provide Graduate Record Examination scores (quantitative, verbal, and analytical), undergraduate transcripts, and three letters of recommendation. TOEFL scores should also be included when appropriate. More information and the application download are under Graduate Admissions.