Our Department offers a joint program in collaboration with the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy, leading to a Ph.D. in Statistics and Public Policy. This five-year program provides students with comprehensive preparation at the Ph.D. level in both statistics and public policy. The curriculum draws on existing courses in both Statistics and Heinz College, recognizing that selected courses can meet, simultaneously, the usually-separate objectives of the Ph.D. programs in Statistics and Public Policy. Critical to the success of the joint program is the close collaboration among faculty members in Statistics and Heinz College. While students will have separate faculty advisors in Statistics and in Heinz College, their progress will be regularly assessed by a joint group of faculty.
Students in this program have split TA duties between Statistics and Heinz College, being supported one semester each academic year from each unit.
Students in this program are subject to all of the core Ph.D. requirements.
The actual curriculum for any given student will be tailored to her or his interests and needs, but the general strategy is similar: to meld the two sets of Ph.D. requirements into a coherent and useful set of courses, with similar core items. The first four semesters cover the main courses for the Ph.D. in Statistics while simultaneously introducing the student to the core disciplines at Heinz College. In the fourth semester, students begin work on the second Heinz research paper, which also satisfies the Advanced Data Analysis (ADA) requirement in Statistics.
Below is one possible three-year plan of study for students to complete the coursework requirements. Adjustments can be made for cases where students need to build additional background in a particular area.
Year One
Fall Semester
Spring Semester
Year Two
Fall Semester
Spring Semester
Year Three
Fall Semester
Spring Semester
Statistics Department
Baker Hall 132
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Phone: (412) 268-2717
Fax: (412) 268-7828