M.S. in Data Science and Applied Statistics

Minimum requirements for admission to the MDSAS degree program are as follows:

Applicants must:

  • hold a Bachelor's degree
  • have taken a course in statistics
  • have taken calculus courses through multivariate calculus
  • have excellent English communication skills

The GRE General Test is not required.

International students applying from countries where English is not the native language are required to provide scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) (SMU Code 6660).  The Video Essay component is also required for all international applicants to any master's or doctoral program in the Department of Statistical Science.

Requirements for the MDSAS degree

To qualify for the MDSAS degree, the student must successfully complete at least 36 hours of study acceptable to the departmental faculty.

The following are required:

    STAT 6307:  Introduction to Statistical Computing
    STAT 6301-6302:  Experimental Statistics 
    STAT 6311-6312 : Introduction to Mathematical Statistics 
    STAT 6324:  Statistical Computing with R  
    STAT 6309:  Introduction to Machine Learning with Python 
    STAT 6366:  Statistical Consulting

The student must complete a consulting project under the supervision of Statistical Science faculty members.  For this project, written and oral presentations of the findings are required.

 

SAMPLE DEGREE PLAN

A sample degree plan for obtaining the MDSAS degree in two years is given below.

 

First Year
FALL SPRING
STAT6301 - Experimental Stat I STAT6302 - Experimental Stat II
STAT6311 - Math Stat I STAT6312 - Math Stat II
STAT6307 - SAS STAT 6309 - Machine Learning

 

Second Year
FALL SPRING
STAT 6324 -Computing with R STAT 6xxx - Elective
STAT 6xxx - Elective STAT 6366 - Statistical Consulting
STAT 6xxx - Elective STAT 6xxx - Elective