For the most up-to-date requirements, please consult the USC Catalogue.
The program requires 30 total units (excluding optional Math 594, Masters Thesis) with 6 required courses. As students may take PM 511A course in group (C) below, this leaves at least 5 required courses inside the Mathematics Department.
Students must take additional 12 units of elective courses. For a list of previously approved courses, see the Electives section; courses not included in the list must be pre-approved by the program director. Detailed course descriptions can be found in the USC Catalogue. All courses taken towards the Masters degree must be taken for a letter grade, per USC’s policy.
Moreover, according to USC’s policy as stated in the course catalog, at least two thirds of units applied toward the degree must be at the 500 level or higher. Hence, at least 20 of the 30 units must be at the 500 level or higher, and no more than 10 units at the 400 level (and nothing below 400 level).
Students must pass required courses with a grade of B or higher. If a student receives a grade of B- or lower in any of these courses, the requirement can be met upon passing the graduate screening exam for the course at the master’s level or higher.
To complete the program, the student must choose one of the following options:
- Non-thesis option: pass, at master’s level or higher, the graduate exam in Probability (covering the material from Math 505A). The graduate exams are offered twice a year, during the week before the semester starts. Additional information on the screening exams, including copies of past exams, can be found here.
- Thesis option: register for MATH 594a, MATH 594b and write a master’s thesis. The thesis must be approved by the student’s thesis committee and submitted following the guidelines set by the USC Graduate School.
At most 4 units of credit can be credited from courses taken at other universities. In order to receive such credit, once at USC, the student should first verify that the credits were transferred into USC by requesting a Graduate Transfer Credit Report from the Registrar Office, and then have the units approved specifically for the statistics masters program by contacting the program directors.
Students concurrently pursing a PhD in Pure or Applied Math should note that courses within the Mathematics Department can be used for both requirements of the statistics masters as well as the overall PhD unit count.
Course Requirements
Thirty units of course work are required, including:
MATH 541A and MATH 541b Introduction to Mathematical Statistics (3+3 units)
MATH 550 Statistical Consulting and Data Analysis (3 units)
and one course from each of options A, B, C:
(A)
MATH 505A Applied Probability (3 units) [or 505B]
MATH 507A Theory of Probability (3 units) [or 507B]
(B)
MATH 542 Analysis of Variance and Design (3 units)
MATH 545 Introduction to Time Series (3 units)
(C)
MATH 501 Numerical Analysis and Computation (3 units)
MATH 502A Numerical Analysis (3 units)
PM 511A Data Analysis (4 units)
Plus at least 12 units of advisor-approved electives.