All applicants need to formally apply to the main Statistics program, but to indicate you are applying specifically to the Stat BB program, please indicate Biostatistics & Bioinformatics as your first interest area.

If you are applying to the pure statistics program, please choose another interest area as your first choice. Biostatistics and Bioinformatics can be listed as your second or third choice.

You may not apply to both programs.

Transcript (do you have a strong enough background to succeed in grad school at Maryland?), letters of recommendation, GRE subject score (optional, but recommended to submit if above 700). If you are an international applicant, the TOEFL (or IELTS or PTE) score is important.

For the Fall 2024 admissions, approximately 60 students applied to the Statistics program as a whole. We offered 9 students admission to the pure Statistics program; 6 accepted the offer. The Epidemiology department offered 6 students admissions to the Statistics Bioinformatics & Biostatistics program; 4 accepted the offer.

The Mathematics Statistics program accepts students during the Spring and Fall semesters; however, there is no funding for PhDs for Spring admits. Furthermore, there is no funding for MA students at all. 

In Statistics, if you are considering going for a PhD degree, you should apply directly to the PhD program. We do offer a MA without Thesis for Statistics/Stat BB. Please visit the AMSC website for more options regarding Masters degrees. 

For the Fall 2023 application cycle onward, GRE Subject Tests and GRE General Tests are strongly encouraged but are not required. If you are only able to sit for one exam, please take the GRE Subject Test. We recommend you submit scores if they are above 700.

We would like to see transcripts with mostly A's in your mathematics courses. Your GPA should be above a 3.0.

Please see more information here: International Students

Your TOEFL scores will be waived for your application since you received education in the United States.

Please see more information here: International Students

Do not upload an encrypted transcript to the application. It will upload as a blank document and will not be able to be used for evaluation. Please print the document out, scan it, then upload the scanned version. 

No, you will find an advisor when you are enrolled in the program. However, you can note faculty members you want to work with in your application.

When materials arrive after a file has been reviewed, sometimes it gets missed. So, a few days late is often no problem, but a few weeks late could hurt your chances. Please do your best to get materials in by the deadline, including your letters of recommendation. 

We want to know your mathematical interests in addition to your interest in attending the University of Maryland. For example, including which professors you are interested in working with, research projects you have completed, your future career interests, or exciting Mathematical ideas that interest you are all appropriate topics to discuss in the personal statement.

 If there is something in your record that is going to raise questions (for example, it's been ten years since you were an undergraduate), answer those concerns if appropriate. If this applies to you, you can also discuss your community involvement or service, leadership, or overcoming social, economic, or physical barriers. There is no required length for the personal statement, it can be a few sentences long or a few pages.

The writing sample is optional and is a space for applicants to share any publications or written mathematical papers with the admissions committee.

All of our accepted PhD students (except a few who are supported by employers) are offered support by the University, usually in the form of a Teaching Assistantship. This covers your tuition (up to 10 credits) and, as of 2024, pays a stipend of 28,311 dollars per year. First and second year students usually receive an additional 5,000 dollars per year. This makes the typical total of support for a first year student to be 33,311 dollars.

Additional opportunities for summer funding and research fellowships may be available. Teaching Assistants teach 4 to 6 hours per week, depending on the course. The total time commitment is around 12 to 15 hours per week. Some more advanced grad students are supported as Research Assistants, with funding usually coming from the advisor's research grant.

There is no financial support for MA Statistics students.

Acceptances are made from February through mid-April. You will receive an official notification through email and through the graduate application portal when a decision is available.

The median time is around 5.5 years.

Our recent estimate is that around 75% of entering students will complete their PhD.

See the list of recent jobs.