Statistics, Accelerated BA/MA
Master's Candidacy
To earn a master’s degree at Washington University, a student must complete all courses required by their department; maintain satisfactory academic progress; fulfill all academic and residence requirements; and apply to graduate via Workday Student. For the details of master’s degree general requirements in Arts & Sciences, including an explanation of Satisfactory Academic Progress, students should review the Master’s Degree Academic Information page of the Arts & Sciences Bulletin.
Program Requirements
- Total Units Required: 36 units
- Degree Length: Two additional semesters
- Note: Students must be enrolled in 9 graduate credits each semester to retain full-time status. As students complete their coursework, if enrolled in fewer than 9 graduate credits, they must enroll in a specific Arts & Sciences graduate course that will show 0 units but does count as full-time status. Students should connect with their department to ensure proper enrollment prior to Add/Drop date.
Statistics, Accelerated BA/MA
General Information: The Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, has an accelerated BA/Master's program in which highly qualified undergraduate majors can earn both the BA and MA degrees with two additional semesters of work (usually a total of five years).
This program is only for Washington University undergraduates who, if they participate, must do so in the academic year immediately following graduation (no deferments). According to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, eligibility requires having completed the BA degree from Arts & Sciences (which would rule out, for example, a second major whose degree is from the McKelvey School of Engineering).
The application deadline (subject to change by the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences) is the March 15 before beginning the MA program in the fall semester following the completion of the Washington University BA degree. Note that the application is made through the department, which forwards it to the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences.
General requirements: There are 36 units of coursework required and an optional thesis; 3 units may be for thesis research. The minimum residence requirement is one full academic year of graduate study. A GPA of B (3.0) or better must be maintained in the graduate courses.
Optional thesis requirements: To be eligible for the thesis option, a student must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher in the first 18 units of courses satisfying the program requirements.
Required Courses
The program allows participants to count up to 15 units of approved 4000-/5000-level coursework earned during the four years of undergraduate study (with grades of B or better) toward the MA course requirements. (The point of the 15-unit limit is to avoid having majors push so much specialized work into the BA years that they limit their opportunities to do the exploration outside of the major that an undergraduate should do.) Counting these 15 units makes it possible to finish the master's requirements in one additional year, but the program is still fast-paced and requires a lot of intense work and careful planning.
Careful course selection throughout the undergraduate program is required. Usually, the department will not recommend that the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences, admit a major to this program unless the 15 applicable units of 4000-/5000-level work will be completed by the time of graduation. In addition, the department expects applicants to have backgrounds comparable to students admitted to the regular master's programs.
The MA degree requires students to take (or have taken) the following six required courses in statistics or their equivalents:
One of the following two sequences:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| SDS 5010 Classical Probability for Graduate Students and SDS 5020 Mathematical Statistics | 6 | |
| or | ||
| SDS 5061 Theory of Statistics I and SDS 5062 Theory of Statistics II | 6 | |
plus:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| SDS 5071 Advanced Linear Models I or SDS 5130 Linear Statistical Models | 3 | |
| SDS 5210 | Statistical Computation | 3 |
| SDS 5310 | Bayesian Statistics | 3 |
| SDS 5910 | Practical Training in Statistics | 0 |
| Total Units | 9 | |
If an equivalent course has been taken and proficiency in the course material has been demonstrated, other 5000-level and above electives may be substituted in consultation with the advisor. Additional 5000-level or higher electives will be chosen by the student in consultation with their advisor to make up the 36 units. Typically, at most three electives shall be chosen from outside the Department of Statistics and Data Science.
Information about fundamental courses and eligible electives is available on the Master's Degree Program Structure page of the Department of Statistics and Data Science website.
Applying to the Program
Interested majors should consult with the SDS Director of Master's Program at the beginning of the fall semester of their senior year, before the add/drop deadline, to ensure that all necessary courses will be taken during the senior year. If accepted, they must begin the program in the fall semester immediately after graduation: no deferred admissions are allowed by the Office of Graduate Studies, Arts & Sciences.
International Students
For students in the United States on a visa as undergraduates, staying on to complete an MA creates a change in visa status, which will involve reapplication paperwork. Interested students should check on the details with an international student advisor at the Office for International Students and Scholars.
Contact Info
| Contact: | Nan Lin |
| Email: | sdsmastersdirector@wustl.edu |
| Website: | https://sds.wustl.edu/ |