Students may pursue two Ohio State graduate degrees in different fields simultaneously and potentially in less time than completing the courses separately. This option is called a dual degree program. When pursuing a dual degree, students must complete all the requirements of each individual degree. Some course work may be double-counted upon approval of the two programs. Students who are admitted into a dual degree with either of our master's programs must complete all requirements of the MAS or MS degrees as described in the department's program guide, including all course work and exams.
Applying
Applicants who have not yet been admitted to a graduate program at Ohio State and are interested in pursuing a dual degree should first matriculate into their primary degree program and then apply to the secondary degree program. If their primary degree is to be a statistics degree, they should review the admission page for details on the application requirements and process. If they intend for their primary degree to be outside of statistics, they should review the instructions below for current Ohio State graduate students. Applications should not be submitted to both programs via the admission system unless the applicant has not yet decided which program will be primary.
Current Ohio State graduate students who are interested in doing a dual degree with one of our master’s degrees should contact the Statistics Graduate Program Coordinator, Caitlin Donahue (donahue.250@osu.edu) to sign up to be considered an “external masters student” in the department. "External masters students" are essentially prospective dual degree students.
Before being admitted into the dual degree program, students must complete at least 12 credit hours of graduate-level statistics courses, including STAT 6301 and 6302 (MAS) or 6801 and 6802 (MS) with at least an average GPA of 3.6 in the statistics courses (statistics courses that would count towards the prospective MAS or MS requirements) and at least a 3.6 cumulative GPA. Once the student has met these requirements, the student can be considered for admission into the dual degree and should:
- Provide verifications of the course grades to Caitlin Donahue (donahue.250@osu.edu) to be admitted to the dual degree program.
- Submit the Dual Degree Form in gradforms.osu.edu listing the courses you wish to use towards the dual degrees. If accepted, the dual degree program will approve the electronic program form.
- If changes in the approved curriculum are necessary, the student must have the change approved by the dual degree program by contacting the program coordinator.
Completing the Program
Once admitted to the dual degree, the student will fill out a dual degree form via gradforms.osu.edu. The form will outline which courses will be completed and applied towards each degree and must include all course work that the student expects to complete for both degrees. All required courses and approved electives for the degree must be listed in either the statistics or dual credit sections of the form. Refer to our departmental program guide for details on course requirements for our programs. Once the student submits the form, each program must approve. (Notes on filling out the form: select “Master’s-non-thesis" for “Proposed Academic Level” and list the Statistics Graduate Program Chair, Dr. Xinyi Xu, as your statistics advisor.) If projected course work changes after the form is initially approved, contact the graduate program for whichever section the change applies for approval. If approval is granted, the graduate program will update the dual degree form.
Questions?
Questions about the dual degree program and required course work can be directed to the Department of Statistics Graduate Program Coordinator, Caitlin Donahue (donahue.250@osu.edu).