Funding

The following information applies to the Master of Applied Statistics, Master of Science in Statistics and PhD in Statistics programs. Information on our PhD in biostatistics can be found on the Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Biostatistics website.

Tuition and Fees (2021-2022)

Ohio Resident $12,424 / year

Non-Ohio Resident $37,140 / year

Living Expenses $16,217 / nine months

Note: Listed amounts include the current total cost of tuition and fees for two semesters for a full-time student and estimated living expenses for nine months. Refer to the G raduate and Professional Admissions website for details on costs. Note: each of our programs have the same costs per year. Our master’s degrees are typically four semesters and our PhD students usually complete their program in five years with funding.

Approximately 90 percent of our students are funded each year, typically through a Fellowship, Graduate Teaching Associateship (GTA or TA) or Graduate Research Associateship (GRA or RA). Note that we do not usually admit PhD students without funding and about half of our master’s students are funded currently.

Students who are offered funding at the time of admission either via a Fellowship or Graduate Teaching Associateship are typically guaranteed funding through the duration of their program (up to five years if needed for a PhD student or two years for a master’s student) provided that the student continues to make appropriate progress toward the degree and carries out assigned duties satisfactorily. Continued funding may come in the form of a Fellowship, Graduate Teaching Associateship or Graduate Research Associateship. Students who are not awarded funding in the first year can seek funding for following years, although it is not typical for additional funding to become available. Students may alternatively seek funding from outside of the department.

Applying

All applicants for admission to our programs are considered for funding through the program via Fellowships or Graduate Associateships and there is no separate application to fill out for this type of funding consideration. See the additional resources below for additional information on other types of funding.

Eligibility Requirements

See the Graduate School website for details on minimum requirements for eligibility. Below is a summary of eligibility requirements, though exceptions can be made based on the strength of the full application.

The requirements for students to be nominated in the University Fellowship competition include the following:

A minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of at least 3.6 on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent on another numerical scale, such as 4.5 on a 5.0 scale, 5.4 on a 6.0 scale, etc.); or First Class rank in a British-based grading system; or overall percentage of at least 88 percent for percentage graded systems.
An average of at least the 75th percentile on the Verbal and Quantitative components of the GRE General Test and at least a 4.0 on the Analytical Writing component.

To be nominated in the Graduate Enrichment Fellowship competition, applicants must meet the following requirements:

U.S. Citizen who demonstrates significant potential to contribute to the diversity of the Graduate School
A minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of at least 3.1 on a 4.0 scale
An average of at least the 40th percentile on the Verbal and Quantitative components of the GRE General Test and at least a 3.5 on the Analytical Writing component.

To be eligible for a Teaching Associateship (TA), applicants must have:

A minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent on another scale)
A minimum score of 100 on the TOEFL or equivalent score on the IELTS or MELAB (for international applicants who are required to submit English proficiency scores for admission purposes)

Note: Graduate Research Appointments are not typical for first year students.

Benefits

Students who are awarded a University Fellowship or Graduate Enrichment Fellowship by the Graduate School or a 50 percent GTA or 50 percent GRA by the department are awarded the benefits listed below. See the Graduate School website for a complete list of benefits. (Note: A typical appointment for a GTA or GRA is for nine months and 12 months for students on Fellowship).

Tuition (instructional and general fees and non-resident fees if applicable) is covered through a graduate fee authorization. The breakdown of the tuition and fees can be seen on the Registrar’s website.
Monthly stipend (2020-2021 stipend is $2,178 for incoming master's students, $2,347 for incoming statistics PhD students, with higher stipends up to $2,833 for more advanced statistics PhD students)
85 percent health insurance subsidy

Duties

As a GTA, a student might be assigned as a grader, an in-class recitation leader, or the instructor of a class. With regard to GRA appointments, faculty supervisors determine the student's duties. Each semester a handful of students are also appointed as GRAs or GTAs to work for the Statistical Consulting Center. Students on GRA or GTA appointments are usually hired at the 50 percent appointment level and usually work an average of 20 hours a week.

Fellowships are awarded for the purpose of allowing the student to focus on his/her academics. As such, fellows are not permitted to work and instead typically have a somewhat heavier course load than their peers.

Training

All TAs are required to attend our department’s on-campus TA training, typically scheduled for the couple of weeks prior to the start of the autumn semester. Students who are on Fellowship in the first year are given the opportunity to take the TA training in the first year or they can defer the training until the second year prior to beginning their TA duties.

All TAs whose native language was not English must certify their proficiency in spoken English before assuming certain TA duties. New TAs who are required to take the Oral Proficiency Assessment (OPA) will be given information to schedule the assessment prior to the start of the semester they will begin their first TA. First-year fellows are also asked to take the OPA in their first year. The student's score on the OPA will determine what duties the student may perform as a TA and/or what English as a Second Language courses the student should take. Additional information regarding the Oral Proficiency Assessment (OPA) can be found on the English as a Second Language website.

Travel Grants and Departmental Awards

The Department of Statistics has the Gary G. Koch and Family Graduate Student Travel Award Fund designated for support of graduate student travel to professional conferences/meetings to present their research as contributed or invited papers or as part of poster sessions.

The Department also awards a number of honors to graduate students at the end of each spring semester to recognize their dedication and efforts throughout the year. Awards are given to the best Teaching Associates, PhD research, best SCS Consultant, best Research Associate, and exceptional scholarly excellence and leadership abilities. See our department awards page for details on the awards and a list of past recipients.

Additional Resources

Student Financial Aid (loans, grants, special scholarships, etc.)

Discovery Scholars Program (funding opportunity that aims to increase the diversity of our graduate student body)

Graduate School (external funding, financial education)