Master of Professional Studies in Applied Statistics

The Master of Professional Studies (M.P.S.) degree in Applied Statistics is for persons interested in professional careers in business, industry or government. The M.P.S. program has three main components: A two-semester core course covering a wide range of statistical applications, computing, and consulting. An in-depth statistical analysis project. Elective coursework drawn from the resources of the Department of Statistical Science. The program can be completed in one year by a well-prepared student with the equivalent of an undergraduate degree in statistics or applied mathematics. Students with less preparation can make up any missing prerequisites while at Cornell, in this case the program will take one to two years to complete. The M.P.S. is intended for persons who want a short-term (one year) master's degree so as to go into business, industry, or government statistical work. The M.P.S. is not equivalent to an M.S. on several counts: the M.P.S. has a project (a large-scale data-analysis project) rather than a thesis or a qualifying exam (which would be the case for an M.S.). The mathematical probability/statistics component of the M.P.S. is less than it would be for an M.S. (which would be considered the first part of a Ph.D.).

Our one-year MPS program in Applied Statistics readies students for careers in fields where modern data analysis skills are highly coveted. Built on the three curriculum components of core courses, an in-depth statistical analysis project, and elective coursework, our program offers students the option to focus their graduate education in one of two areas: techniques of applied statistical analysis or data science, which includes high performance computing, databases and scripting. Equipped with the essential and foundational understanding of statistical processes, our students join in a tradition of success, working in global industries in diverse fields ranging from finance to survey analysis to biomedical research.

A bachelor's degree, which must be in hand before you start the MPS study. The bachelor's degree should be quantitatively oriented and can be from a variety of fields, for example, statistical, mathematical, engineering, physical, agricultural, biological, social, or computer science. To meet these prerequisite requirements, courses must be from an accredited college or university and be listed on an official transcript.
An academic statement of purpose.
Two academic letters of recommendation. You may also submit a professional reference as the third letter of recommendation if you have one, but make sure to at least provide two academic letters of recommendation.
Complete transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate-level studies undertaken at all schools. These must be official and translated into English if the original language is not English (in this case, both the exact copy of the transcripts in the original language and the English translation must be submitted). You must scan your official transcripts (not an online printout) and upload the documents into the online application as part of the submission process. When admitted, you must submit an official paper version of your latest transcript(s) to the Cornell Graduate School.
Minimum mathematical background:
Two semesters of calculus.
One elementary non-calculus-based statistics.
One course in matrix algebra.
Preference will be given to applicants with more than the minimum mathematical background.
Official GRE scores. These scores are still required for admissions. At-home versions of these scores will be accepted by our graduate program as long as they are accepted by the Graduate School.
Official TOEFL scores for international students (minimum scores: listening 15, writing 20, reading 20, speaking 22). Each of these minimum scores must be met.
IELTS - 7.0 or higher