Qualifying Exams

The Ph.D. qualifying exam is designed for students pursuing a Ph.D. in Statistics. It is focused on testing the depth of understanding and mastery of both theories and methods in the required courses.

Exam Schedule

Effective January 2023, the exams will be administered twice a year as follows:

  • January: The Wednesday immediately before Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
  • May: The Wednesday immediately following the last day of spring final examinations.

In case of school closing or due to inclement weather, the January exam will be held the Friday immediately before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and the May exam will be held on the Saturday immediately following the originally scheduled Wednesday.

Each exam has two parts, scheduled as follows:

  • Morning part: 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
  • Afternoon part: 1-4 p.m.

Please refer to the UConn academic calendar to check dates for the beginning of classes and the end of final examinations.

General Rules

  1. In order to take an exam, a student must sign up by the deadline described below.
    • For exams in January: the 2nd Monday in November of the preceding year.
    • For exams in May: the 2nd Monday in April of the same year.
  2. Only students currently enrolled in the graduate programs of the Department are allowed to sign up and take the exams.
  3. No sign-up is allowed during the first semester of graduate study.
  4. Each student must clear the  Ph.D. qualifying exam within three consecutive attempts. For example, if a student takes an exam for the first time in May but fails to fully pass it, the student has two chances remaining in January and May of the next year. For each remaining chance, failure to sign up or failure to show up will be counted as a failed attempt.
  5. Students must pass both the morning part and the afternoon part of the exam. If a student fails to pass a part, in the remaining attempts, the student should only sign up and take that part in order to clear the exam.

Any student who has not yet passed the exam but is not taking classes must enroll in GRAD 5998 every semester until they pass.

Additional Rules for MS Students

MS students who are interested in applying to the UConn statistics Ph.D. program are encouraged to take the Ph.D. qualifying exam. Please note that in order to switch to the Ph.D. program, an MS student must first clear the Ph.D. qualifying exam. Reapplication to the Ph.D. program is subject to strict review by the Graduate Admissions Committee following the same standard on all applications.

Additional Rules for Ph.D. Students

Ph.D. students are only allowed to take the Ph.D. qualifying exam.

  1. Each Ph.D. student is allowed a total of three attempts to clear the Ph.D. qualifying exam.
  2. The following six (6) courses must be taken before signing up for the first attempt: STAT 5545, STAT 5555, STAT 5505, STAT 5605, STAT 5725 and STAT 5515.
  3. Each sign-up will be counted as an attempt, even if a student later decides to not show up, withdraw, or take only one part of the exam.