Program Thoughts

What is it like to be in the Statistics program?

• "Being in a small department makes it is very easy to get close with everyone. There is also a well-known medical center with numerous collaboration opportunities across the street."
• "I have enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate early on with professors and pursue my own research interests while still in course work. I also appreciate that the program allows me to keep my career options open, offering courses and research opportunities, and facilitating internships that would prepare me for a career in either academia or industry."
• "The department is very welcoming and quickly I felt that I was part of a group of people who were motivated to better themselves. The faculty are also very happy to do anything to increase a student's understanding."
• "My favorite things about the program are the rigorous coursework and many opportunities for research."
• "The classes at the beginning of the program prepare you to make an informed choice regarding your own future research. They also provide great exposure to the faculty and their respective career interests."
• "I’m grateful for the other people in my cohort! The smaller program size allows you to really get to know the other people in your year. It also fosters a collaborative environment which I love."
• "The program includes both traditional statistics and bioinformatics, such as how to deal with high-dimensional data and programming algorithm. Mentors also have collaborations with labs in immunology, cancer center, neural science, etc., which provides students the chance to work on real biological data."
• "Small classes with friendly cohorts and teaching and mentoring by excellent professors with versatile research interests are how I would describe the program." 
• "The greatest thing about our program is its flexibility of research topics. We have students working on social network modeling, Bayesian variable selection techniques, clinical trials, genomic data near the limit of detection, gene regulatory networks, and many more." 
• "My favorite thing about the program is that the research opportunities are on the cutting edge and biological experimental methods abound."
• "I love that faculty members are highly approachable to students. They want us to succeed."
• "My favorite thing about UR is the collaborative nature of the department. All of the graduate students are very supportive of each other."
• "We have a lot of department events. We usually have speakers visit twice a month for colloquia and it’s a great way to communicate with professors from other universities. Every week we have a department social where students and faculty all gather together on a Wednesday night just to talk about unrelated or related to work stuff. It’s a very casual gathering. About once a year we also have a bigger event, like a picnic, going to a baseball game, or hanging out on a boat. There is a good balance between being a serious student and having some fun."
• "The program not only provides a positive learning environment on its own, but also allows students to take different courses in fields such as Mathematics, Finance, and Computer Science.  Faculty and staff are very supportive to graduate students."
• "It’s a nice place for study and research.  There are plenty of opportunities to communicate with faculty."
• "We are a close knit community (faculty and students included). Everyone is extremely friendly and supportive with the collective goal of having everyone succeed."
• "There are interesting classes, dedicated professors, and exciting department activities (happy hours, boat tour)."
• "My favorite things about the program are the accessibility, enthusiasm, and support of the outstanding faculty as well as the close interactions among students.​"
• "It's a really supportive atmosphere​ cultivated by both professors and fellow students.​"
• "I like the flexibility to choose professors to do reading or research.  I’m not stuck working with just one professor and I can focus on the topics that most interest me."