MSS Completion Exercise

As part of the MSS completion exercise, students may either choose to do a Portfolio of Work or Master's Thesis to demonstrate their understanding and mastery of statistical methods, application and computation. 

Each student in the M.S. program will have a Master's Committee of 3 faculty members who serve an advisory role and will serve on their MSS Completion Exercise:

  • At least 2 members must be full-time primary faculty in Statistical Science, 1 of whom will be the committee chair.
  • The third member can be a faculty member from Statistical Science or another Duke department that is related to the student's thesis topic.
  • The committee for the Portfolio of Work is assigned by the Department, while the committee for a Master's Thesis will be formed by the student, with the approval of the M.S. Director.

Graduation Checklist

  • 36 course credits (24 core STA, 6 graded/ungraded STA, 6 external or STA)
  • Applied Statistics Experience (Internship/Applied Research)
  • MS completion exercise (Thesis/Portfolio)
  • RCR credits (During Orientation)
  • EIS requirement (for applicable students)
  • Exit Interview (schedule with MSD prior to graduation) (submit a photo, a recent copy of your resume to MSD prior to the exit interview)