For our admissions requirements and applications procedures, see Graduate Admissions. To find out more about applying to come here, making the transition to Berkeley, and what statistics might have to offer you, see our Graduate FAQ. For further information about applying to Berkeley, and for general information about the university relevant to prospective graduate students, visit the Graduate Division Website. If you wish, you can also see Faculty Research Interests, Dissertation Titles of Former PhD Students, Current Student's Experiences and Comments from Former Students on their time at Berkeley.

Dear Prospective Graduate Student:

The University of California at Berkeley has been at the forefront of research in Statistics and Probability since the founding of the original Statistical Laboratory, by Jerzy Neyman, in 1938, and we continue to grow and expand far beyond our original (but still central) core interests in probability and theoretical statistics. Meanwhile, barriers between disciplines are steadily being eroded, and the explosive growth in computational resources is resulting in the production of staggeringly large amounts of data, so these are exciting times for specialists in statistics and probability. Statisticians are faced with ever more challenging demands for new methodologies, and are simultaneously being afforded previously unknown and unimagined means for implementing them. As you will see from our research pages, our faculty are involved in numerous disciplinary areas interfacing with statistics and probability.

The standard Ph.D. program in Statistics provides a broad background in probability theory and in applied and theoretical statistics. Additionally, building on our interdisciplinary strengths, there are two specialized "Designated Emphasis" (D.E.) tracks. Working towards a Ph.D. with a D.E. is like having a minor in a related discipline. Our track in Statistics with Communication and Computation aims to provide a conceptual and methodological framework that unifies elements from probability and statistics, information theory, control theory, signal processing, optimization theory, and artificial intelligence. The development of this new mathematical discipline is essential for expanding research in modern information technology, especially with regard to communication and data networks, multimedia transport and presentation, and large-scale, distributed data analysis in science, engineering and commerce. Graduate students pursuing their studies with this emphasis have access to our Statistical Computing Facility, one of the most advanced of its kind in the world.

Our other Designated Emphasis track is in Statistics with Computational and Genomic Biology. Probability and statistics have played a fundamental role in facilitating the astonishing recent advances in genomics and molecular biology, and a student expecting to graduate with this Ph.D. will be well placed to make significant contributions in this area. A student opting for this track takes courses offered in Molecular and Cell Biology, Computer Science and Engineering, Bioengineering, Chemistry, Mathematics, or other areas affiliated with Computational and Genomic Biology, and is mentored and guided by faculty from the affiliated departments associated with these areas.

Even within the standard PhD track there are plenty of opportunities for expanding one's studies to encompass other areas. For example, probabilistic thinking is at the core of recent significant advances in a number of disciplines, and these are well-represented on the Berkeley campus both within and outside the Statistics department. Faculty in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science are working in fields such as random algorithms and queuing networks, and faculty in Mathematics are working on the boundary between partial differential equations and probability in mathematical physics and hydrodynamics. Students are able to take courses in these and other departments at an early stage as an integral part of the program, or have faculty from these departments in their dissertation committees. There are also special links with Biostatistics, whereby students have the resources of the School of Public Health at their disposal and may take courses offered by the School as part of their graduate education. The aim of this link is to foster research skills used in the analysis of data in the health, medical and biological sciences.

In addition to studying at a world-class institution committed to achieving excellence across disciplines, graduate students at Berkeley also have the opportunity of living and working amongst the manifold attractions of the Bay Area! I hope you choose to apply to study at our wonderful institution.

Sincerely yours

Bin Yu
Chair of the Department