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About the Program
The doctoral program prepares students to understand the mathematical and theoretical basis of statistical methodology; collaborate on the design of research studies in the health sciences; provide advice on the proper collection, entry, storage, retrieval, and manipulation of data; and take primary responsibility for the analysis, interpretation and dissemination of data in a research study using state-of-the-art statistical methods and software. Doctoral students are also prepared to carry out original methodological research in statistics and apply the resulting methodology to health-related research problems.
Career Opportunities
Graduates of the PhD program will be qualified for employment in academic research institutions in medicine, nursing, dentistry, allied health, public health, and the laboratory sciences; academic institutions providing training in statistics or biostatistics; in the pharmaceutical and other biotech industries; and in local, state, and national government agencies.
Financial Support
Students accepted into the program will be considered for Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA), which includes a stipend, a reduced tuition rate of $25/semester, and single-person health insurance coverage through the GRU Student Group Health Insurance plan. A limited number of GRA packages will be awarded on a competitive basis to applicants with exemplary qualifications.
Admissions Requirements
Completed Online Application for Graduate Programs. Please check the Office of Admissions website for fee information: http://www.gru.edu/Admissions/
Fall entry application deadlines for application and required materials and documents:
Early submission of all application materials is strongly advised.
December 15 deadline is for:
(A) applicants who are U.S. citizens (or hold permanent resident status) to receive an application fee refund; or
(B) applicants to submit transcripts from international schools/universities for consideration to receive an official course-by-course transcript evaluation at the expense of the program.
February 1 - standard deadline
Note: All required application materials and documents must be received in order for an application to be considered complete and before an admission decision can be made. Applications and supporting materials received after the program deadline will only be considered on a space-available basis.
Minimum Degree Requirement and Official Transcripts: Bachelor’s degree or equivalent from an accredited college or university. To be used to satisfy degree requirements, evaluation of foreign educational transcript must show degree earned that is the U.S. equivalency of degree required by the program.
Official transcripts are required from all universities and colleges ever attended. Only in the case of transcripts from international colleges/universities will an official course-by-course transcript evaluation be accepted in lieu of an official transcript.
Official transcripts should be sent to GRU’s Office of Academic Admissions. To remain official, all transcripts must remain in the original, unopened, sealed and stamped/signed envelope from the Registrar’s office of the issuing institution. Alternatively, GRU will accept official electronic transcripts from the registrar’s office at your prior institution. Electronic transcripts should be directed to admissions@gru.edu.
Transcript/Credential Evaluation of Foreign Transcripts: An official, course-by-course evaluation based on official transcripts and documents is required for all foreign educational transcripts and documents from one of the following three credentials evaluation services: Josef Silny & Associates, Inc., World Education Services (WES), Education Credential Evaluators, Inc. (ECE). Silny and WES are recommended. Official transcript evaluations based on unofficial transcripts, documents, or copies will not fulfill this requirement.
Biostatistics Ph.D. applicants can request consideration to receive an official, professional, course-by-course evaluation based on official transcripts and documents for all foreign educational transcripts and documents at the expense of GRU. A limited number of international transcripts will be selected to be evaluated at the expense of the program.
To be considered for selection to have transcript(s) evaluated at the expense of the College of Graduate Studies, a completed application and all other required official application materials including documents, test scores, references and transcripts must be received by GRU’s Office of Academic Admissions by December 15, 2012. This includes:
- all official academic transcripts
- all official graduation certificates - or an official letter confirming the awarding of the degrees issued by the awarding institution
- all official degree certificates including all final or provisional degree certificates issued by the institutions attended
- all individual mark sheets indicating all subjects taken and marks obtained for all years of post-secondary study issued by the institution responsible for conducting the examinations
Do NOT send original documents.
Additional educational documents may be requested by the evaluation service for the purpose of completing the official course-by-course transcript evaluation on their own time and at their own expense.
If an applicant’s transcript is not selected he/she still has the option of obtaining an official professional course-by-course transcript evaluation on his/her own time and at his/her own expense.
Applications will not be considered for acceptance without an official course-by-course transcript evaluation from one of the three credential services indicated above.
Applicants will not be reimbursed for transcript evaluations done on their own at their own expense.
References: Recommendations (which include a reference form and letter of recommendation) from three individuals are required. Referees should be individuals qualified to critically assess the applicant’s prior academic (usually college professors), employment, artistic, research and/or clinical experience (clinical or research supervisor/manager) and qualifications (as applicable) as well as the applicant’s potential as a graduate student in the field/program selected.
Graduate reference forms and letters of recommendation can be submitted online only. As part of the online application process, applicants provide the names and current email addresses for three individuals they have asked to serve as their referees. Once the online application is submitted, each referee will receive an email notification directing him/her to the online site where he/she can complete the reference form and submit his/her letter of recommendation. To change a referee after the application has been submitted, the applicant is instructed to log into his/her CollegeNet account and update the name and current email address for the referee. Status updates of your referees’ submissions will be provided to you directly from CollegeNet.
GRE Requirement: Official GRE scores are required (only the General GRE is required) - see Admission Recommendations section below for details on minimum GRE score recommendations.
All official GRE scores must be submitted to GRU’s Office of Academic Admissions directly from the Education Testing Service (ETS) and must be less than five years old. The GHSU institution code for submission of GRE scores is 5406. Please do not select a department code.
TOEFL Requirement: Minimum score of 550 paper-based, 213 computer-based, or 79 Internet-based.
Official Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores are required for applicants whose first language is not English. The GHSU institution code for submission of TOEFL scores is 5406. Please do not select a department code.
Exemption from the TOEFL requirement is allowed for graduate students who submit proof of earning a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. college/university where English is the language of instruction.
Program Specific Requirements
Prerequisite Course Work
- Three semesters of college level calculus completed before admission with a minimum grade of C.
- One semester of linear algebra completed before admission with a minimum grade of C.
Admission Recommendations
- GPA: Minimum overall undergraduate GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale.
- GRE: Minimum GRE score of 1100 (sum of verbal and quantitative sections) on GRE test taken prior to August 1, 2011 or minimum GRE score of 309 (sum of verbal and quantitative sections) on the GRE taken after August 1, 2011.
*Substitutions and/or waivers of minimum requirements must first be supported and approved at the program level and then formally approved by the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies.
*While every effort is made to maintain this information as current, it may be subject to change. Please check with GRU’s Office of Academic Admissions for recent updates.
*Applications deferred to another semester are subject to all admission requirements and program requirements in effect for the semester to which deferred.
When to Apply
Please refer to the Office of Academic Admissions at www.gru.edu/Admissions.
How to Apply
Apply online at www.gru.edu/Admissions or contact
Office of Academic Admissions
170 Kelly Building–Administration
Georgia Health Sciences University
Augusta, Georgia 30912-7310
Telephone: (706) 721-2725
Toll free: 1-800-519-3388
Fax: (706) 721-7279
E-mail: Admissions@gru.edu
For more information about the College of Graduate Studies and the Department of Biostatistics visit http://biostats.gru.edu/.
Other Requirements
All students must attend departmental and other research seminars and meetings that are relevant to their biostatistics training.
Students must publicize the results of their research through seminars, conference presentations, and/or articles in refereed (peer-reviewed) journals.
Students with graduate assistantships are required to work with a faculty supervisor as Research or Teaching Assistants.
Comprehensive Examination
Research Proposal Defense
Final Oral Exam (Dissertation Defense)
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