Graduate Program - Beyond the Master's Degree

Advancing to a Ph.D. Program

The Greenlee School does not offer a Ph.D. degree. However, each year several students advance from our program to a doctoral program. Those who believe that they might be interested in a Ph.D. program should plan their graduate experience at Iowa State carefully with this in mind. Here are some suggestions:

In most cases, take one or more statistics courses as part of the M.S. program. Iowa State University has a quality statistics department, and virtually all Ph.D. programs require a year or more of statistics. Demonstration of competence in statistics will often be seen as a plus by Ph.D. admissions committees, and may also help land an assistantship. Stat 401 is the basic course for graduate students.

Avoid taking special topics courses or other courses that might not transfer to the Ph.D. program institution. This would include internships, special seminars and other courses without a clear title or course description.

Strive to obtain an assistantship that will provide experience that might lead to another assistantship at the Ph.D. institution. Excellent work experience, good teaching skills and experience, and a good research assistantship are all helpful.

Carefully review GRE scores and consider re-taking the examination if the scores are low. The top Ph.D. programs will be expecting scores of 2000 or more for the general exam. Experience shows that the GRE score can be increased by carefully studying GRE training manuals and taking practice tests.

Strive to submit papers to scholarly associations or journals. Students who have been peer-reviewed successfully are much more likely to be admitted to a Ph.D. program.

Research Ph.D. programs, talk to faculty about selection and target several programs in advance. Contact professors at these programs, visit the schools and learn about the research conducted at the institutions. Strive to locate specific individuals with whom you would like to work for a Ph.D.

Did you know?

The Reading Room has a media room with a DVD player, VCR, telephone, typewriter and an audiocassette player.