Getting Started

NEW FOR 2022-2023!!!: HOW TO NAVIGATE THE THESIS PATHWAY-by Applied Statistics Faculty

With the consultation of your professors and other students close to the conclusion of their program, you should decide whether you would like to pursue a thesis, project, or comprehensive exam as your culminating activity. Keep in mind that those who choose to pursue the thesis or project options must earn a minimum of a B grade in each of the core courses: STAT 510, 520, and 530. As usual, all regulations and procedures regarding these options can be found in the current CSULB Catalog. The department of Mathematics and Statistics website also provides some guidance.

Once you decide on thesis/project, your next step is to determine which topic you would like to pursue. This decision, along with working relationships you have with your professors will inform who you should ask to consider serving as your research advisor. You will consult with your advisor to determine which two other professors will form the committee of three.

Your advisor will work with you to create an abstract, which is a summary of the problem you would like to solve or data you intend to investigate, methods you propose to use, and anticipated results.

Once the abstract is created and the committee formed, you will fill out the Thesis/Project and 698 application form, and your advisor will forward to the Applied Statistics graduate advisor for approval by the STAT committee. Upon approval, you should immediately advance to candidacy and submit your declaration form with the advancement paperwork.

Everyone who chooses to write a thesis/project as their culminating activity must enroll in a minimum of 3 units of STAT 698: Thesis or Project, which must appear on your advancement to candidacy form. YOU MUST NOT REGISTER FOR STAT 698 UNTIL ALL YOUR FORMS HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED!!!

Thesis Option

A thesis provides students with an opportunity to investigate a complex or big data set, or explore a theoretical problem at a level that goes above and beyond the scope of any one course taken in the program. Most theses will cause you to synthesize methods from a number of courses, compare and contrast results, and deepen your discovery by incorporating techniques and theory not covered in the applied statistics curriculum. It is important that you work closely with your advisor to determine the scope of the project so that your work is neither too basic nor too ambitious.

Project Option

Similar to a thesis, a project involves incorporating methods and techniques at a level of sophistication beyond material covered in courses. The key difference is that the student embarking on the project must be a current employee of a company that stands to benefit from the completion of the project. The project advisor must be a member of the CSULB Applied Statistics faculty. In addition,

1. The student must submit a letter to their project advisor that indicates the specific benefit the project will have for the company.

2. The student must give an oral proposal of their project before the STAT committee, and attain approval before they can proceed with work on the project.

Suggested Thesis/Project Timeline

From initial proposal to final defense, theses typically take two semesters to complete.

Sample Theses

The pdf linked here lists one-page summaries of theses from students in the applied statistics program over the past several years. Each page lists the title, author, abstract, advisor, and other key information about the theses. Moreover, for most of them, you can get full-text access to the thesis as follows:

Step 1: Identify a thesis/project of interest by reading the title and abstract. Highlight and copy the ProQuest document ID number.

Step 2: Paste the document ID into the search bar at https://search.proquest.com

Step 3: The page dedicated to the thesis/project of interest will pop up, and will indicate whether full-text access is available.