A “Designated Emphasis” (DE) is defined as an area of study constituting a new method of inquiry or an important field of application relevant to two or more existing doctoral degree programs. It is not a free-standing degree program, but must be added as an additional major along with an existing doctoral degree program. Students electing to add a DE are required to complete the academic work in the DE in addition to all the requirements of the doctoral program. There are no adjustments made to the normative time of the student’s major when a student undertakes a DE.

To qualify for the Designated Emphasis, students must have on the Qualifying Examination committee a representative of the DE and must be examined in that area of study. Students are consequently required to be admitted to the DE before taking the Qualifying Examination. Upon successful completion of the dissertation, the student’s final transcript will include the designation, “Ph.D. in Statistics with a Designated Emphasis in XXX.”

There are currently two Designated Emphases current doctoral students might find of interest:

• Designated Emphasis in Computational and Genomic Biology
• Designated Emphasis in Computational Data Science and Engineering
• Designated Emphasis in Computational Precision Health