2005-06 - Office of the Registrar - Duke University

controversies in the discipline, how to prepare for a professional career in sociology, the
ethics of doing sociological research, the practice of teaching, how to apply for research
grants. Instructor: Staff. 1.5 units.
302. Workshop on Sociological Research. A two-semester workshop in which each
student carries out a research project from beginning to end. Weekly seminars offer the
opportunity for students to critique each other's work. Instructor: Staff. 3 units.
303. Developing a Dissertation Proposal. A two-semester workshop in which students
develop their dissertation proposals. Instructor: Staff. 3 units.
310. Social and Economic Data. 3 units. C-L: see Economics 310; also C-L: Political
Science 338
333. Seminar in Political Economy: Macro Level. 3 units. C-L: see Political Science 333
392. Individual Research in Sociology. Students will conduct on an individual basis
research designed to evaluate a sociological hypothesis of their choice. The process must be
completed by preparation of a report on this research in adequate professional style.
Prerequisite: Sociology 208 or consent of instructor. Instructor: Staff. 3 units.
COURSES CURRENTLY UNSCHEDULED
234S. Political Economy of Development: Theories of Change in the Third World
282S. Canada
Institute of Statistics and Decision Sciences (STA)
Professor of the Practice Stangl, Director (214 Old Chemistry); Professor Gelfand, Director
of Graduate Studies; Professors Berger, Kepler, Lavine, West, Winkler, and Wolpert;
Professor of the Practice Banks, Associate Professor Clyde; Assistant Professors Huber,
Liang, Mukherjee, and Schmidler; Assistant Professor of the Practice Reiter; Professor
Emeriti Burdick and Sacks; Adjunct Associate Professor Dunson; Assistant Research
Professors Dobra and Iversen; Visiting Associate Professor Dinwoodie; Visiting Assistant
Professor Jang
The Institute of Statistics and Decision Sciences offers graduate study leading to the
Ph.D. degree in statistics. It also offers the M.S. degree to students pursuing a Ph.D. degree
in the institute or in another department at Duke. The institute is a regular teaching and
research department of the university that is internationally recognized as a center of
research in theoretical and applied statistics. The faculty are active in the areas of Bayesian
statistics and decision sciences, statistical computing, interdisciplinary applications of
statistics, and bioinformatics. These areas of faculty interest are reflected in the course of
study for students in the Ph.D. program offered by the institute.
Distinguishing features of graduate study are the opportunity for thorough preparation
in Bayesian as well as classical statistics, and research opportunities at the interface between
statistics, decision sciences, and statistical computing. The institute also enjoys close
working relationships and research collaborations with other departments at Duke, and with
the Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute (SAMSI) and the National
Institute of Statistical Sciences (NISS), providing opportunities for graduate students to
become involved in applied projects.
Requirements for the Ph.D. degree in statistics include study of statistics, probability,
statistical computing, decision sciences and related areas; passing a comprehensive
examination (covering those topics) given at the end of the first year, and a preliminary
examination (covering areas of possible research interest) at the end of the second year; and
completing a dissertation written under the supervision of a faculty advisor. For an up-todate
faculty list and description of the graduate programs in ISDS, visit the department web
site at: http://www.stat.duke.edu.
Institute of Statistics and Decision Sciences (STA) 271