This page is for 2016-17 G4ZS MPhil/PhD Statistics offer holders. Please read this in conjunction with your offer pack and other information sent to you by the Graduate Admissions Office. Please do make sure you read your offer pack carefully and do not forget to accept your offer.

Message from the Head of Department

Congratulations on your offer and welcome to the Statistics PhD programme at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Undertaking a PhD is a major commitment and should be one of the most creative periods of your life. Your PhD will require you to work with purpose throughout your time here and we will provide every support we can to help you achieve your potential.

Alongside your PhD work there are many seminars and special lectures and we strongly encourage you to attend these and take maximum advantage of the resources that the LSE can offer you. You may also have the chance to attend and present a paper at a conference. All in all, undertaking a PhD in Statistics at LSE is an excellent opportunity to develop your academic and research interests.

I would like to wish you every success meeting the condition of offer if one has been placed and all the best for your studies here. I hope that you will make the most of your time with us. Our success very much depends on your success and we look forward to getting to know you and supporting you in your endeavours. Enjoy your time at the LSE and do take some time to enjoy London too.

Professor Pauline Barrieu
Head of the Department of Statistics

Department of Statistics

The department is based in Columbia House, on the second, sixth and seventh floors (see LSE maps and directions). The administration offices are on the sixth floor and the research administrator is based in room COL 6.12.

Registration

Registration takes place in the PhD Academy on the fourth floor of the lionel Robbins Building (see LSE maps and directions). The registration date for MPhil/PhD Statistics students is 22 September 2016.

Orientation

The School orientation event for incoming research students will take place on 21 September 2016.

The department will also hold a brief induction session followed by a welcome lunch, where you will have an opportunity to meet other research students and staff in the department.

Graduate Admissions Office

The Graduate Admissions Office will send you a lot of very important and useful information. Please do take the time to read this carefully. In addition to the offer pack, monthly newsletters are published. These will include information about accommodation; funding/financial support; careers; meeting the conditions of offer; Visas/CAS; the library; registration/orientation; your first weeks at LSE.

MPhil/PhD Programme

First year: MPhil
All students registering for a programme of study leading to a PhD begin under MPhil registration. Students are expected to attend courses suggested to them by their supervisor and perform well in any mandatory summer examinations. They should also complete any necessary training in research techniques and/or computing. Throughout their first year students perform literature searches and become more familiar with their chosen research topic. By the end of the year they are expected to have written up an introductory chapter for their thesis, as well as any new results they may have obtained. Assessment by the supervisor is based on these. Students will be asked to present their research topics at the annual PhD presentation event.

Second year: MPhil/PhD
In the second year students become more deeply involved with their research topic, producing and writing up new results. During this time students need to meet with supervisors on a regular basis to discuss their academic development and at some stage during the year there will be a formal review of their progress. Following the successful assessment of their work, students may be recommended for upgrade to PhD. Students should also be able to present their current research at departmental seminars and will be asked to present their research findings at the annual PhD presentation event.

The opportunity to upgrade this registration to PhD typically comes in the second year. You will be asked to produce a report of your work undertaken so far and your work plan to complete and submit your thesis within the maximum period of registration. The upgrade review is typically conducted by your first supervisor and at at one other member of staff in the department.

Third and fourth year: PhD
The third year demands considerable and rapid progress with research and a substantial part of the year should be spent consolidating material students have already assembled. The role of the supervisor is to ensure the thesis is of a high standard. At the beginning of the fourth year students should submit their entry form for PhD examination and should be close to submitting their thesis.

Thesis examination
When a thesis is nearly ready for submission, the supervisor will nominate a suitable internal examiner and external examiner. The internal examiner will be from the LSE or another college of the University of London, while the external examiner will be from another university. After the examiners have read the thesis, a date will be arranged for a viva examination. Students should expect to give a short presentation of their work and answer general questions on their area of research, as well as on the details of their thesis.

PhD Study Areas

The department has four PhD study areas; two in Columbia House, one in Lincoln Chambers and one in Tower One (see LSE maps and directions). Each full-time G4ZS MPhil/PhD Statistics student is allocated a dedicated desk and computer.

MPhil/PhD

Students Handbook

PhD Academy

Offer Holders