Admission Deadline
Applications must received by January 4

Admission Criteria
  • Hold a baccalaureate degree with at least a "B" average
  • Complete the University of Maryland Graduate School application form
  • Provide an official transcript for all undergraduate and graduate courses
  • Complete an essay describing your experience and interest in survey methodology
  • Submit three letters of recommendation
  • Submit results from the Graduate Record Examination
Special Instructions / Information for Admission

1. Codes for Graduate Program and Interests/Specialization:
On the Application for Graduate Admission, in box 16 (on page one) and box 34 (on page 2), you are asked to enter a 4 letter alphabetic code for the Proposed Graduate Program/Department. Enter "SURV" in those fields.

2. Statement of Goals and Research Interests
The Statement of Goals and Research Interests (page 31 in the Graduate Admission Application) forms an important part of the admissions committee's evaluation of your application. The committee uses the essay to measure your experience and interest in various components of survey methodology.

  • Survey Management
  • Budgeting and Cost Modeling / Sample Design and Selection
  • Questionnaire Design and Pretesting
  • Survey Data Entry, Coding, and Data Management / Weighting and Imputation
  • Estimation and Analysis of Survey Data / Writing Survey Reports

Identify the components you have experienced and describe the nature of that experience. Describe how you hope the MS program will advance your training in survey research. For applicants without experience in survey research, be specific about which components of survey methodology you find particularly interesting, and why.
The committee prefers essays that are no more than three typewritten pages (single spaced, 12 point font).

3. Letters of Recommendations
The admissions committee uses letters of recommendation to help judge how well you might perform in the M.S. Program. There are two equally important criteria to use in choosing people to ask for recommendations: That the individuals know you well and that they are able to comment on your academic abilities in statistical and research methodology. Persons knowledgeable about the demands of technical graduate programs often can make the most informed judgments about the likelihood of your success in such a program.
Applicants who are returning to school after years in the work force face a more difficult task in seeking recommendations from persons with the attributes listed above. The admissions committee is aware of this difficulty and seeks to take that into account when evaluating applications. In these cases, persons who have current knowledge about the applicant's aptitude and skills are more desirable recommenders than professors whose knowledge pertains only to academic performance many years earlier.
It is important to ask the recommenders to focus their evaluation on your academic aptitude in statistical and research methodology.

4. Prerequisite Courses
You must submit a supplemental form, Summary of Prerequisite Courses (found here), which describes the coursework required for admission to the MS Program. For the statistical science area of concentration, three courses in calculus, one course in linear algebra, and one statistics course are required. For the social science area of concentration, two quantitative courses, at least one of which must be a statistics course, and at least two undergraduate courses in the social sciences are required.

Admission Deadline

Applications must be received by January 4

Admission Criteria

Applicants for admission to the Ph.D. program should hold a Masters degree with a minimum grade point average of 3.75. Provisional admission status may be granted to candidates with a undergraduate degree with a minimum grade point average of 3.5 and other evidence of outstanding potential.

  • Complete the University of Maryland Graduate School application form.
  • Provide an official transcript for all undergraduate and graduate courses
  • Complete an essay describing their experience and interest in survey methodology
  • Submit three letters of recommendation, and
  • Submit results from the Graduate Record Examination

Fellowships in Support of Diversity and Inclusion - PhD applicants only

  • If interested, please submit "supplemental application" with your online graduate school application.

Qualifying Exam

Qualifying examinations will be given to all students seeking the Ph.D. These will generally be taken by the end of the first year of the student's enrollment in the program. The goal of the examination is to assure that all Ph.D. students share a basic foundation of the interdisciplinary knowledge important to survey methodology. The Ph.D. advisor assigned to the student will provide counsel on what preparations are needed for the individual student prior to taking the qualifying examination.

The qualifying examination will cover the material treated in courses required of both the statistical and social science concentrations of the M.S. in Survey Methodology. In addition, it will cover two specialty content areas: one on statistical theory and methods for those Ph.D. students seeking to specialize in statistical science; one on statistical methods and data analysis for those seeking to specialize in the social sciences.

No course work is required prior to taking the qualifying examinations, although many students may choose to take courses to fill gaps in their backgrounds.

Admission to the minor will be limited to no more than 25 students per year, selected through a competitive application process.  This limitation on potential enrollments is necessary because of the small size of the JPSM faculty.  Successful applicants will have completed at least 30 semester credits and have demonstrated a high level of academic achievement with a minimal GPA requirement of a 3.2.  Students who apply to the program are expected to be able to work independently.

Students seeking admission to the minor will be asked to:

  • Complete an application form

  • Submit a letter of support from a faculty member or advisor

  • 1/2 page statement of interest in the minor program

  • Provide a copy of their transcript

The faculty committee responsible for oversight of the minor will evaluate the applications submitted.  In selecting students to the program, the committee will emphasize academic achievement, including in particular evidence of successful completion of courses in quantitative subjects.

Interested students should contact JPSM at jpsm-contact [at] umd [dot] edu. Applications for admission will be reviewed each semester.  Once admitted to the program, students will work with the Program Director or an assigned faculty advisor to plan the courses to be taken to complete the minor.  Students will be expected to be in touch with their faculty advisors before the start of each semester to ensure that they are continuing on track to complete the minor requirements.