• Eligibility Requirements:
  • Have upper-division standing (90 completed units).
  • Must have a minimum of 3.0 GPA for the preceding three quarters at UCSB.
  • Have completed at least two upper-division courses in Statistics.
  • Have obtained permission of a professor to sponsor your work.
  • Complete a proposal and obtain approval prior to enrolling in the course.
  • Students may not have more than 12 units of 199 combined.
  • Submit a final report or other written work, as determined by the sponsoring professor.
    • The written work/report must be submitted to the sponsoring professor before a grade will be assigned for the course.
• Enrollment Procedure:
  • Obtain a PSTAT faculty sponsor and decide on a research project.
  • Draft a research proposal answering the questions listed below. The proposal will serve as a mini-syllabus or contract; therefore it should be completed with the professor with whom you will be working. Make a copy of the proposal for yourself, so that you can refer back to it throughout the quarter. Proposals should explain exactly what you will be doing, and how it applies to your PSTAT major. Proposals should clearly denote the academic and research components of the project.
  • Fill out and sign the PSTAT 199 Petition using the form here. Proposals are due by the second Wednesday of the quarter. Once your proposal is approved, an add code will be emailed to you so that you can officially enroll.
  • Research proposals will need to be attached to your petition submission.
• Proposal Information: Your research proposal should address the following questions:
  • What are the goals of the research project on which you have worked? How do these goals refine, extend, or apply existing theory or knowledge in the area?
  • What key findings might be expected from this research? What is the value of the knowledge? How can or will it be applied/used?
  • What is the project’s approach to defining and measuring key variables of interest? How have decisions in these areas influenced the outcomes of the study? Are there alternative definitions and measures that might have been used? How would the findings of the study likely differ if these strategies had been employed?
  • Identify and discuss other important strengths, weaknesses, or limitations associated with the research design for the project.
  • After this study is completed, what further research should follow?
• Please consult with your sponsoring professor to discuss instructions for any written assignments that they expect you to complete once you enroll in the course. If your sponsoring professor has no other written work planned for you, the following are some suggested questions they may ask you to address in a written report at the end of the quarter.

Credit and Enrollment Clarification Petition: This petition is used in order to request to repeat a course for a second time, to earn major credit for pre-approved courses taken outside UCSB (i.e. other UC's, CSU's, education abroad courses), etc. A petition for a course completed at another UC to serve as a legal repeat for UCSB course cannot be approved without the UCSB department’s endorsement. The major department’s review is required if a student is petitioning for a second repeat of a course that is applicable to a student’s major, but the Dean has final approval. There are also other matters regarding credit clarification that may require a department’s response. Please consult with the College of Letters and Science, 1117 Cheadle Hall.