Admission is governed by a competition that allocates scholarships on the basis of comparative merit. Comparative assessment is made by the Boards of Examiners, appointed according to the University regulations, that evaluates qualifications and interviews candidates. After the selection process has been completed, the Board of Examiners draws up a merit list. Scholarships are allocated according to the ranking established in the merit list.
Qualifications include: undergraduate and/or master degrees transcripts of records, curriculum, scientific publications, GRE and TOEFL (if available), awards, grants, and one letter of recommendation.
The interview is meant to allow the committee to determine if the candidate is a good fit and if he/she has the motivation and drive to complete a doctorate. Moreover, it covers the technical background of each candidate. Technical questions are on the level, for instance, of:
- Exercise 7.6, 7.8, 8.3, 8,7 Casella Berger
- Exercise 7.4, 7.21, 8.2, 9.1 Mood, Graybill, Boes
Candidates are allowed to work on their answers with pencil and paper. They should then explain their answers to the examiners and answer additional follow-up questions.
In the event of positions linked to special topics, questions linked to the topic of interest might also be raised by the examiners on the top of those above described.
Suggested readings for the interview:
- Casella, G., & Berger, R. L. (2002). Statistical inference (Vol. 2). Pacific Grove, CA: Duxbury.
- Mood A. Graybill F.A., Boes D.C. (1974): Introduction to the Theory of Statistics, McGraw Hill College.
The interview takes place on a date announced after the results of the evaluation of qualifications.