I am applying to a PhD program in biostatistics, and my undergrad was in B.S. applied math and limited pure math background; only topology and some analysis.
My question, though, is how much pure math is required to be good at statistical research and genetics? For my PhD, I think it may be silly to pursue genetics AND statistics specialization AND pure math courses; I think that is too ambitious.
I am seeking general advice. My interests are in statistical genetics, mathematical modeling of cancer informatics, and data analytics.
Best Answer
My biostat department only requires calculus + linear algebra course to get into the biostatistics masters program. All the math that we were required to know for the more theoretical courses was taught to us.
I took a few of the more theoretical courses from our sister statistics department (Advanced Inference series taught out of Van Der Vaart, probability theory course) and for those type of classes you will certainly need to brush up a bit on your basic analysis + topology (e.g. understanding measure theory, basic set theory, compact sets, limit points, etc).