Skip to the content

Kansas State University

News

K-State Online Graduate Certificate in Statistics Strengthens Student's Studies in Chemical Engineering

August 19, 2008

For young professionals who want to get ahead in their careers but need more education to do so, quitting a job and moving to a university town to take courses full time is not always economically feasible, especially when a family is involved.

But now that more and more curricula can be adapted and taught online, new options are available for getting the education needed to advance.

Such was the case for Russ McDonald, who earned his master's in chemical engineering and a graduate certificate in applied statistics through Kansas State University's distance education program in May 2008.

Originally from Willits, Calif., McDonald earned his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of California at Davis in 2001. That year, he accepted a position as a process engineer with Intel Corporation in Hillsboro, Ore., and relocated to nearby Newberg, Ore., with his wife, Kyla. But when he decided to go back to school and get his master's degree, he found his geographic location to be somewhat limiting.

So McDonald started his search for an online program. Turns out he only had to search as far as his own office.

“I knew someone at work who was in an online master's program in engineering offered by K-State and had a lot of good things to say about the experience,” McDonald said.

After a little research into K-State's distance education program and faculty, McDonald decided it was the perfect option for him. He began working earnestly toward his master's degree in 2004. Over time, McDonald shifted roles and became a yield engineer and he found himself working with increasing amounts of statistical data.

Eventually, it became clear that adding some graduate work in statistics might be a smart move. So he did some digging around on the K-State Web site and found that an online program for a graduate certificate in applied statistics was in the works.

“It overlapped perfectly with the engineering master's degree,” McDonald said. “I was very anxious and probably pestered them more than I should have, asking, ‘Is it done yet? Can I sign up yet?’ I think a lot of hard work and consideration went into setting up the certificate.”

McDonald added the certificate in applied statistics to his graduate curriculum, and the courses he needed for the completion fit perfectly into his chemical engineering curriculum as electives. The fact that he could work at his own pace became a huge advantage, especially when trying to look after his now 1-year-old daughter, Shaelyn, and continuing at his job.

“The program is really well tailored for people who work full time. The professors are very understanding about situations or projects coming up at work and needing to delay homework or tests if you really need to,” McDonald said.

Intel was able to aid McDonald in his pursuit of an advanced degree by offsetting the cost of his tuition.

Throughout completion of the certificate program, McDonald has seen how applied statistics relates to his job.

“It's really where the rubber meets the road when it comes to theoretical statistics and how you do things in a business setting,” McDonald said. “Really, no matter what industry you're in, it's applicable.”

Now that McDonald has his master's degree and graduate certificate under his belt, he's looking forward to the future and said there is not much to stand in the way of his goals of becoming a senior engineer or earning his professional engineer license. McDonald hints at re-enrolling someday to earn a second master's degree in — what else — statistics.

“I think for companies that are moving forward, K-State's certificate program in statistics is ideal for grooming all kinds of statistical experts,” he said.

More information about the graduate certificate in applied statistics or other programs offered at K-State through distance education is available at http://www.dce.k-state.edu or by contacting the K-State Division of Continuing Education at 1-800-622-2578.