Graduate Mathematical Statistics, Spring 2022

Course: MATH 541A, Graduate Mathematical Statistics, Spring 2023
Prerequisite: 1 from (Math 505A or Math 407 or Math 408). Note: once you complete 541A, you cannot take 505A for credit.
Course Content: Parametric families of distributions, sufficiency. Estimation: methods of moments, maximum likelihood, unbiased estimation. Comparison of estimators, optimality, information inequality, asymptotic efficiency. EM algorithm, jacknife and bootstrap.
Last update: 27 October 2022

Instructor: Steven Heilman, stevenmheilman(@-symbol)gmail.com
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 9AM-11AM, on zoom [link posted on blackboard]
Lecture Meeting Time/Location: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 11AM-1150AM, THH 114
TA: Cora Liang, ziyilian(@-symbol)usc.edu
TA Office Hours: (see the schedule in the Math Center)
Recommended Textbook: Cassella and Berger, Statistical Inference, 2nd Edition.
Other Textbooks (not required): Keener, Theoretical Statistics.

Midterm 1: Friday Feb 24, 11AM-1150AM, THH 114
Midterm 2: Wednesday Apr 5, 11AM-1150AM, THH 114
Final Exam: Wednesday, May 3, 11AM-1PM, THH 114
Other Resources: An introduction to mathematical arguments, Michael Hutchings, An Introduction to Proofs, How to Write Mathematical Arguments
Email Policy:

My email address for this course is stevenmheilman(@-symbol)gmail.com
It is your responsibility to make sure you are receiving emails from stevenmheilman(@-symbol)gmail.com , and they are not being sent to your spam folder.
Do NOT email me with questions that can be answered from the syllabus.

Exam Procedures: Students must bring their USCID cards to the midterms and to the final exam. Phones must be turned off. Cheating on an exam results in a score of zero on that exam. Exams can be regraded at most 15 days after the date of the exam. This policy extends to homeworks as well. All students are expected to be familiar with the USC Student Conduct Code. (See also here.)
Accessibility Services: If you are registered with accessibility services, I would be happy to discuss this at the beginning of the course. Any student requesting accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Accessibility Services (OSAS) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from OSAS. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me as early in the semester as possible. OSAS is located in 301 STU and is open 8:30am-5:00pm, Monday through Friday.
https://osas.usc.edu/
213-740-0776 (phone)
213-740-6948 (TDD only)
213-740-8216 (fax)
OSASFrontDesk@usc.edu

Discrimination, sexual assault, and harassment are not tolerated by the university. You are encouraged to report any incidents to the Office of Equity and Diversity http://equity.usc.edu/ or to the Department of Public Safety http://capsnet.usc.edu/department/department-public-safety/online-forms/contact-us. This is important for the safety whole USC community. Another member of the university community - such as a friend, classmate, advisor, or faculty member - can help initiate the report, or can initiate the report on behalf of another person. The Center for Women and Men http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/cwm/ provides 24/7 confidential support, and the sexual assault resource center webpage sarc@usc.edu describes reporting options and other resources.

Exam Resources: Here is a page containing USC Stats A Qual Exams with solutions. Here are exams from the last time I taught this class: Exam 1 Exam 1 Solution Exam 2 Exam 2 Solution Final Final Solution Exam 1 Exam 1 Solution Exam 2 Exam 2 Solution Final Final Solution .

Homework Policy:

Homeworks are due at 9AM on Fridays.
Homeworks are submitted in blackboard, under the "Assignments" tab. You are allowed unlimited submission "attempts" for an assignment, but only the last submission will be graded. To avoid internet issues, I recommend making your first submission of an assignment well in advance of the deadline.
Homeworks should be submitted as single PDF documents. One way to create a PDF document from paper homework assignments is the freely available Adode Scan App
Late homework is not accepted.
If you still want to turn in late homework, then the number of minutes late, divided by ten, will be deducted from the score. (The time estimate is not guaranteed to be accurate.)
The lowest homework score will be dropped. This policy is meant to account for illnesses, emergencies, etc.
Do not submit homework via email.
A random subset of the homework problems will be graded each week. However, it is strongly recommended that you try to complete the entire homework assignment.
You may use whatever resources you want to do the homework, including computers, textbooks, friends, the TA, etc. However, I would discourage any over-reliance on search technology such as Google, since its overuse could degrade your learning experience. By the end of the quarter, you should be able to do the entire homework on your own, without any external help.
All homework assignments must be written by you, i.e. you cannot copy someone else's solution verbatim. However, I would very much encourage you to form study groups and do the homework together in small groups. Homework is the most important part of a graduate mathematics course, and I encourage you to take it very seriously.
Homework solutions will be posted on Friday after the homework is turned in.

Grading Policy:

The final course grade is weighted as the larger of the following two schemes. Scheme 1: homework (25%), the first midterm (20%), the second midterm (25%), and the final (30%). Scheme 2: homework (25%), largest midterm grade (35%), final (40%). The grade for the semester will be curved. However, anyone who exceeds my expectations in the class by showing A-level performance on the exams and homeworks will receive an A for the class.
If you cannot attend one of the exams, you must notify me within the first two weeks of the start of the quarter. Later requests for rescheduling will most likely be denied.
You must attend the final exam to pass the course.

Tentative Schedule: (This schedule may change slightly during the course.)

Week	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
1	Jan 9: 1.1-1.6, Review of Probability		Jan 11: 1.1-1.6, Review of Probability		Jan 13: 2.1-2.4, Review of Probability
2	Jan 16: No class (MLK Day)		Jan 18: 2.1-2.4, Review of Probability		Jan 20: Homework 1 due. 3.1-3.6, Review of Probability
3	Jan 21: 3.4, Exponential Families		Jan 25: 3.4, Exponential Families		Jan 27: 4.1-4.7, Review of Probability
4	Jan 30: 4.1-4.7, Review of Probability		Feb 1: 4.1-4.7, Review of Probability		Feb 3: Homework 2 due. 5.1 Random Sample
5	Feb 6: 5.2, Sums of Random Variables		Feb 8: 5.3, Sampling from the Normal		Feb 10: 5.4, Order Statistics
6	Feb 13: 5.4, Order Statistics		Feb 15: 5.5, Modes of Convergence		Feb 17: Homework 3 due. 5.5, Delta Method
7	Feb 20: No class		Feb 22: 5.6, Generating a Random Sample		Feb 24: Midterm 1
8	Feb 27: 5.6, Generating a Random Sample		Mar 1: 6.2, Sufficiency		Mar 3: 6.2, Sufficiency
9	Mar 6: 6.2.4, Completeness		Mar 8: 6.3, Likelihood		Mar 10: Homework 4 due. 6.4, Equivariance
10	Mar 13: No class (spring break)		Mar 15: No class (spring break)		Mar 17: No class (spring break)
11	Mar 20: 7.2, Point Estimation		Mar 22: 7.2.1, Method of Moments		Mar 24: Homework 5 due. 7.2.2, Maximum Likelihood Estimators
12	Mar 27: 7.2.2, Maximum Likelihood Estimators		Mar 29: 7.2.2, Maximum Likelihood Estimators		Mar 30: 7.2.3, Bayes Estimator
13	Apr 3: 7.2.4, EM Algorithm		Apr 5: Midterm 2		Apr 7: 7.3, Comparison of Estimators
14	Apr 10: 7.3.2, Unbiased Estimators		Apr 12: 7.3.2, Unbiased Estimators		Apr 14: Homework 6 due. 7.3.3, Sufficiency and Unbiasedness
15	Apr 17: 7.3.3, Sufficiency and Unbiasedness		Apr 19: 7.3.4, Loss Function Optimality		Apr 22: 7.3.4, Loss Function Optimality
16	Apr 24: 7.66, Jackknife Resampling		Apr 26: 10.1.4, Bootstrapping		Apr 28: Homework 7 due. Review of course (last day of class)

Advice on succeeding in a math class:

Review the relevant course material before you come to lecture. Consider reviewing course material a week or two before the semester starts.
When reading mathematics, use a pencil and paper to sketch the calculations that are performed by the author.
Come to class with questions, so you can get more out of the lecture. Also, finish your homework at least two days before it is due, to alleviate deadline stress.
Write a rough draft and a separate final draft for your homework. This procedure will help you catch mistakes. Also, I would very much recommend typesetting your homework. Learning LaTeX is a very important skill to have for doing mathematics. Here is a template .tex file if you want to get started typesetting.
If you are having difficulty with the material or a particular homework problem, review Polya's Problem Solving Strategies, and come to office hours.

Homework

HW1 HW2 HW3 HW4 HW5 HW6 HW7 soln

Homework .tex files

HW1 HW2 HW3 HW4 HW5 HW6 HW7

Exam Solutions

Exam 1 Exam 1 Solution Exam 2 Exam 2 Solution Final Final Solution

Supplementary Notes

541A Lecture Notes