STAT 8260 Spring 2026
Theory of Linear Models
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eLearning Commons #
UGA’s eLearning Commons (eLC) is the university’s learning management system. All class communications, announcements, homework assignments, and other materials will be posted exclusively on eLC. Students are responsible to check eLC regularly for updates on course requirements and deadlines. This website is intended only as a supplementary resource.
Lecture time and location #
- Wednesday and Friday 1:15 PM - 2:35 PM
- Brooks Hall, Room 520
Teaching team and office hours #
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Instructor: Xiaotian Zheng
Office Hour: Friday 3:00 – 4:00 PM (or by appointment) at Brooks Hall 452
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Teaching Assistant: Fei Wen
Office Hours: TBD
Lecture schedule #
The schedule will be updated as the course progresses.
PACQ = Plane Answers to Complex Questions (4th ed.) [link]
| Week | Date | Topic | Readings (optional) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture 1 | Week 1 | Jan. 14 | The ordinary least squares (OLS) formula | - |
| Lecture 2 | Week 1 | Jan. 16 | Vector space, rank, column space, and null space | PACQ App. A, B |
| Lecture 3 | Week 2 | Jan. 21 | The geometry of OLS and orthogonal projection | - |
| Lecture 4 | Week 2 | Jan. 23 | Consistency of the Normal Equations and generalized inverse | |
| Lecture 5 | Week 3 | Jan. 27 | Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization, QR decomposition, and computation of OLS |
Acknowledgements #
Course materials are based on Christensen (2011), Ding (2025), Gelman et al. (2013), Monahan (2008), Rencher and Schaalje (2008), and Zimmerman (2020).
References #
Christensen, R. (2011). Plane Answers to Complex Questions: The Theory of Linear Models (4th ed.). New York, NY: Springer.
Ding, P. (2025). Linear Model and Extensions. Chapman & Hall.
Gelman, A., Stern, H. S., Carlin, J. B., Dunson, D. B., Vehtari, A., and Rubin, D. B. (2013). Bayesian Data Analysis (3rd ed). New York, NY: Chapman and Hall/CRC.
Monahan, J. F. (2008). A Primer on Linear Models. Boca Raton, FL: Chapman & Hall/CRC
Rencher, A. C. and Schaalje, G. B. (2008). Linear Models in Statistics. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Zimmerman, D. L. (2020). Linear Model Theory with Examples and Exercises. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.