The Department of Statistics offers a major leading to bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. Two undergraduate minors are offered, one in applied statistics and the second in statistics. A graduate certificate in statistics is also available. A mathematics and statistics double major, the pre-actuarial science option and a degree in behavioral statistics are offered at the undergraduate level.
The department provides opportunities to study both applied and theoretical aspects of statistics. Computers are extensively used in statistics instruction, and statistical software packages and programs are utilized in various courses. Data analysis is an important aspect in applied statistics courses.

Career Opportunities

There are excellent opportunities in statistics. Major corporations and most government agencies continually look for talented individuals with this type of education. Since even greater job opportunities are open to those with advanced statistical training, many undergraduates proceed directly to graduate work in statistics. Many students combine statistics with areas such as business, education, economics or biology.
Career opportunities are varied. A statistician may:

• consult in the design and analysis of clinical studies, evaluating new pharmaceutical agents;
• design experiments for agricultural, ecological, environmental or energy-related studies;
• determine mortality, morbidity and accident rates for an insurance company;
• serve as an opinion pollster for a public relations firm or a television network;
• develop theories of learning and behavior in conjunction with psychologists;
• determine optimal combinations and evaluate performance of various chemicals in industrial setups;
• conduct reliability and quality control studies in various industries; or
• develop econometrics, time series and forecasting models for determining the cause and effects of various socio-economic variables on society.

Statisticians work closely with other scientists and researchers to develop new statistical techniques, adapt existing techniques, design experiments and direct analyses of surveys and retrospective studies.