Program Overview

Bachelor of Science in Statistics

The undergraduate program in statistics provides students with fundamental knowledge and skills related to probability, mathematical statistics, data analysis, and statistical computing. With the recent rise of big data, data science, and analytics, the demand for this set of skills has increased substantially. A BS in statistics is very flexible and can lead to a career in business, industry, or government.

Requirements and Program Planning

The statistics program prepares students for careers in a wide variety of fields. With the rise of data science and analytics, the number of undergraduate students choosing to expand their knowledge base and skill set in the area of statistics has grown substantially. The statistics program is structured to provide students with a conceptual understanding of elementary probability and mathematical statistics, skills in data analysis and interpretation, the ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing, and a proficiency in statistical computing.

Learning Outcomes

Students will:

• Be able to distinguish between observational studies and designed experiments and understand the issues related to the data collection method, including sampling bias, sampling error, sample size determination, statistical power, association versus causation, and the design and analysis of randomized experiments;
• Use critical thinking skills to translate substantive questions into well-defined statistical problems and choose appropriate statistical methods and graphical summaries for a given problem;
• Use computer software to manage data, carry out exploratory data analyses and computer simulations, produce numerical and graphical summaries of data, and apply basic statistical methodology;
• Be able to clearly communicate study results to non-statisticians, and write accurate and meaningful reports that describe the statistical analyses and summarize important findings; and
• Understand the mathematical tools underlying statistical methods, including distribution theory, uncertainty quantification via probability, estimation theory, and the probabilistic basis of formal statistical inference.

Program Details

The Bachelor of Science with a major in statistics requires a minimum of 120 semester hours, including at least 47 semester hours of work for the major. Students must maintain a grade-point average (GPA) of at least 2.00 in all courses for the major and in all UI courses for the major. They also must complete the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences GE CLAS Core.

Core Courses

All students complete the following 10 core courses:

• CS:1210 Computer Science I: Fundamentals (4 semester hours)
• MATH:1850 Calculus I (4 semester hours)
• MATH:1860 Calculus II (4 semester hours)
• MATH:2700 Introduction to Linear Algebra (4 semester hours)
• MATH:2850 Calculus III (4 semester hours)
• STAT:2010 Statistical Methods and Computing (3 semester hours)
• STAT:3100/IGPI:3100 Introduction to Mathematical Statistics I (3 semester hours)
• STAT:3101/IGPI:3101 Introduction to Mathematical Statistics II (3 semester hours)
• DATA:3200/STAT:3200/IGPI:3200/ISE:3760 Applied Linear Regression (3 semester hours)
• STAT:3210 Experimental Design and Analysis (3 semester hours)

Electives

Students complete 15 semester hours of electives with a maximum of 6 semester hours coming from domain electives. Some elective courses include:

• STAT:1015/DATA:1015 Introduction to Data Science (3 semester hours)
• STAT:3620/CEE:3142/ISE:3600 Quality Control (3 semester hours)
• STAT:4100/IGPI:4100 Statistical Inference I (3 semester hours)
• STAT:4101/IGPI:4101 Statistical Inference II (3 semester hours)
• STAT:4520/IGPI:4522/PSQF:4520 Bayesian Statistics (3 semester hours)
• STAT:4540/DATA:4540/BAIS:4540/IGPI:4540 Statistical Learning (3 semester hours)
• STAT:4580/DATA:4580/IGPI:4580 Data Visualization and Data Technologies (3 semester hours)
• STAT:4750/DATA:4750 Probabilistic Statistical Learning (3 semester hours)
• STAT:5400/DATA:5400/IGPI:5400 Computing in Statistics (3 semester hours)
• STAT:6220/DATA:6220 Consulting and Communication With Data (3 semester hours)
• STAT:6300 Probability and Stochastic Processes I (3 semester hours)
• STAT:6301 Probability and Stochastic Processes II (3 semester hours)
• STAT:6530/IGPI:6530 Environmental and Spatial Statistics (3 semester hours)
• STAT:6550/BIOS:6310/IGPI:6310 Introductory Longitudinal Data Analysis (3 semester hours)
• STAT:6560 Applied Time Series Analysis (3 semester hours)
• ACTS:4150 Fundamentals of Short-Term Actuarial Mathematics (3 semester hours)
• BIOS:5130/IGPI:5130 Applied Categorical Data Analysis (3 semester hours)
• DATA:4600/STAT:4600 Causal Inference for Data Science (3 semester hours)
• DATA:4610 Data Acquisition and Management (3 semester hours)
• DATA:4620 Text Data Analysis (3 semester hours)

Four-Year Graduation Plan

The following checkpoints list the minimum requirements students must complete by certain semesters in order to stay on the university's four-year graduation plan:

• Before the fifth semester begins: at least four courses in the major, including MATH:1850 Calculus I, MATH:1860 Calculus II, and STAT:2010 Statistical Methods and Computing.
• Before the seventh semester begins: seven or eight courses in the major and at least 90 semester hours earned toward the degree.
• Before the eighth semester begins: nine or ten courses in the major must be earned.
• During the eighth semester: enrollment in all remaining course work in the major, all remaining GE CLAS Core courses, and a sufficient number of semester hours to graduate must be completed.