A Major in Statistics
Why Study Statistics?
A degree in Statistics opens up a broad range of opportunities for your professional career. After graduating, you can choose from employment possibilities in the financial sector and industry, health and government agencies, or from outstanding graduate programs around the country. In particular an undergraduate degree in Statistics can give you an advantage in applying for graduate programs in fields with a quantitative emphasis, such as: economics, marketing, finance, biology, psychology, public health, epidemiology, bioinformatics, and biostatistics; to name just a few. Most importantly, if you are interested in one of the natural or business sciences or in one of the humanities but also enjoy Mathematics, you can combine both areas of interest with a double-major including Statistics.
What do we we have to offer?
At Iowa State you will receive training in statistical methods and applications from award winning faculty, providing you with a strong foundation for your future development either as a working professional or a graduate student. A fundamental background in areas such as design of experiments, regression, survey sampling techniques, multivariate analysis, and theoretical statistics as well as statistical computing is established during your 4-year degree. You will learn how to determine the appropriate statistical methods for a given scientific problem and data structure at hand and in being able to effectively communicate these statistical analyses in both oral and written forms. Experience with the common statistical software packages is an essential prerequisite for future employment and graduate study, so you will be given opportunities to learn advanced statistical software packages such as JMP, SAS, and/or R as a part of your studies and training.
Because Statistics is used in so many different areas (e.g. industry, financial sector, pharmaceutical, health and environmental sciences) it is of great advantage to have a minor or at least some substantial coursework in one of these fields. Naturally you should choose the area that you picture yourself working in after graduation. A specific choice however does not necessarily bind you to this particular area, but most likely will benefit you when you apply for your dream job.
How do I earn the degree?
For a list of degree requirements and four-year plan for the major, please visit the Iowa State University Course Catalog.
For questions about the major, please contact:
Dr. Amy G. Froelich
Director of Undergraduate Education
3109 Snedecor Hall
Phone: (515) 294-5584
Email: amyf@iastate.edu