Statistics originated from the simple study of games of chance and grew into one of the most important applications of human knowledge. One cannot read a newspaper or watch the evening news without being exposed to some sort of statistic or graphic used to describe everything from approval ratings to medical studies. A statistical background enables people to critically analyze and interpret this information.
Who can benefit from a Statistics Minor?
A biologist who is proficient in statistics will be able to explore the interactions between species and their environment. An actuarial fellow will use statistics to determine premium rates for different insurance risks. An engineer will be able to fit mathematical models to experimental data to determine product safety, reliability, and maintainability.
A social scientist can conduct sample surveys to study social attitudes and cross-cultural differences. An economist will predict changes in economic conditions and measure indicators such as volume of trade or standard of living. An educator will be able to develop tests to investigate students' aptitude and assess the effectiveness of teaching methods.
The requirements for degrees in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering usually include several of the calculus and statistics courses needed for the statistics minor. A student could enroll in several additional statistics classes, such as Regression Analysis, Analysis of Variance, Mathematical Statistics, or Operations Research to fulfill the requirements of the minor.
Minor Requirements
Select 6 credits of 400-level STAT, or selected MATH courses. A minimum of 18 credits of statistics and related courses and 10 credits of the calculus sequence are required for the minor.