Statistics, Bachelor of Arts College of Letters & Science

Office & Contact Information

The Major Program

Statistics enables us to make inferences about entire populations, based on samples extracted from those populations. Statistical methods can be applied to problems from almost every discipline and they are vitally important to researchers in agricultural, biological, environmental, social, engineering, and medical sciences.

The Program

Statistics majors may receive either a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) or a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree. Both the A.B. and the B.S. programs require theoretical and applied course work and underscore the strong interdependence of statistical theory and the applications and computational aspects of statistics. The B.S. degree program has five tracks: Applied Statistics Track, Computational Statistics Track, General Track, Machine Learning Track, and the Statistical Data Science Track. The A.B. degree program has one track.

A.B. in Statistics-Applied Statistics Track emphasizes statistical applications. This track is recommended for students who are interested in applications of statistical techniques to various disciplines, especially the social sciences.

Major Advisors

For a current list of faculty and staff advisors, see Undergraduate Advising.

Students are encouraged to meet with an advisor to plan a program as early as possible.

Career Alternatives

Probability models, statistical methods, and computational techniques are used in a great many fields, including the biological, physical, social, and health sciences, business, and engineering. The wide applicability of statistics is reflected in the strong demand for graduates with statistical training in both the public and private sectors. Employment opportunities include careers in data & policy analysis in government & industry, financial management, quality control, insurance & healthcare industry, actuarial science, engineering, public health, biological and pharmaceutical research, law, and education. Students with an undergraduate degree in statistics have entered advanced studies in statistics, economics, finance, psychology, medicine, business management & analytics, and other professional school programs.

Preparatory Subject Matter
Mathematics
Choose a series:9-12
MAT 016A
& MAT 016B
& MAT 016C
Short Calculus
and Short Calculus
and Short Calculus
MAT 017A
& MAT 017B
& MAT 017C
Calculus for Biology & Medicine
and Calculus for Biology & Medicine
and Calculus for Biology & Medicine
MAT 021A
& MAT 021B
& MAT 021C
Calculus
and Calculus
and Calculus
MAT 021 series preferred.
MAT 022ALinear Algebra3
Computer Science Engineering
ECS 032AIntroduction to Programming4
or ECS 036A Programming & Problem Solving
Statistics
Choose one:4
STA 013
Elementary Statistics
or STA 013Y
 Elementary Statistics
STA 032
Gateway to Statistical Data Science
STA 100
Applied Statistics for Biological Sciences
STA 032 or STA 100 preferred
Preparatory Subject Matter Subtotal20-23
Depth Subject Matter
STA 106Applied Statistical Methods: Analysis of Variance4
STA 108Applied Statistical Methods: Regression Analysis4
STA 130AMathematical Statistics: Brief Course4
STA 130BMathematical Statistics: Brief Course4
STA 138Analysis of Categorical Data4
STA 137Applied Time Series Analysis4
or STA 141A Fundamentals of Statistical Data Science
Choose three:12
STA 104
Applied Statistical Methods: Nonparametric Statistics
STA 135
Multivariate Data Analysis
STA 137
Applied Time Series Analysis
STA 141A
Fundamentals of Statistical Data Science
STA 141B
Data & Web Technologies for Data Analysis
Only one of STA 141B or STA 141C can be used as an elective.
STA 141C
Big Data & High Performance Statistical Computing
Only one of STA 141B or STA 141C can be used as an elective.
STA 144
Sampling Theory of Surveys
STA 145
Bayesian Statistical Inference
STA 160
Practice in Statistical Data Science
MAT 168
Optimization
With advisor approval, one of STA 194HA or STA 194HB or STA 199 may be used as an elective. The course must be taken for four units.
STA 194HA
Special Studies for Honors Students
STA 194HB
Special Studies for Honors Students
STA 199
Special Study for Advanced Undergraduates
Three upper division elective courses outside of Statistics.9-12
Electives are chosen with and must be approved by the major advisor. Electives should follow a coherent sequence in one single disciple where statistical methods and models are applied and should cover the quantitative aspects of the discipline. A list of pre-approved electives can be found on the Statistics Department website.
Depth Subject Matter Subtotal45-48
Total Units65-71