Statistics:

Statistics as a field has experienced tremendous growth and development in the last couple of decades. There is great unfulfilled demand in the workforce for people trained in quantitative methods in general and in statistics in particular. Jobs in numerous, diverse areas increasingly utilize statistical methods in routine practice. Research across a wide spectrum of disciplines to an extent never seen before uses and relies on statistical methods and insight. It is essential that one become competent in modern quantitative methods including statistics to fully participate in and comprehend many forces and trends in our democratic society.

A major focus of statistics is understanding patterns in the world in light of inherent uncertainty. What study designs allow one to make valid conclusions about issues in society? How can one summarize complex quantitative information and make principled inferential statements about populations? Is the available evidence sufficient for establishing a causal relationship among factors? Statistics, through its development of principles of study design and analysis, has played key roles in the development of agriculture, medicine, and surveys to inform public policy and decision making. In order to study and address many of the challenges in our society, it is necessary to have reliable, timely information. One must have the tools to summarize, investigate, and communicate important findings from the information. Statistics enables one to seek answers in creative ways to complex questions. Statistic plays a critical role in many efforts to enhance the conditions of the human person and the world.

Statistics as a field has strong traditions in probability theory, mathematical statistics, exploratory data analysis, and statistical modeling of data. These areas are included in the plans for the minor and major in Statistics. Statistics at its core utilizes principles and methods from mathematics and computational sciences. Statistical practice is informed by research in other fields. Statistical research has made important contributions to practices in areas such as clinical trials, survey sampling, and epidemiology and analysis of observational data.

Statistics Learning Outcomes:

Statistics majors should be able to

* Distinguish types of studies and their limitations and strengths,

* Describe a data set including both categorical and quantitative variables to support or refute a statement,

* Apply laws of probability to concrete problems,

* Perform statistical inference in several circumstances and interpret the results in an applied context,

* Use mathematical tools, including calculus and linear algebra, to study probability and mathematical statistics and in the description and development of statistical procedures,

* Use a statistical software package for computations with data,

* Use a computer for the purpose of simulation in probability and statistical inference, and

* Communicate concepts in probability and statistics using both technical and non-technical language.