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Statistics Major Requirements

Major in Statistics Requirements

Required Related Courses (3-7 units)
Required Major Courses (10 units)

 The STAT courses for the Statistics major require prior training in calculus and linear algebra. Students do not have to complete all the related Math courses before starting the main Statistics course sequence (STAT 320-1,2,3); however, courses in the main Statistics sequence do require some of these Math courses as either prerequisites or co-requisites. See the Full Course List on our website or the Undergraduate Course Catalog for course-specific requirements.

Related Math Courses (3-7 units)

Pre/Co-requisites for the 300 level courses in the Statistics Major

See the Math department’s webpage concerning course equivalencies.

*Statistics majors and minors and Data Science majors should register for STAT 228-0 if taking MATH 235-0/STAT 228-0

Please note the Department of Mathematics made changes to their calculus courses that started in the 2019-2020 academic year. You can access a document with the related courses prior to 2019-2020 here.

Major Course Requirements (10 courses)

Introductory Programming course (1 unit)
Introductory Statistics course (1 unit)

1 of the following courses:

Note: Most students with a score of 4 or a 5 on the AP Statistics exam receive credit for STAT 210-0 and do not need to take an introductory Statistics course. Review the AP and IB credit table corresponding to the year in which you completed the AP Statistics exam to see whether credit will apply

STAT 202 includes a brief introduction to the statistical programming language R, while STAT 210 instead spends more time covering the basic elements of mathematical probability.

Those pursuing a double major with Economics should note that STAT 210 is a required for the Economics major and is allowed to double count between the Statistics and Economics majors.

Foundational courses (4 units)

*NOTE: Students may not receive credit for both STAT 320-1 and any of the following: STAT 383-0, MATH 310-1, MATH 311-1, MATH 314-0, MATH 385-0, ELEC_ENG 302-0, or IEMS 302-0 (formerly IEMS 202-0). Although in some cases not ideal, any of these seven courses can be used to satisfy the STAT 320-1 requirement for the Statistics Major or Minor (subject to the WCAS “no double counting” rule, see https://weinberg.northwestern.edu/undergraduate/degree/double-counting-faq.html).

If you take a STAT 320-1 equivalent course, please see this pdf for information on the topics that may not be covered in the equivalent course but that you will be required to understand for STAT 320-2. Students who have not taken STAT 320-1 are responsible for independently learning these topics prior to starting STAT 320-2.

Standard methods course (2 units)

2 of the following courses:

STAT elective courses (2 units)

2 additional 300-level elective courses offered by the department and approved for the Statistics major. 

See Electives Approved for the Statistics Major for the list of approved STAT courses.

Additional Math and Computing Recommendation for Students Considering a PhD

Students who are considering eventually obtaining a PhD in statistics should take additional mathematics coursework. Since modern statistical work relies heavily on computers, students are also encouraged to develop skills in programming and the use of advanced statistical software. The Director of Undergraduate Studies for Statistics and other members of the faculty can recommend courses that are likely to be most valuable for those considering graduate studies.

Statistics Major Requirements for Closely Related Majors

The department has identified the following as closely related major/minor programs that require modification to the major requirements for students to do both programs:

See Statistics + Closely Related Major/Minor for more information about which requirements are modified when doing these major/minors together.

Honors in Statistics

Honors in Statistics gives outstanding senior Statistics majors an opportunity to design and carry out a research project of their choice, which forms the basis of the Honors Thesis. Read more

Declaring the Major in Statistics

For instructions on how to the declare the Major in Statistics or schedule an advising appointment, please see the Declaring the Major in Statistics page

Questions?

Contact stats@northwestern.edu