THE FIELD OF STATISTICS
	OPPORTUNITIES
	FIELDS OF APPLICATIONS
	STATISTICS PROGRAM AT GW
	PLACEMENT AND INTERNSHIPS
	TESTIMONIALS ABOUT OUR PROGRAM
	RECEIVING TRANSFER CREDITS FOR STAT 51/53

THE FIELD OF STATISTICS

Statistics deals with the problem of making inferences in the face of uncertainty. It provides the reasoning and the methods for producing and understanding data. Statisticians provide methodologies for making important advances in medicine, genetics, and other scientific research arenas, and for making decisions in business and public policy. Statistics plays an important role in fields such as psychology, sociology, political science, and education. It is the “language” used to analyze and present results or findings.

OPPORTUNITIES

Jobs for statisticians are found in all sectors of society. Government agencies, as well as universities, businesses and industries employ statisticians. Statisticians are called upon to apply statistical methods in policy-making roles in government, development of pharmaceuticals, market research, finance, accounting, and quality control in manufacturing. In addition to a wide variety of exciting applications, statistics also provides for very lucrative careers, with senior level statisticians often earning six-figure salaries.

For more information on career opportunities, see the website of the American Statistical Association, at www.amstat.org/careers .

FIELDS OF APPLICATIONS

In Economics and Business:

• Economics: analysis of key economic indicators, financial markets, economic modeling.
• Finance: development of models that help in managing risk and exploiting opportunities. Forecasting models, credit analysis.
• Marketing: analyzing customers' needs and wants, assessing new product viability. Data mining to discover patterns.
• Accounting: sampling and estimation of accounting discrepancies.
• Insurance: risk assessment, pricing and financial decisions, actuarial science.

In Government:

• Law and Justice: analysis of data to help in determination of judgments, DNA test analysis, discrimination cases.
• Policy: development of government regulations, including for financial markets, pollution standards, approval of new drugs.
• National Defense: simulation, logistics, national security risk assessment.
• Demography: sample surveys and censuses for demographic and economic portraits, confidentiality of respondents.
• Forestry, Agriculture, Ecology.

In Health and Medicine:

• Biomedical Research: design and analysis of experiments for medical advances, clinical trials, pharmaceutical research, epidemiology
• Genetics: linking of genes to outcomes.

STATISTICS PROGRAM AT GW

The Statistics Department offers a B.S. in Statistics as well as a Minor in Statistics. Given the expanding use of data in all realms of society, we encourage students from all fields to consider pursuing either a B. S. or minor. We have several students who are double majors in fields of application, and minors from a wide range of departments across campus. A minor can be an excellent complement to a degree in another field.

Our course and program descriptions can be found at http://www.gwu.edu/~bulletin/ugrad/stat.html. We design for each student a flexible program tailored to his/her own particular interests and objectives.

Major: Prerequisite courses are Math 31, Math 32, Math 33, and an introductory statistics course. Required courses are Math 124, Stat 118, 119, 129, 157-158, either 183 or 197, plus three approved 100-level courses. In special circumstances, approval may be given to courses outside the department.

Minor: A Minor in Statistics requires 18 hours of approved courses, including an introductory statistics course and Stat 118 (Regression Analysis) or Stat/Econ 123 (Introduction to Econometrics).

Some common elective concentrations:

•  Statistical computing: Stat 129 (Introduction to Computing), Stat 183 (Statistical Computing Packages), Stat 197 (Fundamentals of SAS Programming for Data Management). Statistical computing skills are in great demand.

•  Economic/Business emphasis: Stat 181 (Applied Time Series), Stat 157-158 (Introduction to Mathematical Statistics, including calculus-based probability), Stat 187 (Introduction to Sampling)

•  Biomedical/Social Science emphasis: Stat 119 (Analysis of Variance), Stat 187.

Statistics Special Honors for Undergraduates:

Students may apply for graduation with Special Honors. To be eligible, a student must meet the following requirements.

1. GPA of greater than or equal to 3.7 among courses taken for the major requirements.
2. Nomination by at least two Statistics faculty members.
3. The taking of either two graduate level courses in the Statistics Department, or completion of Stat 195 and a research project, with the research project being approved by the supervising faculty member and the undergraduate committee of the department.
4. All other University and CCAS requirements for special honors.
   

For more information about the department, please see www.gwu.edu/~stat .

Contact information:

PLACEMENT AND INTERNSHIPS

Our students have placed in top graduate schools and organizations after graduation. Being a major or minor in statistics can greatly enhance one's marketability for internships. Some recent achievements:

• Congratulations to Peter Bordonaro, Abhi Kole, and Sherri Weinstein, statistics majors, for being accepted to the Summer Institutes for Training in Biostatistics, funded by NIH, Summer 2004.
• Congratulations to T.J. Christian and Jordan Kaufman for entering master’s programs in statistics at Columbia University.
• Congratulations to Vishnu Murty for accepting a position at Lehman Brothers, in NYC.
• Congratulations to Ian Dusenberry for receiving an internship at the National Human Genome Research Institite (NIH), Summer 2004.
• Congratualtions to Shekhar Mehta for entering the master's program in Biostatistics at the University of Pittsburgh.
• Congratulations to Hyeona Kim, statistics minor, for receiving an internship at Merrill Lynch.

TESTIMONIALS ABOUT OUR PROGRAM FROM RECENT STUDENTS

- "Applying to both jobs and graduate schools, it seems that everyone is most interested in your quantitative and analytical abilities. Many places will ask specifically to list the statistics courses you've taken when filling out your application. Recent graduates I've talked to have told me since they had started working, the developed a new respect for statistics. One recent graduate I had talked to that had been an economics major is now, after primarily doing statistical analyses, going back to school for an M. S. in statistics. Looking back, I think deciding to major in statistics was one of the better decisions I made; with everyone asking about what stat courses I took, I'm glad I have so many to put down! The stat major really fit well with my economics major, I was able to double count some classes for both majors so it was very do-able; I was actually undecided on a major until my sophomore year, so even a late starter in both classes like me was able to double major. Even all the economics professors were very pleased to hear that I was also majoring in statistics, they really appreciated it's value." Thomas J. Christian ; Double Major: Statistics and Economics 2003

- “I graduated in May 2002 from The George Washington University with a B. A. magna cum laude in English, yet I have been interested in statistics since my junior year of college. While I initially registered for two introductory statistic courses to fulfill general university requirements, it was my decision to register for more advanced courses that tested my ability to succeed in statistics and solidified my passion for the subject. While I enjoyed studying Literature, my statistics assignments required thinking in an entirely different, and for me, more intellectually challenging manner. Even though I found studying and understanding statistics more demanding than writing papers, I also found it more gratifying.
A minor in statistics has helped me procure the jobs I have had to date. In my experience, having even a minor in statistics makes your resume stand out from your peers. In today's tough job market, managers are looking for employees with technical skills, and a minor in statistics shows an ability to work with numbers that makes you the more attractive candidate than your classmates. No matter what career path you take in life, a minor or major in statistics will aid your job search.”
Rachel Dinkes; Formerly United States Census Bureau ; Statistics Minor 2002, M. S. student in Statistics, London School of Economics

- “My Statistics minor played an integral role in my success at GW and beyond. It perfectly complemented my major in Psychology by providing me with the tools for evaluating and conducting behavioral sciences research. My Statistics minor proved indispensable for designing and implementing my Honors thesis research and also for analyzing the data. My Statistics minor provided me with a number of exciting job opportunities upon graduation. I was employed as a SAS programmer with SAIC, where I worked on a counterterrorism project for the CIA. In the fall, I will start a joint Ph.D. in Sociology and Master's in Mathematical Sciences at Johns Hopkins University. The faculty at Hopkins and Cornell University (my other top choice school) agreed that my background in Statistics distinguished me from the many other imminently qualified applicants to these fiercely competitive and top-ranked programs. Considering the increasing competitiveness of graduate school admissions, a minor in Statistics is a must for any student thinking about graduate programs in the social sciences. For those students entering the job market—especially in an uncertain economy—the minor will enhance a resume built on almost any course of studies.” Joseph Gasper; Statistics Minor 2001, Ph.D. student in Sociology at John Hopkins University

- "As an incoming freshmen at GW, I was told to get my dreaded math requirements out of the way as quickly as possible. In order to do this, I quickly signed up for STAT 129, having never taken a statistics class, and having no idea what I was in for. The subject of statistics was so foreign to me that during the first two weeks, I was convinced I was going to fail, and tried everything I could do drop the course.   Thank goodness I couldn't! Taking STAT 129 changed the course of my academic career. I had always been afraid of math and number related subjects, but thanks to the helpful efforts of my professor, and the work we did in that class, I began to see statistics as something that was challenging, but manageable. By the beginning of my sophomore year in college, I was a Teaching Assistant for the statistics department, and well on my way to my minor in statistics. The students in the lab sections I teach are always surprised to find out I'm a History major, but I feel that it is the perfect compliment. There is no reason that people should think they can only use one side of their brain; with the help of great professors and challenging classes, you can learn anything." Elizabeth Lewis ; Statistics Minor 2003, MS student in MSIT program, GWU 

- “Choosing statistics as my minor was certainly a good decision. Although not many SBPM students choose to minor in statistics, there are important incentives. Academically, business and statistics overlap in many areas. Many statistics courses are excellent choices for field electives, depending on your concentration. The statistics department offers great courses that compliment business degrees concentrating in accounting, information systems, marketing, and finance. In my job search, I've got the impression that prospective employers are impressed by a statistics minor, and that sets me apart from other candidates. I would definitely recommend a statistics minor to any interested SBPM student.” Jonah Feld, Statistics Minor 2003

- “Minoring in statistics was a great experience for me. The classes I took, all of which I found to be challenging, interesting, and well taught, provided me with a strong background in statistics. Additionally, I found all of my statistics professors to be very approachable and helpful with any questions. In my work as a defense analyst, and also as I pursued my master's degree, the knowledge I gained as a statistics minor has been continuously valuable to me.” Sarah Amundson ; B. A. in Economics 2001, M. A. in Security Policy Studies, 2003