2 students with computer monitors in foreground

Statistics

More than just crunching numbers, statistics is the acquisition of information and use of data to make decisions in the presence of uncertainty. You’ll learn from expert faculty across multiple disciplines to apply statistical methods, quantitative reasoning, visualization, computation, and communication skills to real world data. You’ll also develop the skills you need to articulate and communicate your findings, plan your own coursework, conduct research, and develop highly sought-after skills that prepare you for graduate school or a career in a wide variety of fields.

Expert Faculty

Faculty members with real-world experience will guide you on your educational journey.

You’ll discover that statistics is more than just number crunching — it is the acquisition of information and the use of data to make decisions in the presence of uncertainty. You’ll engage with expert faculty across multiple disciplines to conduct original research and apply your classroom knowledge to the real world.
Multidisciplinarity

Explore research questions from the perspective of many disciplines.

Your study of statistics will take an approach that is grounded in research questions from multiple disciplines. You’ll learn to use the data being collected in nearly every field of study to acquire useful information. You’ll analyze this real-world data using statistical methods, quantitative reasoning, visualization, computation, and communication skills.
Post-graduation Preparedness

Plan your coursework to prepare for your future.

You’ll plan coursework to develop your core skills to ensure that the concentration meets your personal needs and goals. Whether you plan to pursue a graduate degree or jump into one of many possible career fields, the statistics concentration will provide you with the critical thinking skills and understanding of complex data you need.

Study Abroad Helps Clarify Career Objectives

Max Hill ’20 studied how cities work on 4 continents, thanks to the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship he received to study abroad during the 2019 spring semester.

“Being awarded the Gilman Scholarship is a great honor as well as a financial blessing,” says Hill, a political science major with a concentration in statistics. “I am a first-generation student and pay for tuition myself. This scholarship helped me mitigate the amount of student debt I have and gave me the opportunity to travel outside the states for the first time without cost being a factor.”
Complete a Class Project and Claim National Awards

Just before the end of the course, students in Statistics 310 and 309 — courses about statistical modeling and design and analysis of experiments respectively — are encouraged to submit their research projects to national competitions such as the Undergraduate Class Project Competition (USCLAP) or the Undergraduate Statistics Project Competition (USPROC). From 2014 to 2019, Grinnellians have appeared an impressive 29 times on the awards lists.

What’s the secret here?