Statistics at Iowa State University

The curriculum in liberal arts and sciences with a major in statistics is designed to prepare students for (1) entry level statistics positions in business, industry or commerce, nonprofit institutions, and in state or federal government; (2) graduate study in statistics. Entry-level positions include the following types of work: statistical design, data visualization, analysis and interpretation of experiments and surveys; data processing and analysis using modern computation facilities and statistical computing systems; application of statistical principles and methods in commercial areas such as finance, insurance, industrial research, marketing, manufacturing, sports analytics, and quality control and in nonprofit organizations such as large health study institutions.

Given the application of statistical work to a broad range of fields, all students majoring in statistics are advised to obtain at least a minor in a field of application. Some common minors earned by statistics majors are Economics, General Business, and Mathematics. Students preparing for positions in data analysis should consider a minor or certificate in Data Science. Students preparing for a career in the field of actuarial science should consider a certificate in Actuarial Science. Students intending to do pursue graduate study in Statistics are strongly advised to complete at least a minor in Mathematics including credit in MATH 414 Analysis I.