■ Statistics

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Phone: 703-993-3645
Web: statistics.gmu.edu

School: Volgenau School of Engineering

Faculty

Professors: Carr, Gentle, Hughes-Oliver, Rosenberger (chair), Wegman

Associate professors: Davis (associate chair), Miller, C. Sutton

Assistant professors: Diao, Tang

Instructors: Izmirli, Sims, Surina

Emeritus faculty: Bolstein

Course Work

The Statistics Department offers all courses designated STAT in the Courses chapter of this catalog. Statistical methods and methods for data analysis are crucial for researching and exploring the life sciences, natural sciences, social sciences, business, nursing, education, and engineering. The Statistics Department offers a variety of introductory courses and more advanced course work in specialized statistical methodology and applications. The focus of the department’s offerings is applied, with special emphasis on biostatistics, graphics and visualization, federal and survey statistics, and engineering applications of statistics and data analysis.

Introductory courses are targeted for undergraduates in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Health and Human Services, as well as in the Volgenau School. The STAT 250–350 sequence is targeted for general audiences, while the STAT 344–354 sequence is targeted for technical and scientific audiences. STAT 362 deals with computer statistical packages and is appropriate as a second or third course for students from a wide variety of backgrounds. It is strongly recommended for students who elect to minor in data analysis.

Although the department does not offer an undergraduate degree in statistics, it does offer an undergraduate certificate program in applied statistics and a minor in data analysis. Also, a variety of advanced undergraduate courses is available for inclusion in other degree programs.

Other Graduate Programs

In addition to its own graduate programs, the Statistics department also participates in the MS in Epidemiology and Biostatistics program administered primarily through the Department of Global Health in the College of Health and Human Services (CHHS). This program prepares participants to apply epidemiological and statistical principles to quantitative analysis of health issues. It prepares health scientists to work as professionals in government agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health, pharmaceutical companies, research hospitals, public health agencies, and other health-related organizations that need to analyze data and design experiments for medical and public health research. Graduates are expected to analyze and interpret increasingly complex health data. The degree is taught jointly by faculty from the Department of Statistics in the Volgenau School of Engineering and the Department of Global and Community Health in CHHS. Please see the CHHS listing for program requirements.