About the Department of Statistics
The field of Statistics has long been concerned with the
interrelationships between observation and theory and is central to the
scientific method and discovery in today’s data driven world. Statisticians
make important contributions in academia, business and government. The subject
of statistics is now a core component to basic education and is used daily by
the general population in their lives and jobs. The role of statistics and the
many contributions of leading statisticians are highlighted and celebrated in
2013 the International Year of Statistics (www.statistics2013.org).
The Department of Statistics at Rice University, established
in 1987, represents a significant and leading presence in the international
statistics community. The Department is a community of fifteen core faculty, nine
joint faculty, and twenty-plus adjunct faculty. The Department hosts a student
population of approximately 45 doctoral students, 30 professional masters
students and fifteen undergraduate students. We regularly host visitors from
all over the world and we maintain and active post-doctoral program through NSF
and NIH sponsorship. We are a member of the George R. Brown School of
Engineering and reside in the computational engineering building, Duncan Hall.
The Department of Statistics is well known for its
collaborative education and research programs:
Degree Programs
In addition to the undergraduate B.A. degree and the undergraduate minor in statistics, students may work towards one of the three graduate degrees offered: the professional master's degree, M.Stat (thesis not required); the research master's degree, M.A. (thesis required); and the doctoral degree Ph.D.