Statistics Minor

The Statistics Department will accept letter grade or credit for all minor courses for 2020-21 academic year.

The undergraduate minor in Statistics is designed to complement major degree programs primarily in the social and natural sciences. Students with an undergraduate Statistics minor should find broadened possibilities for employment. The Statistics minor provides valued preparation for professional degree studies in postgraduate academic programs.

Access the Statistics Minor Form

Course Requirements

Required Statistics Courses

All of the following:

  • Stats 117:  Introduction to Theory of Probability I AND Stats 118: Probability Theory for Statistical Inference
  • Stats 200: Introduction to Statistical Inference
    Note: Stats 200 may not be substituted or waived.

Note: Students who have previously taken Stats 116 can count it towards this requirement. CS 109, MS&E 120, or EE 178 can be substituted for Stats 117, but students will still be required to take Stats 118 to satisfy this requirement. 

Qualifying Courses

Choose one of the following courses:

  • Math 52: Integral Calculus of Several Variables
    Note that CME 102 is not a suitable course to use in place of MATH 52. If a student has taken CME 102, they will need to take STATS 191 to satisfy the Qualifying Course requirement.
  • Stats 191: Introduction to Applied Statistics 
Elective Courses

Any Stats course 200 and above, for a total of 9 units or more:

Recommended Courses 

  • Stats 202: Data Mining and Analysis
  • Stats 204: Sampling
  • Stats 205: Introduction to Nonparametric Statistics
  • Stats 206: Applied Multivariate Analysis
  • Stats 207: Introduction to Time Series Analysis
  • Stats 208: Bootstrap, Cross-Validation, and Sample Re-use
  • Stats 209: Introduction to Causal Inference
  • Stats 215: Statistical Models in Biology
  • Stats 217: Introduction to Stochastic Processes I
  • Stats 218: Introduction to Stochastic Processes II
  • Stats 220: Machine Learning Methods for Neural Data Analysis
  • Stats 263: Design of Experiments

Pre Approved Courses

  • Bio 283: Theoretical Population Genetics
  • Econ 160: Game Theory and Economic Applications
  • EE 264: Digital Signal Processing
  • EE 279: Introduction to Digital Communication

Additional Information:

  • Any exceptions (including exceptions to the approved list of electives) must be approved by the department. Please submit the Statistics Minor Requirement Petition.
  • All courses for the minor must be taken for a letter grade. 
    • Statistics will accept a letter grade or credit for all minor courses from the 2020-21 academic year.
    • Statistics will also accept courses that are only offered as S/NC (i.e. letter grade option not available).
  • Students may not overlap ("double-count") courses when completing multiple major and/or minor requirements. If a student is using a class for their major, they would need to find another suitable course to satisfy the requirements for the minor.
  • Any changes to the initial course of study should be approved in advance by the department.
  • Statistics minor inquiries should be addressed to the lbreazel [at] stanford.edu (Student Services Specialist). 

Forms:

Not sure if the Statistics minor is right for you?

  • Take a look at the Data Science minor. 
  • Reach out to our lbreazel [at] stanford.edu (Student Services Specialist).

Interested in a coterm program?

Much like not double counting courses in multiple majors/minors, the courses required for your undergraduate degree do not also count toward your graduate coterm program. If a given course is part of your chosen coterm program and is also required to complete the requirements for a minor, you will need to discuss appropriate higher-level, additional courses with the coterm department to satisfy the requirements of the coterm. Taking the courses for your undergrad minor does not simultaneously satisfy the requirement in your chosen graduate degree program.

Sample Path through the Minor

Frosh Year:
  1. Any math prerequisites, such as Math 21 (if needed) and Math 51
Sophomore Year:
  1. Math 52 (before Stats 117) or Stats 191
  2. Stats 117 & Stats 118
Junior Year:
  1. Elective 1
  2. Stats 200
Senior Year:
  1. Elective 2
  2. Elective 3

How to Declare the Minor

1. Use the program sheet to plan your coursework

Make yourself a copy of the statistics minor form. Fill in the grades for classes you’ve already completed, and highlight the classes that you plan to complete in the future.

2. Declare your minor in Axess.

Keep in mind that you must declare a major in Axess before you will be able to declare a minor. 

3. Email our Student Services Specialist.

Share your form with our Student Services Team, which includes LaShanette Breazell (lbreazel [at] stanford.edu (lbreazel[at]stanford[dot]edu)) and Amanda Kuhn (aekuhn [at] stanford.edu (aekuhn[at]stanford[dot]edu)). Email LaShanette to let her know you'd like to declare.

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