Welcome to the Cal Poly Statistics Department!

About Our Department

The Statistics Department offers a B.S. degree in statistics as well as a statistics minor for those majoring in other subjects. We have more than fifteen full-time faculty members in the department.

Faculty members come from diverse backgrounds and have a wide spectrum of emphasis areas in statistics. Our program provides excellent training for students seeking a job in statistics immediately after graduation as well as for those who wish to continue their education at the graduate level.

With approximately 60 Statistics majors at Cal Poly, the Statistics Department has one of the lowest student to major ratios. In this collegial environment with small classes our students get to know the faculty members and each other quite well. About one-third of our graduates go on to graduate school in statistics and the others tend to take jobs in industry.

Our curriculum includes a mixture of courses from statistics, computer science, and mathematics. Our students have many opportunities to work on realistic problems that emphasize the understanding of all aspects of statistics: the planning of sample surveys and designed experiments, the process of acquiring data, the careful analysis of relevant information, and the communication of results and conclusions.

Coming soon: our Fall 2008 Newsletter!
Read our Fall 2007 Newsletter
Read our Summer 2006 Newsletter

Our Mission Statement

The proliferation of quantitative information in society demands that we help to develop the next generation of statistics professionals while increasing the statistical literacy of Cal Poly students and the frequency of collaboration with our colleagues. To meet these objectives, the mission of the Cal Poly Statistics Department is to:

(1) Deliver a high-quality statistics program for our majors and minors that prepares them for either the workplace or further study in graduate programs;

(2) Offer service courses for the university that meet the needs of the various majors and enhance the statistical literacy of the students;

(3) Provide university-wide support for research and professional development of faculty and students;

(4) Support continued growth of Statistics faculty members as teacher-scholars.

Our Learning Objectives

The Department of Statistics offers a degree program leading to the B.S. degree in Statistics in the College of Science and Mathematics.

The graduate will:

1. Have good working knowledge of the most commonly used statistical methods, including
   • statistical modeling and the omnipresent role of variability
   • efficient design of studies and construction of effective sampling plans
   • exploratory data analysis
   • formal inference process
2. Have background in probability, statistical theory, and mathematics, including especially calculus, linear algebra and symbolic and abstract thinking
3. Be able to synthesize and apply knowledge of common inferential methods, understanding the limitations of the procedures and the appropriate scope of conclusions
4. Communicate effectively (written and oral) with skills in collaboration (within and between disciplines) and teamwork, and in organizing and managing projects
5. Have good mastery of several standard statistical software packages and facility with data management strategies
6. Have a focused concentration in an area of application outside the discipline of statistics

The graduate will have received:

1. Experience with real data and authentic applications
2. Frequent opportunities to develop communication skills
3. Capstone experiences for students
4. Frequent interaction with faculty and their peers and timely advising
5. Exposure to statisticians and statistical applications outside the Cal Poly community