Statistics

The Department of Statistics at The George Washington University, is the first department of statistics in a college of arts and sciences in the U.S., founded in 1935 with Dr. Frank Weida as chair, and later served by many outstanding statisticians, including Dr. Solomon Kullback, Dr. Jerome Cornfield, and Dr. Samuel Greenhouse. The Department has played a leading role in statistical education, research, and applications. Many of our graduates now hold high positions in government, the private sector, and academia.

We offer the B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Statistics; M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Biostatistics and in Epidemiology, in collaboration with the School of Public Health and Health Services; and a Graduate Certificate in Survey Design and Data Analysis. Our degree programs provide statistical training balanced in theory, applications, and computation.

Our location in the heart of the nation's capital offers unique cultural, educational, and professional opportunities. Many major Government agencies and private companies located in the Washington metropolitan area employ a vast number of statisticians and generate remarkable statistical activities and opportunities. The department is well connected to many highly experienced statisticians working for Gov't agencies, or private companies, several of whom teach our courses bringing valuable practical experience into classroom. Our faculty are also engaged in collaborative research with Gov't statisticians. In addition, various activities of the Washington Statistical Society provide superb opportunities for learning and meeting distinguished statisticians.

Programs in statistics feature a wide variety of courses both in theoretical and applied statistics. The MS degree can serve either for those intending to work in industry or government or as a preparation for doctoral study. For each entering student, the MS Program Director designs an individualized program, which is an appropriate combination of mathematical statistics, applied statistics, and statistical computing, to suit the student's background and interests.

The doctoral program draws upon the faculty's expertise in such areas as statistical genetics, inference, Bayesian statistics, robust inference, reliability, biostatistics, statistics in law and regulatory policy, probabilistic analysis of algorithms, and statistical computing.

The graduate certficate program in Survey Design and Analysis builds the foundation and develops skills in the techniques of sampling and designing surveys, collecting and analyzing statistics, and critically analyzing public opinion. The certificate program is offered off-campus.