The List of All U.S. Colleges With a Statistics Major
The author H.G. Wells famously said that “statistical thinking will one day be as necessary for efficient citizenship as the ability to read and write!” In today’s data-driven world, it’s hard to argue with his sentiment. If your high school student is thinking of pursuing a statistics major in college, we’ve compiled a list of the U.S. colleges that offer a statistics major. While we were at it, we pulled together some reasons students should consider a degree in statistics and a few tips for ensuring your student gets into the school of their choice.
Why Should You Study Statistics in College?
At its most basic, statistics is the science of data and statisticians will work with information in every stage—including collection, analysis, and interpretation, along with communicating and presenting insights gained from the data. On a broad level, statisticians work to better understand the world through data analysis and numbers.
Because of the expansive application of statistics, the career paths for a student with a statistics degree are wide ranging with available positions in government, education, research, business, industry, and even professional sports. Essentially, wherever data is being collected, there will be work for a statistician to make sense of the information.
Like other STEM fields, students with a statistics major have a distinct advantage when entering the workforce. Analysis from the Pew Research Center shows that students with STEM training in college outearn other college graduates, regardless of whether they end up working a STEM occupation or not. Here are some numbers a statistics major will love—according to the Pew Research Center, college-educated, full-time employees with a STEM major outearn employees with non-STEM majors by more than $20,000 a year. Check out our blog A Day in the Life of a STEM Major to learn what life at college is like for a STEM major.
The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) paints a similarly rosy picture of the future for statistics majors. In 2018, the median wage for statisticians was $87,780, substantially more than the income of the average American ($47,060). Even better for students with an interest in statistics is that the BLS projects employment of mathematicians and statisticians to grow 33% between 2016 and 2026 (far surpassing the national average of 5% to 8%) thanks in part to the growing need of businesses to analyze an increasingly large amount of digital and electronic data.
If the numbers supporting the positive outlook above have only furthered your student’s interest in statistics, keep in mind who collected and presented that information—statisticians—and keep reading to learn how to get into your top-choice statistics program.
How Can You Increase Your Chances of Acceptance?
Students interested in pursuing a field of rigorous academic study like statistics will need a strong GPA to be considered by top schools. In addition to getting good grades, schools expect students to have challenged themselves in high school by taking demanding coursework, such as AP statistics, calculus, and computer science. Just remember, as important as it is to tackle difficult classes, don’t do so at the expense of your grade point average. If you’re struggling to decide which math classes to take, give our article What Math Courses Should I Take? a read.
Equally important as a student’s grades is their performance on the SAT, especially the math section. A simple tip for scoring well on this important test: practice. CollegeBoard offers sample questions and a daily practice app to help students prepare for the math section of the SAT. For more tips on nailing the math section of the SAT, read our post Five Tips to Boost Your Math SAT Score.
Extracurricular activities also factor in when admissions officials look at a student’s college application. There are numerous ways students with an interest in statistics can bolster their extracurricular resume. Tutoring is a tried-and-true method to demonstrate an interest in a subject while also showing community involvement. Another way for students to leverage their interest in statistics while building their college profile is to volunteer to be the main statistician for their high school’s athletic department. Truly impress applications officers by bringing modern Moneyball thinking to your old-fashioned athletic department.
Summer is another great opportunity for students to bolster their extracurricular activities. Check out our post How to Spend Your Summer As a Prospective Math Major (And Why Math is a Great Career Path) for some great ideas.
If your high school student is interested in pursuing statistics and is looking to get into a top school, it’s never too early to start preparing for college. Our Early Advising Program helps 9th and 10th graders develop a roadmap to follow, ensuring that they begin building their college profiles early in their high school careers.
There is no cause for concern for students starting their college preparation later in their high school careers, however, time is of the essence. Our College Strategy Program is designed to help juniors give their college profile a boost, making sure they take full advantage of their remaining time in high school.
Which Colleges Have a Statistics Major?
American University
Amherst College
Appalachian State University
Arizona State University | ASU
Austin Peay State University | APSU
Babson College
Barnard College
Baruch College | CUNY Baruch
Baylor University
Bowling Green State University | BGSU
Bradley University
Bridgewater State University
Brigham Young University | BYU
Brigham Young University–Idaho | BYU–Idaho
Brown University
Butler University
California Baptist University | CBU
California Polytechnic State University | Cal Poly
California State University, East Bay | CSU East Bay
California State University, Fresno | CSU Fresno
California State University, Fullerton | CSU Fullerton
California State University, Long Beach | Long Beach State
California State University, Northridge | CSUN
California University of Pennsylvania | Cal U
Calvin College
Carleton College
Carnegie Mellon University | CMU
Case Western Reserve University
Castleton University
Central Connecticut State University | CCSU
Central Michigan University | CMU
Colby College
College of Charleston
Colorado Mesa University
Colorado School of Mines | Mines
Colorado State University | CSU
Columbia University
Concordia University Irvine
Cornell College
Cornell University
Dordt College
East Tennessee State University | ETSU
Eastern Kentucky University | EKU
Eastern Michigan University | EMU
Eastern New Mexico University | ENMU
Elon University
Emmanuel College (Massachusetts)
Emporia State University
Florida International University | FIU
George Mason University
George Washington University | GW
Grand Valley State University | GVSU
Gustavus Adolphus College
Harris–Stowe State University
Harvard University
Henderson State University | HSU
Hunter College | CUNY Hunter
Illinois Institute of Technology | Illinois Tech
Illinois State University | ISU
Indiana University Bloomington | Indiana
Iowa State University
James Madison University | JMU
Johns Hopkins University | JHU
Lehigh University
LeTourneau University | LETU
Loyola University Chicago
Loyola University Maryland
Luther College
Marshall University
Miami Dade College | MDC
Miami University
Michigan State University
Michigan Technological University | Michigan Tech
Millersville University of Pennsylvania | MU
Minerva Schools at Keck Graduate Institute
Minnesota State University, Mankato | MNSU
Misericordia University
Monmouth University
Montana Tech of the University of Montana | Montana Tech
Mount Holyoke College
New Jersey Institute of Technology | NJIT
New York City College of Technology | CUNY City Tech
North Carolina A&T State University | N.C. A&T
North Dakota State University | NDSU
Northcentral University
Northern Arizona University | NAU
Northern Kentucky University
Northwest University
Northwestern University
Pennsylvania State University | PSU
Prairie View A&M University | PVAMU
Princeton University
Purdue University
Purdue University Fort Wayne | PFW
Radford University
Rice University
Robert Morris University | RMU (Pennsylvania)
Rochester Institute of Technology | RIT
Rutgers University–New Brunswick | Rutgers
Saint Leo University
Saint Mary’s College (Indiana)
San Diego State University | SDSU
San Francisco State University | SF State
San Jose State University | SJSU
Seminole State College of Florida
Smith College
Sonoma State University | SSU
Southern Methodist University | SMU
St. Ambrose University
St. Cloud State University | SCSU
St. John Fisher College
St. Lawrence University
St. Michael’s College
St. Olaf College
St. Thomas University | STU
State University of New York at Oneonta | SUNY Oneonta
Swarthmore College
Temple University
Texas A&M University
The Ohio State University | OSU
The State University of New York at Albany | SUNY Albany
The State University of New York at Buffalo | SUNY Buffalo
The State University of New York at Stony Brook | SUNY Stony Brook
Truman State University | TSU
United States Military Academy | Army
University of Akron
University of California, Berkeley | UC Berkeley
University of California, Davis | UC Davis
University of California, Los Angeles | UCLA
University of California, Riverside | UC Riverside
University of California, San Diego | UCSD
University of California, Santa Barbara | UCSB
University of Central Florida | UCF
University of Chicago
University of Cincinnati
University of Colorado Denver | CU Denver
University of Connecticut | UConn
University of Delaware
University of Evansville
University of Florida
University of Georgia
University of Houston–Downtown | UHD
University of Idaho
University of Illinois at Chicago | UIC
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | UIUC
University of Iowa
University of Maryland, Baltimore County | UMBC
University of Maryland, College Park | Maryland
University of Massachusetts Lowell | UMass Lowell
University of Michigan
University of Michigan–Dearborn | UM-D
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities | Minnesota
University of Missouri | Mizzou
University of Montana
University of New Hampshire | UNH
University of New Mexico | UNM
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | UNC
University of North Carolina at Charlotte | UNC Charlotte
University of North Carolina at Greensboro | UNC Greensboro
University of North Carolina at Wilmington | UNC Wilmington
University of North Florida | UNF
University of Notre Dame
University of Pittsburgh | Pitt
University of Rochester
University of South Carolina | USC
University of South Florida | USF
University of Southern California | USC
University of Southern Indiana | USI
University of St. Thomas (Minnesota)
University of Tennessee at Martin | UTM
University of Texas at San Antonio | UTSA
University of Vermont | UVM
University of Virginia | UVA
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin-Madison | Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin–Green Bay | UW–Green Bay
University of Wisconsin–La Crosse | UW–La Crosse
University of Wyoming
Utah State University
Utah Valley University | UVU
Valparaiso University | Valpo
Villanova University
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest University
Wayne State University | WSU
Webster University
West Chester University | WCUPA
West Virginia University | WVU
Western Kentucky University | WKU
Western Michigan University | WMU
Western Washington University | WWU
Whitman College
Wichita State University | WSU
William Paterson University | WPUNJ
Williams College
Winona State University | WSU
Wright State University
Xavier University of Louisiana
Yale University
Curious about your chances of acceptance to your dream school? Our free chancing engine takes into account your GPA, test scores, extracurriculars, and other data to predict your odds of acceptance at over 500 colleges across the U.S. We’ll also let you know how you stack up against other applicants and how you can improve your profile. Sign up for your free CollegeVine account today to get started!
