The Certificate in Statistics is open to students who have received bachelor’s degrees in other areas. The primary goal of the program is to allow students with undergraduate majors in science, engineering and the social sciences an opportunity to acquire the formal training in statistics that is currently in demand in industry and government. Some students also may find the program a useful way to prepare for graduate study in statistics.
To be admitted to the program, a student must complete a baccalaureate degree. Application materials and further information may be obtained by calling (804) 828-0001 or TDD (804) 828-0100, or by writing to the following address: Virginia Commonwealth University, Department of Statistical Sciences and Operations Research, Post-baccalaureate Certificate in Statistics, P.O. Box 843083, Richmond, VA 23284-3083.
The certificate program in statistics requires completion of the mathematics and statistics courses listed below. A maximum of 15 credits toward certification may be transferred from course work completed before or after receiving a bachelor’s degree. At least 18 approved credits must be from STAT courses at the 300 level or higher and must be taken at VCU. No more than six of these 18 credits can be from courses taken before admission to the certificate program. The student must achieve a minimum GPA (on courses taken at VCU) of 2.5 with no grade below C. All requirements for the certificate must be completed within five years of admission to the program.
The following courses are required (right column contains credit hours for VCU courses):
| Course | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required courses | ||
| MATH 200 | Calculus with Analytic Geometry I | 4 |
| MATH 201 | Calculus with Analytic Geometry II | 4 |
| MATH 307 | Multivariate Calculus | 4 |
| STAT 210 | Basic Practice of Statistics | 3 |
| or STAT 212 | Concepts of Statistics | |
| STAT 305 | Intermediate Statistics | 3-4 |
| or STAT 314 | Applications of Statistics | |
| STAT 309 | Introduction to Probability Theory | 3 |
| STAT 310 | Introduction to Statistical Inference | 3 |
| STAT 321 | Introduction to Statistical Computing | 3 |
| Electives | ||
| Choose two from the following: | 6 | |
| Introduction to Stochastic Processes | ||
| Applied Statistical Computing Using R | ||
| Nonparametric Statistics | ||
| Multivariate Statistics | ||
| Industrial Statistics | ||
| Regression | ||
| Introduction to Statistical Data Science | ||
| Time Series | ||
| Total Hours | 33-34 | |
The minimum number of credit hours required for this certificate is 33.
Students accepted to the program will have access to the program coordinator and undergraduate advisers to best determine a plan of study. Statistics courses taught in other units of the university (for example, SCMA 301 and SCMA 302) may be credited toward the certificate with the permission of the program coordinator.