Ideally, the Statistics Department would accept all students interested in our minor programs. At this time, however, we are unable to accommodate the large number of students interested in our minor programs. When we declare a student into any of our major or minor programs, we make a commitment to the student that there will be course capacity for them to complete their program. As the Statistics Department experienced last semester during Spring 2024 course enrollment, our ability to meet this commitment has changed. As such, we have had to prioritize our commitments to our current majors and minors and make the difficult decision to reduce the number of new minors moving forward. We cannot currently, in good faith, make unrestricted commitments to new minors.

We understand that our policies defining student eligibility for the lottery selection into the minor program (listed below) may feel exclusionary to third-year students, but our current course capacities, teaching resources, and anticipated needs of our current majors and minors mean that there will not be enough space in our courses to ensure that third-years with more than one course per semester left to meet the requirements of the minor program will be able to complete the minor program. Please understand that we did not reach this decision lightly and wish that we had enough resources and course capacities to accommodate everyone. 

You are welcome to join our courses should space be available when the major/minor hold is lifted (please see the Enrollment FAQ page for specific dates). We are also not removing the possibility that, should you be able to complete the required coursework for the minor as a non-minor student by the time you graduate, you will be able to declare the minor. We do ask, however, that you not structure your fourth-year plans around being able to declare the minor as we will be prioritizing current majors and minors in all of our course enrollment decisions. 

Application:

Applications are currently closed.

Timeline:

There are two application cycles each year, one following the fall semester and one following the spring semester.

Fall 2024 cycle dates:
Applications will open on December 18, 2024, and be accepted through December 31, 2024. Students will be notified of the decision by January 6, 2025. Selected students will submit the declaration form for processing through January 10, 2025.

Spring 2025 cycle dates:
Will be announced by March 31, 2025.

Eligibility:

To be eligible for the lottery selection, a student must meet all of the following requirements before submitting their application. All of the below must display on the unofficial transcript submitted with the application.

For all students:

• A major must already be declared in SIS.
• All declaration prerequisites must be completed with a grade of at least C-.
• STAT 3220 must be completed with a grade of at least C-.
• The cumulative GPA must be at least 3.0, or an extenuating circumstance that has led to a lower cumulative GPA must be explained.

Additionally, for students graduating in Fall 2024, Spring 2025, or Summer 2025:

• At least 4 of the 5 minor requirements must be completed with a grade of at least C-.
• Applications will only be considered for the Statistics minor unless a student has already satisfied all of the Data Analytics minor requirements except the Restricted Elective.
  • If a student who declares the Statistics minor is later able to fulfill all of the Data Analytics minor requirements, a declaration change can be processed, however, enrollment priority will be given based on the current declaration.

Selection process:

The number of students selected to declare in each graduating class year across all application cycles is determined based on recent enrollment capacity patterns, and is consistent for each class year. Because we recognize that student paths toward minors are different, including when prerequisite courses are taken, the available space for each class year is filled proportionally across multiple consecutive application cycles. In general,

1. up to 20% of the available space may be filled in the spring cycle following the second semester (or end of first-year),
2. up to 40% of the available space may be filled in the fall cycle following the third semester (or middle of second-year),
3. up to 60% of the available space may be filled in the spring cycle following the fourth semester (or end of second-year),
4. up to 80% of the available space may be filled in the fall cycle following the fifth semester (or middle of third-year),
5. up to 100% of the available space may be filled in the spring cycle following the sixth semester (or end of third-year), and
6. if any space remains or becomes available in the seventh semester, it may be filled in the fall cycle following that semester (or middle of fourth-year). 

When applications are reviewed in a particular cycle, all applications are first reviewed for eligibility. All eligible applications are then grouped by class year to create the pool of eligible applications for each graduating class. A random lottery is applied separately to each pool to select the number of students to declare corresponding to the proportions listed above. If the number of eligible applicants in a class year does not fill the available space allocated for the given cycle (for example, 1% of the available space is filled following the second semester), the remaining space will be available to eligible applicants from the same class year in following cycles. 

FAQ: