Program Overview
Applied statisticians are in high demand in the current high technology economy. The Master of Science in Applied Statistics is a state-of-the art program that brings together statistical theory, computer science, scientific research, and communication skills. This program prepares students for immediate employment in a variety of high-paying industry positions, as well as doctoral study in applied statistics or a related field. The M.S. in Applied Statistics at WCU emphasizes a flexible curriculum that allows a wide variety of concentrations of application, including biology, mathematics, computer science, psychology, health sciences, business, pharmaceutical product development, and other self-designed multi disciplinary concentrations. The Program also offers paid internship opportunities and flexible class offerings allowing for both full-time and part-time students. Due to our program’s interdisciplinary foundation, we encourage students from diverse academic backgrounds to consider the M.S. in Applied Statistics. Prominent statisticians serve as visiting lecturers on topics of current interest in applied statistics. Students who are interested in particular topics, can pursue intensive study with faculty members through a thesis option.
Tracks
Business and Marketing Analytics
This concentration prepares students for careers in business, banking, risk management, and marketing analytics. The concentration provides the necessary knowledge to answer questions such as whether or not an advertising campaign was successful, how one can better predict consumer behavior, how to determine which factors are most important in profitability, and how to best communicate results to a nontechnical audience. Students in this concentration will choose from a wide variety of elective courses in areas such as Time Series, Marketing Analytics, Statistical Methods in Business and Finance, and Multivariate Data Analysis.
Biostatistics and Bioinformatics
This concentration within the M.S. program prepares students for careers in medical research, pharmaceutical statistics, and bioinformatics. The concentration provides students with the tools to help answer pressing research questions in medicine, biology and public health, and allows for elective courses in areas such as Survival Analysis, Longitudinal Data Analysis, Data Mining, and Applied Bayesian Methods.
Data Science Concentration
In this concentration, you’ll learn to prepare data for analysis, including cleaning, aggregating, and manipulating the data to perform advanced analysis to uncover patterns and draw informed insights. Data science combines multiple fields including statistics, scientific methods, artificial intelligence (AI), and data analysis.
Program Highlights
- Concentrations in Biostatistics and Business and Marketing Analytics
- Paid internship opportunities
- Post-master’s certificate available
- Small classes
- Close work with faculty and industrial statisticians
- Exciting research opportunities
- Flexible elective course offerings
- Development of skills for a Ph.D. program
- Affordable tuition
- Graduate assistantships
- $84,760 median income for mathematicians and statisticians in 2017
- Master’s degree is the entry level degree for this field
- 33% projected industry growth through 2026 (according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
What can I do with this degree?
Our graduates can be found across industries, including at these employers:
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