Mission

The mission of the Department of Statistics is to contribute to the overall objectives of the University of Michigan and the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LS&A) through excellence in research and education in the Statistical Sciences and through service to the university community, statistical profession, and society at large.

Research

The Department's research objectives are:

To contribute to the theoretical development of the field through scholarly research in core areas of statistical theory and probability and publications in leading professional journals.
To contribute to the development of new statistical methodology to address substantive problems and to promote the use of these methods through publications in both statistics and subject-matter journals.
To contribute to the advancement of science and technology through interdisciplinary research, jointly with scientists at the University of Michigan and at other research institutions.

Education

The Department's goals are to effectively serve the diverse educational needs of the students in the College and the University through a variety of activities and programs. These activities/programs and their objectives are:

Service Teaching: To educate the students in the College of LS&A and the University of Michigan in basic principles of statistical reasoning and statistical methods for data collection, analysis, and visualization through a range of introductory and intermediate courses.
Undergraduate Majors and Minors: To provide specialized training for students interested in careers in Statistics or in pursuing graduate programs in Statistics or related fields; To develop a strong quantitative background in statistics and data analysis for students pursuing a degree in another field.
Applied Master's and Regular Master's programs: To prepare graduate students for professional careers in the public or private sector; and to provide significant statistical and quantitative training to Ph.D. students pursuing a degree in other fields.
Ph.D. program: To prepare Ph.D. students for careers in research and consulting by providing them with advanced education in theory and methodology and by training them to carry out independent research.

Service

The service objectives are to contribute to the on-going and long-term activities of the Department, University, and the statistical community. They include the following:

To improve the research and educational environment of the department and the University by facilitating recruitment of faculty and students, serving on committees, and participating in long-term planning activities.
To contribute to the statistics profession and to the larger scientific community by serving on editorial boards, review panels, and administrative and advisory committees.
To promote statistical reasoning and the use of statistical principles at the University of Michigan and in society at large.