Online Master of Statistics
Master the How and Why of Statistics
The Online Master of Statistics degree at NC State offers the same outstanding education as our in-person program in a fully online, asynchronous environment filled with a vibrant community of learners.
Our online program serves a wide audience. We have traditional students that enter our program directly after their undergraduate studies. However, a large proportion of our online program community have been working for 5+ years and are looking to retool or upscale their careers.
We also have learners with a wide range of backgrounds. Some have strong quantitative skills and want to further their understanding of statistics and dive into the growing field of data science. Still others are practicing data scientists that want a more fundamental understanding of the techniques and analyses they use.
The flexibility of our program allows us to serve all of these audiences. We have a strong group of core courses that everyone in the program must take, including:
- Fundamentals of Statistical Inference I & II (ST 501, ST 502)
- Fundamentals of Linear Models (ST 503)
- Applied Statistical Methods I & II (ST 517, ST 518)
These courses put everyone on a strong footing for understanding and analyzing data. The “Fundamentals” courses cover important theory while making sure that our students understand how to apply that theory. In every course taken in our program, you’ll use statistical programming (via R, Python, or SAS) to put what you learn into practice.
Our electives allow you to focus on your interests and career goals. Whether your interest is in biostatistics, statistical and machine learning, data science, statistical computing, environmental statistics, … our program will prepare you to think, problem solve, and be successful.
Learn more about our coursework.
What does this degree do for you?
This degree prepares you to boost your career. Whether you are looking to change your career path or simply upscale your current role, earning your Master of Statistics degree from NC State will help you achieve your goals.
In addition to the solid fundamental understanding of statistical methods, our program will also give you the chance to learn highly sought after skills required in many job postings, including:
- Statistical programming in R, Python, and SAS
- Database querying using SQL
- Creating dashboards and summarizing and visualizing data
- Advanced linear regression and predictive modeling
- Statistical and machine learning techniques
- Oral and written communication of statistical ideas and results
Our department has a rich history of producing successful students and a strong reputation in industry. Our statistics graduate program was recently ranked:
- #11 in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.
- #30 in the world by ShanghaiRanking’s Academic Ranking of World Universities
Statistician has been consistently ranked as one of the best jobs for the past 15 years:
- #4 Best Business Jobs | #9 Best STEM Jobs | #12 in 100 Best Jobs.
See Jobs Rankings
We have graduates working in a wide range of disciplines spanning academia, business, and government. Our recent graduates are employed at places like First Citizens Bank, iProspect, the Environmental Protection Agency, North Carolina State University, the SAS Institute, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield. We have a strong alumni network that can help you understand what it is like to work as a statistician in any industry. The goal of our online program is to provide the same high-quality education and the support needed for you to join the ranks of these outstanding alumni.
Our program is focused on preparing graduates for industry positions. However, a few graduates have moved on to PhD programs in statistics both at NC State and elsewhere.
Learn more about our amazing students and graduates.
What is it like to be in our program?
The majority of our students complete the degree part-time, often taking one course a semester (example schedules are available). This allows them to continue working full-time and have a full family and social life. Others take a full-time course load (three courses a semester) and finish in a little over a year.
We have a diverse and welcoming faculty and staff that want to help our students succeed and reach their potential. To help students from such varied backgrounds achieve their goals, we have a full-time advisor for our online community. This dedicated advisor helps each individual determine the best path for them. This process starts immediately after enrollment. We hold a department orientation session prior to each semester that serves to help students:
- acclimate to our program and start networking
- understand the expectations of graduate school including tips on how to be successful
- learn about all of the fantastic resources that come with attending NC State
- find answers to any other questions
We provide free short courses in SAS, R, and Python as well as resources for refreshing relevant calculus and linear algebra topics. Our Basics of R and Basics of SAS course are open and available to anyone.
To build our online community, we use a slack channel and a LinkedIn group to encourage networking and to provide a means for informal student-to-student communication. In addition, we have in-person and online networking events each semester.
The courses for our online program are all taught by our full-time faculty. We do not use adjunct (part-time) professors as many other online programs do. Online students have access to the same professors, lectures, and assessments as our on-campus students. We utilize state-of-the-art tools to facilitate interactions between students, students and the course content, and students and instructors. The online courses are asynchronous – meaning that there are no set times where you must attend class – but are not self-paced. There are deadlines throughout the semester for assignments and exams.