Students studying in Wachenheim Science Center
Academics
Statistics

Opportunities

Honors Thesis

As a statistics major, you can work closely with a professor on independent research leading to an honors thesis. Professors have suggested and supported honors theses relevant to a host of contemporary challenges, including:

  • The effect of age on performance in running and swimming events. 
  • Predicting cancer-targeting drugs with high-throughput genetic profiling data. 
  • Using Internet search data to predict influenza spread at different resolutions (nation, region, state, city). 
  • Integrating Twitter, Facebook and other social media data to track socioeconomic events from presidential approval rates to employment trends.
  • Developing new methods to aggregate genetic profiling data to identify potential cancer-targeting drugs.
  • Exploring the variability of a microbial community on health outcomes.

Other Opportunities

  • The department offers summer research assistant positions, which provide a stipend and reduced rates for room and board. This can serve as a “head start” on a thesis project or be a standalone research project with a faculty advisor.

  • The statistics faculty can help you choose and apply to excellent summer opportunities across the country.

  • Nearly every industry has a growing need for high-level statisticians. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, overall employment of mathematicians and statisticians is projected to grow eight percent from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the average for all occupations.

    Graduate School

    Statistics majors at Williams go on to graduate school in statistics, biostatistics, data science, and other data-oriented disciplines such as economics.

    Any statistics faculty member would be delighted to discuss additional aspects of the graduate school application process and experiences in graduate school — just send us an email!

    Actuarial Science

    Do you like risk? Or, more precisely, do you like to assess and quantify risk and put a price on it (the premium that insurance collects)? If yes, consider becoming an actuary. This profession consistently ranks high on various best jobs lists (like this 2026 list from U.S. News). For more information on what it takes to be an actuary, check out BeAnActuary.org.