Statistics Program
The Five College Statistics Program was created in 2011 to enable statistics faculty members at the five campuses to coordinate and integrate resources to better serve our statistics and data science students.
“The best thing about being a statistician is that you get to play in everyone's backyard.”
- John Tukey, Statistician
"Data is the sword of the 21st century, those who wield it well, the Samurai."
- Jonathan Rosenberg (former Google Inc. Senior Vice President)
The time to become statistically literate is now. The Five College Statistics Program was created in 2011 to enable statistics faculty members at the five campuses to coordinate and integrate resources to better serve our statistics and data science students.
Whether you want to take an introductory statistics or data science class or pursue elective course offerings, the Five Colleges has courses and programs of study just waiting for you. Statistics and data science are present through multiple programs in the Valley:
- Undergraduate majors/minors at Amherst, Mt Holyoke, Smith, and UMass Mathematics and Statistics
- Graduate programs in Statistics and Biostatistics at UMass
- A data analytics and society nexus at Mt Holyoke
All campuses have a rotation of statistics and data science courses that may be of interest to students.
On this page, you can find resources, including links to statistics courses at each school, statistics faculty on each campus, news and events, announcements and more.
The Five College Statistics Program is committed to fostering closer ties between the faculty members teaching statistics and facilitating additional curricular and research cooperation to continue the strong statistics and data science presence in the Valley. The Five College Statisticians meet on a regular basis to coordinate activities and curricular offerings.
On This Page
Faculty
News
Congratulations to the Mt. Holyoke Yokies team (Members: Fannie Fouron, Jade Pham, Kate Khe Hoang, and Linh Nguyen) which took Best in Show at the 2025 Five College DataFest!
(More information can be found here: https://www.science.smith.edu/datafest/)
Over 190 students pre-registered for the event which took place over the weekend of April 4-6th. After a weekend of working with the data, a total of 33 teams presented their findings to the panels of judges on Sunday. Prizes were awarded to multiple teams (see full list on the website). This was the first year that Mt. Holyoke won the overall Best in Show award, and they will host the DataFest trophy on their campus until next year’s competition!
Every year, the Five College Statistics prize (a book prize) is awarded to students from our various campuses for a range of achievements. This year (2025), the prize was awarded to:
- Amherst College: Lucas Bernstein ‘25, Wendy Espinosa ’25, and Oren Tirschwell ’25
- Hampshire College: Zach Fischer
- Mt. Holyoke College: Giovanna Giuliano, ‘25
- Smith College: Sarah Susnea ’25
- UMass Statistics: Enobong Umoren
- UMass Biostatistics: Jordyn Sullivan `25
Last year’s award recipients (2024) should also be congratulated. These students were:
- Amherst College: Bridget Cassata '24 and Selena Hong '24
- Mt. Holyoke College: Willow Kelleigh, ‘24
- Smith College: Christy Yang ‘25J and Vicky Xu ‘26
- UMass Statistics: Patrick Serio and Gabrielle (Gabby) Walczak
(Names reported from records. All institutions had awards.)
Nicholas J. Horton, the Beitzel Professor in Technology and Society (Statistics and Data Science) at Amherst College, has been selected as the recipient of the 2023 Mosteller Statistician of the Year award by the Boston Chapter of the American Statistical Association. The award honors individuals from academia, industry, and government who have made exceptional contributions to the field of statistics and who have shown outstanding service to the statistical community, including the Boston Chapter.
Winners of the Five College Statistics award for 2023 are:
- Amherst: Elizabeth Williamson and Alex Brandfonbrener
- Hampshire: Sabina Iftikhar
- Mt Holyoke: Emily Rosaci
- Smith: Clara Li and Aushanae Haller
- UMass/Biostatistics: Benjamin Goldberg
- UMass/Statistics: Adira Cohen
Congratulations to all of these students for their excellent work!
Professor Brittney Bailey (Amherst College) was named the recipient of the 2023 Mu Sigma Rho Early Career Undergraduate Impact Award for her dedicated and innovative approaches to support and empower students through her teaching, her leadership of StatFest and The STEM Incubator, and her efforts on behalf of the profession. More information about the award can be found at: https://www.stat.purdue.
Professor Nick Horton, Beitzel Professor of Technology and Society (Statistics and Data Science), Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Amherst College, has been elected as vice president of the American Statistical Association (ASA). Professor Horton's term begins in January 2021; he will serve with ASA president-elect Dionne Price, who will become the first African-American president of the ASA.
Professor Miles Ott, Assistant Professor of Statistical and Data Sciences is the 2021 LGBTQ+ Educator of the Year. This award is given an educator for significant impact on STEM students "through teaching, advocacy, and role modeling."
Congratulations to Professor Ott on this honor!
The Five Colleges had a strong showing in the Fall 2020 Undergraduate Statistics Project Competition, with winners in the Electronic Undergraduate Statistics Research Conference (eUSR), the Undergraduate Statistics Class Project (USCLAP), and the Undergraduate Statistics Research Project (USRESP).
Congratulations to our Fall 2020 competition winners:
- Amelia Tran (Mount Holyoke) - eUSR Best Video Presentation
- Xian Ye, Hannah Snell, Dianne Caravela, and Natalia Iannucci (Smith) - USCLAP First Standing in Intermediate Statistics
- Juliet Ramey-Lariviere, Ivy Chen, and Kathleen Hablutzel (Smith) - USCLAP Honorable Mention in Intermediate Statistics
- Tyler Marshall (Amherst) - USRESP Third Standing
Nicholas Reich, Associate Professor of Biostatistics, recently delivered a series of keynote talks on the topic of COVID-19 forecasting.
Thank you, Professor Reich, for your continuing contributions to the field of Biostatistics!
Events
Recurring Events
- Western Mass Data Science, Stats, and R
- UMass Statistics and Data Science Seminar
- Smith College Statistical and Data Science Events, Talks, and Lecture
- Boston Chapter of the American Statistical Association
- Amherst College Statistics and Data Science Colloquium series
- Amherst College Data Science Initiative
- UMass, Amherst Epi-Biostat Seminars
Courses
Note that if you don't see classes from all campuses currently listed, they will appear as the campuses release their course schedules for the semester. The five campuses release their schedules on different dates. Visit this page for specific dates.
Spring 2026 Statistics Courses
| Subject | Course # | Sect # | Course Title | Instructor(s) | Institution | Meeting Times |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASTR | 200 | 01 | Intro to Data Science | Kate Follette | Amherst College | M/F | 1:05 PM - 2:20 PM |
| ASTR | 200L | 01 | Intro Data Science Lab | Kate Follette | Amherst College | W | 1:05 PM - 4:05 PM |
| STAT | 135 | 01 | Intro to Stats Modeling | Pamela Matheson | Amherst College | M/W/F | 9:00 AM - 9:50 AM |
| STAT | 135 | 02 | Intro to Stats Modeling | Pamela Matheson | Amherst College | M/W/F | 10:05 AM - 10:55 AM |
| STAT | 135 | 03 | Intro to Stats Modeling | Pamela Matheson | Amherst College | M/W/F | 1:30 PM - 2:20 PM |
| STAT | 135 | 04 | Intro to Stats Modeling | Nicholas Horton | Amherst College | TU/TH | 10:05 AM - 11:20 AM |
| STAT | 135 | 05 | Intro to Stats Modeling | Nicholas Horton | Amherst College | TU/TH | 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM |
| STAT | 230 | 01 | Intermediate Stats | Brittney Bailey | Amherst College | TU/TH | 1:05 PM - 2:20 PM |
| STAT | 230 | 02 | Intermediate Stats | Brittney Bailey | Amherst College | TU/TH | 2:35 PM - 3:50 PM |
| STAT | 231 | 01 | Data Science | Amy Wagaman | Amherst College | M/W | 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM |
| STAT | 350 | 01 | Survival Analysis | Nicholas Horton | Amherst College | M/F | 1:05 PM - 2:20 PM |
| STAT | 370 | 01 | Theoretical Statistics | Amy Wagaman | Amherst College | M/W/F | 9:00 AM - 9:50 AM |
| NS | 0284 | 1 | Adv. Statistical Modeling | Kenneth Mulder | Hampshire College | 09:00AM-10:20AM TU;09:00AM-10:20AM TH |
| DATA | 113 | 01 | Intro to Data Science | Arie Shaus | Mount Holyoke College | MWF 11:30AM-12:45PM |
| STAT | 140 | 01 | Intro Ideas/Applic Statistics | Ben Pittman-Polletta | Mount Holyoke College | MWF 08:30AM-09:45AM;MWF 08:30AM-09:45AM |
| STAT | 140 | 02 | Intro Ideas/Applic Statistics | Ben Pittman-Polletta | Mount Holyoke College | MWF 01:45PM-03:00PM |
| STAT | 242 | 01 | Intermediate Statistics | Ben Pittman-Polletta | Mount Holyoke College | MWF 10:00AM-11:15AM |
| STAT | 242 | 02 | Intermediate Statistics | Laura Lyman | Mount Holyoke College | MWF 01:45PM-03:00PM |
| STAT | 340 | 01 | Applied Regression Methods | Ishfaaq Mohammed Imtiyas | Mount Holyoke College | MWF 10:00AM-11:15AM |
| STAT | 340 | 02 | Applied Regression Methods | Ishfaaq Mohammed Imtiyas | Mount Holyoke College | MWF 08:30AM-09:45AM |
| STAT | 343 | 01 | Mathematical Statistics | Laura Lyman | Mount Holyoke College | MWF 03:15PM-04:30PM;MWF 03:15PM-04:30PM |
| BIO | 372 | 01 | Colq:Quantitativ Ecology | Mariana Abarca | Smith College | M W 10:50 AM - 12:05 PM |
| SDS | 100 | 01 | Lab: Computing w/Data | Albert Y. Kim | Smith College | TU 8:00 AM - 9:15 AM |
| SDS | 100 | 02 | Lab: Computing w/Data | Albert Y. Kim | Smith College | TU 9:25 AM - 10:40 AM |
| SDS | 100 | 03 | Lab: Computing w/Data | Albert Y. Kim | Smith College | TU 10:50 AM - 12:05 PM |
| SDS | 192 | 01 | Intro to Data Sciences | Shiya Cao | Smith College | M W F 9:25 AM - 10:40 AM |
| SDS | 192 | 02 | Intro to Data Sciences | Jericho Lawson | Smith College | M 1:40 PM - 2:55 PM; W F 1:20 PM - 2:35 PM |
| SDS | 210 | 01 | Intro to Statistics | Kementari Whitcher | Smith College | M W F 9:25 AM - 10:40 AM |
| SDS | 210 | 02 | Intro to Statistics | Kementari Whitcher | Smith College | M W F 10:50 AM - 12:05 PM |
| SDS | 210 | 03 | Intro to Statistics | Ben Baumer | Smith College | M W F 10:50 AM - 12:05 PM |
| SDS | 210 | 04 | Intro to Statistics | Randi L Garcia | Smith College | M 3:05 PM - 4:20 PM; W F 2:45 PM - 4:00 PM |
| SDS | 235 | 01 | Visual Analytics | Ab Mosca | Smith College | TU TH 9:25 AM - 10:40 AM |
| SDS | 235 | 02 | Visual Analytics | Ab Mosca | Smith College | TU TH 1:20 PM - 2:35 PM |
| SDS | 236 | 01 | Data Journalism | Ben Baumer,Naila F. Moreira | Smith College | TU TH 1:20 PM - 2:35 PM |
| SDS | 239 | 01 | Colq:Data Science, Movies | Nikko Stevens | Smith College | TU TH 7:00 PM - 8:15 PM |
| SDS | 270 | 01 | Programming Data Science: R | Jericho Lawson | Smith College | M W 10:50 AM - 12:05 PM |
| SDS | 271 | 01 | Program/Data Science: Python | Javier Burroni | Smith College | TU TH 10:50 AM - 12:05 PM |
| SDS | 290 | 01 | Research Design & Analysis | Kementari Whitcher | Smith College | W 2:45 PM - 4:00 PM; M 3:05 PM - 4:20 PM |
| SDS | 291 | 01 | Multiple Regression | William Hopper | Smith College | TU TH 10:50 AM - 12:05 PM |
| SDS | 291 | 02 | Multiple Regression | William Hopper | Smith College | M W 8:00 AM - 9:15 AM |
| SDS | 293 | 01 | Modeling for Machine Learning | Katherine M. Kinnaird | Smith College | M W F 9:25 AM - 10:15 AM |
| SDS | 300di | 01 | Sem:T-Disability,Inclusn&Data | Shiya Cao | Smith College | W F 1:20 PM - 2:35 PM |
| SDS | 320 | 01 | Mathematical Statistics | Rebecca Kurtz-Garcia | Smith College | TU TH 9:25 AM - 10:40 AM |
| SDS | 391 | 01 | Sem: Time Series | Rebecca Kurtz-Garcia | Smith College | TU TH 8:00 AM - 9:15 AM |
| SDS | 410 | 01 | Capstone in SDS | Nikko Stevens | Smith College | TU TH 2:45 PM - 4:00 PM |
| BIOSTATS | 530 | 01 | Intro/Stat Computing with R | Leontine Alkema | UMass Amherst | F 10:10AM 11:00AM |
| BIOSTATS | 640 | 01 | Intrmd Biostatistics | Alexander Knee | UMass Amherst | TU TH 1:00PM 2:15PM |
| BIOSTATS | 680 | 01 | Topics in Health Data Science | Aaron Sarvet | UMass Amherst | TU TH 2:30PM 3:45PM |
| BIOSTATS | 690E | 01 | Biostatistics in Action | Alexander Knee | UMass Amherst | TU TH 2:30PM 3:45PM |
| BIOSTATS | 748 | 01 | Applied Survival Analysis | Raji Balasubramanian | UMass Amherst | TU TH 11:30AM 12:45PM |
| BIOSTATS | 749 | 01 | Stat Methods/Clinical Trials | UMass Amherst | M W 2:30PM 3:45PM | |
| PUBHLTH | 223 | 01 | Intro/Biostats for PUBHLTH | Sofija Zagarins | UMass Amherst | M W F 10:10AM 11:00AM |
| PUBHLTH | 390K | 01 | Decoding PubHealth Research | Ken Kleinman | UMass Amherst | M W 2:30PM 3:45PM |
| PUBHLTH | 494CI | 01 | Public Health Sciences Capston | UMass Amherst | TU TH 11:30AM 12:45PM | |
| PUBHLTH | 494CI | 02 | Public Health Sciences Capston | UMass Amherst | TU TH 2:30PM 3:45PM | |
| PUBHLTH | 494CI | 03 | Public Health Sciences Capston | UMass Amherst | TU TH 1:00PM 2:15PM | |
| PUBHLTH | 494CI | 04 | Public Health Sciences Capston | UMass Amherst | M W 4:00PM 5:15PM | |
| SPHHS | 616 | 01 | Epidemiology & Biostatistics B | Elizabeth Cook | UMass Amherst | M W 2:30PM 3:45PM |
| STATISTC | 111 | 01 | Elementary Statistics | Kien Nguyen | UMass Amherst | TU TH 1:00PM 2:15PM |
| STATISTC | 111 | 01AA | Elementary Statistics | UMass Amherst | W 8:00AM 8:50AM | |
| STATISTC | 111 | 01AB | Elementary Statistics | UMass Amherst | W 9:05AM 9:55AM | |
| STATISTC | 111 | 01AC | Elementary Statistics | UMass Amherst | W 5:30PM 6:20PM | |
| STATISTC | 111 | 01AD | Elementary Statistics | UMass Amherst | W 4:00PM 4:50PM | |
| STATISTC | 111 | 01AE | Elementary Statistics | UMass Amherst | W 12:20PM 1:10PM | |
| STATISTC | 111 | 01AF | Elementary Statistics | UMass Amherst | W 10:10AM 11:00AM | |
| STATISTC | 111 | 01AG | Elementary Statistics | UMass Amherst | W 2:30PM 3:20PM | |
| STATISTC | 111 | 01AJ | Elementary Statistics | UMass Amherst | W 11:15AM 12:05PM | |
| STATISTC | 190SM | 01 | Intro/Stat with Impact Mindset | Krista Gile,Joshua Kaiser,Meghan MacLean | UMass Amherst | TH 4:00PM 5:15PM |
| STATISTC | 240 | 01 | Intro To Statistics | Joanna Jeneralczuk | UMass Amherst | TU TH 2:30PM 3:45PM |
| STATISTC | 240 | 02 | Intro To Statistics | Joanna Jeneralczuk | UMass Amherst | TU TH 4:00PM 5:15PM |
| STATISTC | 310 | 01 | Fundamental Concepts/Stats | Nathan Wycoff | UMass Amherst | M W 5:30PM 6:45PM |
| STATISTC | 310 | 02 | Fundamental Concepts/Stats | Troy Wixson | UMass Amherst | M W F 9:05AM 9:55AM |
| STATISTC | 315 | 01 | Statistics I | Kien Nguyen | UMass Amherst | TU TH 10:00AM 11:15AM |
| STATISTC | 315 | 02 | Statistics I | Carlos Soto | UMass Amherst | TU TH 4:00PM 5:15PM |
| STATISTC | 315 | 03 | Statistics I | Jialin Li | UMass Amherst | TU TH 11:30AM 12:45PM |
| STATISTC | 315 | 04 | Statistics I | Kien Nguyen | UMass Amherst | TU TH 8:30AM 9:45AM |
| STATISTC | 315 | 05 | Statistics I | Carlos Soto | UMass Amherst | TU TH 5:30PM 6:45PM |
| STATISTC | 315 | 06 | Statistics I | Theodore Westling | UMass Amherst | TU TH 2:30PM 3:45PM |
| STATISTC | 490S | 01 | Math Foundatns/Stat & Data Sci | Abhisek Saha | UMass Amherst | M W F 12:20PM 1:10PM |
| STATISTC | 490S | 02 | Math Foundatns/Stat & Data Sci | Abhisek Saha | UMass Amherst | M W F 11:15AM 12:05PM |
| STATISTC | 501 | 01 | Meth Applied Stats | Joanna Jeneralczuk | UMass Amherst | TU TH 11:30AM 12:45PM |
| STATISTC | 525 | 01 | Regression&Analysis/Variance | Abhisek Saha | UMass Amherst | M W F 9:05AM 9:55AM |
| STATISTC | 525 | 02 | Regression&Analysis/Variance | Abhisek Saha | UMass Amherst | M W 2:30PM 3:45PM |
| STATISTC | 525 | 03 | Regression&Analysis/Variance | Jialin Li | UMass Amherst | TU TH 8:30AM 9:45AM |
| STATISTC | 526 | 01 | Design Of Experiments | Zijing Zhang | UMass Amherst | TH 6:00PM 8:30PM |
| STATISTC | 535 | 01 | Statistical Computing | Nathan Wycoff | UMass Amherst | M W 2:30PM 3:45PM |
| STATISTC | 590SM | 01 | Adv. Stats w/Impact Mindset | Krista Gile,Joshua Kaiser,Meghan MacLean | UMass Amherst | TH 4:00PM 5:15PM; TU TH 2:30PM 3:45PM |
| STATISTC | 598C | 01 | StatisticalConsultingPracticum | Krista Gile,Daeyoung Kim | UMass Amherst | TU 1:00PM 2:15PM |
| STATISTC | 608 | 01 | Math Statistics II | Daeyoung Kim | UMass Amherst | M W 2:30PM 3:45PM |
| STATISTC | 608 | 02 | Math Statistics II | Hyunsun Lee | UMass Amherst | M 6:00PM 8:30PM |
| STATISTC | 610 | 01 | Bayesian Statistics | Erin Conlon | UMass Amherst | W 6:00PM 8:30PM |
| STATISTC | 631 | 01 | Categorical Data Analysis | John Staudenmayer | UMass Amherst | M W F 1:25PM 2:15PM |
| STATISTC | 633 | 01 | Data Visualization | Shai Gorsky | UMass Amherst | TU 6:00PM 8:30PM |
Resources
The Lorna M. Peterson Award supports scholarly and creative work by undergraduate students taking part in Five College programs. The prize is awarded annually based on nominations from Five College programs.
Campus Curricula
Contact Us
Five College Statistics Program Representatives:
Ben Baumer, Professor of Statistical & Data Sciences, Smith College (Chair)
Nicholas Horton, Beitzel Professor of Technology and Society (Statistics and Data Science), Amherst College (Secretary/Treasurer)
Kenneth Mulder, Associate Professor of Data Analysis and Modeling, Hampshire College
Laura Lyman, Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor of Statistics, Mount Holyoke College
Carlos Soto, Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, UMass Amherst
Ken Kleinman, Professor of Biostatistics, UMass Amherst
Five College Staff Liaison:
Ray Rennard, Director of Academic Programs