Statistics Program

“Distinguishing the signal from the noise requires both scientific knowledge and self-knowledge: the serenity to accept the things we cannot predict, the courage to predict the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”   - Nate Silver (Five Thirty Eight), The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail - But Some Don't

"Statisticians now collaborate with the scientists generating the data to develop innovative new theory and methods to tackle problems never envisioned." - Marie Davidian (North Carolina State University)

"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.  There are undergraduate majors in statistics and data science at Smith, Mount Holyoke, and Amherst Colleges, undergraduate and graduate programs at the University of Massachusetts, and growth in faculty staffing and enrollments at all of the institutions that make up the Five Colleges.

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 cooperation to continue the strong statistical presence in the Valley. The Five College Statisticians meet on a regular basis to coordinate activities and curricular offerings.

Recurring Events

• Western Mass Data Science, Stats, and R
• UMass Statistics and Probability Seminar Series
• Smith College Applied Statistics Lecture series
• 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

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.

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

Other Resources

Five College Statistics Program Representatives:
 

Nicholas (Nick) Horton, Beitzel Professor in Technology and Society, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Amherst College (Program Chair and Webmaster)

Jeffrey Barton, Professor of Mathematics, Hampshire College (Secretary/Treasurer)

Laurie Tupper, Associate Professor of Statistics, Mount Holyoke College

Randi Garcia, Assistant Professor of Psychology and of Statistical & Data Sciences, Smith College 

Chi Hyun Lee, Assistant Professor of Biostatistics, UMass

Carlos Soto, Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Statistics, UMass
 

Five College Staff Liaison:
 

Ray Rennard, Director of Academic Programs