PULLMAN, Wash. – As outlined in Washington State University’s FY2012 budget reduction plans, the Department of Statistics has been merged into the Department of Mathematics.
The master’s degree in statistics has been retained, and planning is under way to align the 14 undergraduate statistics courses with current mathematics offerings. The consolidation paves the way for development of a statistics option within the mathematics doctoral program.
Statistics services for WSU faculty and programs will continue under standard research collaboration protocols.
The Department of Mathematics, one of five units within the College of Sciences, supports students well beyond the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) disciplines. Mathematics and statistical instruction are critical for WSU students earning degrees in disciplines ranging from agronomy and business to wetland resource management and zoology.
In the 2010-2011 academic year, the Department of Mathematics provided more than 30,000 undergraduate student credit hours of instruction, more than any other department on the Pullman campus.
“We are pleased that the consolidation could be implemented in a timely manner and without disruption to WSU’s teaching and research enterprise,” said K. A. Ariyawansa, chair of the Department of Mathematics.