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Frequently Asked Questions

Which Statistics course should I take?

It depends on your background and interests. If in doubt, please discuss this with your academic advisors and the Statistics advisors. By far the most common places to start are Stat 100, 102, or 104 (which are introductions to applied statistics, each with its own flavor), or Stat 110 (which is an introduction to probability and is a necessary foundation for most of the upper-level Statistics courses).

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What’s the difference between Stat 100, 102, and 104?

Statistics is guided by a few fundamental principles but has applications in a great variety of different fields. To best serve the needs of students with a wide range of backgrounds and interests, the department has several versions of its introductory course: Stat 100, 102, and 104. These courses introduce common core material in statistical inference at an introductory level, but with different areas of application emphasized. A student can take only one of these courses for credit.

Stat 100 is a general introduction to applied statistics and data science, exploring...

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What’s the difference between Stat 100/102/104 and Stat 110?

They are complementary, with very little overlap. Stat 100, 102, and 104 are each an introduction to statistical principles and concepts, as described above. Stat 110 is an introduction to probability. The emphasis of Stat 110 is on random variables and their distributions, and on how to use probability to quantify uncertainty and understand randomness. Aside from the very different emphasis, Stat 110 is taught at a much higher mathematical level than Stat 100/102/104. In particular, Stat 110 requires calculus at the level of Math 1a/1b or above.

Which courses require Stat 100/102/104?

Stat 108 and 109a are the two main examples. Stat 108 is an introduction to programming with a statistical focus using R, while Stat 109a is an introduction to data science using Python to perform copmutation (this is the same course as CS 109a). There are also various courses in other departments, such as Economics, that rely heavily on the ideas from Stat 100, 102, and 104.

Which courses require Stat 110?

Stat 111, 123, 170, and 171 have Stat 110 as their main or only prerequisite. There are also various courses in other departments, especially Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, and Economics, that rely heavily on the ideas from Stat 110.

What’s the difference between Stat 111 and Stat 139?

They are complementary courses on the science of learning from data, with very different emphases: Stat 111 focuses the theory of statistical inference, while Stat 139 focuses on applications. Stat 111 is an introduction to both Bayesian and frequentist perspectives on inference. Stat 139 is an introduction to data analysis using linear regression models and R.

What’s the difference between Stat 123 and Stat 170?

They are complementary courses on mathematical finance. Stat 123 focuses on derivatives, with an emphasis on interest rate derivatives and issues about trading them in real markets. Stat 170 focuses on the pricing of assets, portfolio analysis, and derivative pricing. The mathematical level of Stat 170 is somewhat higher than that of Stat 123, e.g., the course delves into topics such as Brownian motion, stochastic differential equations, and Monte Carlo methods.

Students contemplating a career in investment management, sales and trading, investment banking, hedge funds, or...

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Where can I find information about the concentration (aside from reading this FAQ)?

http://statistics.fas.harvard.edu/pages/undergraduate-statistics-general-information

has links to information and resources about the concentration. For further information, please contact the Undergraduate Student Program Administrator, Lorna Blocksma (lblocksma@fas.harvard.edu), and/or the Directors of Undergraduate Study, Joe Blitzstein (blitz@fas.harvard.edu), Mike Parzen (...

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