Looking for feedback from anyone who has direct or indirect experience with the Statistics program at Rice. Would welcome any opinions you might have regarding the overall program and experience, and if it is rigorous and offers courses that prepare a student well for employment and/or grad school. My S17 really likes what he sees with Rice and wants to major in statistical science. Looking for more info about the program before we visit in May.
- Are all/most of the classes taught by professors?
- Are the profs easily understood and readily available for consultation?
- Did you have access to a wide variety of computer, machine learning and computer programming classes? What languages are being taught - R, Python, SAS, Stata, MATLAB...?
- Is there a focus on machine learning?
- Research opportunities?
- Class sizes and number of total students in the major
- Companies that actively recruit grads
- Popular grad schools Rice statistics grads attend
- Opportunities to double major
- Any experiences with the computational finance program would also be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
I am sorry no one has commented yet. Maybe some current students, recent graduates, or current or former parents such as @aquapt @malibugirl @ricegrad @GTDAD @jym626 or others can chime in. My daughter took the Intro Statistics class freshman year. Her class was taught by a professor. They also had a lab where TA’s would help them if they had problems etc. She did not take any other stat classes in the department, but the intro class prepared her well for a stat class she took as part of the psych major requirement.
Sorry @Anisqoyo I have no experience with stats. My D has been set on Physc, last night she said she wants to do Political Science. I am sure you have read all of the the “Rice is wonderful” posts, believe it, it really is. 
Had some courses from the department so I can chime in on a few of the questions. Rice’s stat program is solid and the professors are accessible, though the department is fairly small and as a result the course offerings aren’t especially plentiful. The department relies fairly heavily on the computer science and applied math (CAAM) departments to flesh out the stat major which is a good thing for students who are interested in computation issues. Double-majoring with computer science isn’t uncommon though you have to plan your schedule carefully due to the high number of courses required for a COMP major. You also sometimes see quant-minded social science majors double in stat to aid their grad-school admission prospects (except for econ which does this through a separate econ/stat/math major).
I’d be hesitant to answer more specific questions about languages, machine learning focus, and research opportunities because those things can change a lot from year to year. It would be best to check with the department on those issues. Good luck!
Thank you for pinging others to ask for their opinions. I really appreciate the assist!
@ricegrad - Thank you for your response. It is very helpful to hear from someone who has been within the department. Although statistical science is fairly new on the radar for many schools, Rice has had the program since '87 and appears to have a pretty solid list of offerings which, to your point, are aided by the applied math and computer science departments. I am encouraging my son to pursue computational finance as a major so we will see how it plays out. Would love it if he is able to attend a 1st rate school like Rice to have the option of choosing either. Everything we’ve seen from Rice thus far is moving it to the top of the list. Looking forward to our visit and to talking with students directly about their experience.
Best,