Get Involved

UConn statistics students can prepare for life after graduation by getting involved in research, internships, and other experiences outside of classes. Through these opportunities, you’ll learn more about your interests, expose yourself to new ideas, gain professional skills, and build a network that will support you beyond UConn.

Ways to get involved

Internships

An internship is supervised field work relevant to some area of probability or statistics. Internships typically take place outside the Department of Statistics. Internships allow students to explore careers of interest while also gaining hands-on experience and transferable skills.

Undergraduate students may complete an internship and earn credits toward their major by enrolling in STAT 4190. Field Study Internship. Your internship may be with another academic department, a regional business, a government agency, or a non-profit organization.

To find a suitable internship, you may seek help from the Department, the UConn Center for Career Development or the American Statistical Association.

STAT 4190 Requirements

STAT 4190. Field Study Internship can be completed during the fall, spring, or summer semester, upon availability; students often complete their internship during the summer before their senior year, provided they have completed the necessary prerequisites.

To be eligible to receive internship credit in statistics via STAT 4190, you need to have satisfied all of the prerequisites:

  • Completion of first-year and sophomore general requirements for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS).
  • Completion with a grade of “C” or better of STAT 3025 or STAT 3375, and STAT 3115 or STAT 3515.

Submitting a Proposal

After you meet the prerequisites, you must send the undergraduate program director more information about the internship in the form of a proposal, and also a letter from your internship supervisor.

For the proposal, please coordinate with your internship supervisor and send the undergraduate program director a write-up that includes

  • the name of the company and where the internship is located,
  • the start and end dates of the internship, number of hours per week, and whether it is paid or unpaid,
  • the name and contact information of your supervisor, and
  • the nature of the projects clearly stating the statistical content.

Your internship supervisor must also send a letter to the undergraduate program director. It should confirm the details of your proposal and that they will send the undergraduate program director an email at the end of your internship evaluating your performance. If approved, the undergraduate program director will send you a permission number for up to three credits of STAT 4190, with the number of credits dependent on the level of statistical content.

Your regular tuition will cover the cost of internship credits during the academic year. If you complete an internship during the summer, you’ll be charged summer tuition based on the number of credits that you’ll earn.

Completing your Internship

Upon completion of the internship, you must submit a detailed report to the undergraduate program director, who will also seek performance feedback from your external supervisor. Based on these evaluations, you'll be assigned a final grade of S (satisfactory) or U (unsatisfactory) by the faculty coordinator.

Also note, STAT 4190 can count toward your statistics or mathematics/statistics major credits, but it is S/U, so your GPA will not be affected.

Research

Undergraduate students can participate in supervised research in probability or statistics under the guidance of a statistics faculty mentor by enrolling in STAT 4389. Undergraduate Research. You may take this course either semester for three credits and may repeat it for additional credit. Hours are determined by arrangement with a faculty mentor.

This course is only open with consent of a faculty member who is willing to mentor you, based on exceptional academic performance in all core and some upper-level elective statistics courses. Discuss your interest with your faculty advisor, who may seek input from statistics department faculty members to help you find a research mentor.

Undergraduate students interested in pursuing their own independent research and/or writing a peer reviewed article based on outstanding research can also apply for support from the Office of Undergraduate Research. Statistics students can also participate in a number of summer research programs affiliated with the Math Alliance.

More Resources

Student and Professional Organizations

By getting involved in student and professional organizations, you can explore topics you're passionate about, expand your social circle, and build professional skills that employers value. Between UConn and the wider academic community, there are hundreds of organizations and learning communities open to statistics majors. Examples include:

  • UConn Data Science Club: UConn Data Science Club focuses on educating and preparing students to be involved in the field of data science. It holds weekly workshops and hands-on sessions, along with the annual UConn Sports Analytics Symposium.
  • American Statistical Association: The American Statistical Association is the world’s largest community of statisticians. It is the second-oldest professional association in the country, and its efforts include meetings, publications, membership services, education, accreditation, and advocacy
  • New England Statistical Society: The New England Statistical Society (NESS) is a non-profit organization that promotes the growth and expansion of statistical science in the New England area and beyond. Its activities include publishing statistical journals, organizing scientific meetings, and offering educational programs.

Visit the UConntact website to search student groups by category.

Study Abroad

Studying abroad can expose you to different cultures and perspectives and provide you with unparalleled opportunities to grow as a student.

UConn statistics majors can study in many exciting places around the world. Through careful planning, you can take part in this transformative experience while earning credits toward your degree.

Students who are interested in studying abroad should first contact the office of Experiential Global Learning to determine what programs they are most interested in and when they’d like to go abroad, before meeting with the statistics staff advisor to discuss how this may fit into their major plan of study. It is recommended that interested students begin this process as early as possible.

Event Recording: Study Abroad for Math & Stat Majors https://uconn-cmr.webex.com/recordingservice/sites/uconn-cmr/recording/playback/e272c55e6181103ca97ffa0fc66ea428