The Big Data Statistical Analysis Graduate Certificate program can help you develop the skills that can be applied to various tech-related careers, such as data scientist, statistical programmer, business analytics, computer programmer, and data engineer. As a student in this program, you will gain expertise in applied statistics, practical machine learning, data manipulation, data visualization, database system, and parallel computing. You can expect to learn how to use programming languages such as R, SQL, or Python.

Students hoping to earn the certificate- Big Data Statistical Analysis must take 12 credits hours consisting of the following 4 asynchronous online summer courses:

STAT 711 :  Basic Computational Statistics using R - 3 credits
STAT 712 :  Applied Statistical Machine Learning- 3 credits
STAT 713 :  Introduction to Data Science - 3 credits
STAT 714 :  Statistical Big Data Visualization - 3 credits

Total Number of Credits = 12
NOTE: All 4 courses only offered during the summer semester.

STAT 711 needs to be the first course taken for students with little or no prior knowledge of statistics. These four courses cannot be taken as credit towards Master or Ph.D. degrees in Statistics, but may possibly be taken for credits for other degrees outside of Statistics if the other degree program allows.

If you are interested in this certificate, please reach out to Dr. Bong-Jin Choi (Big Data Statistical Analysis Graduate Certificate Coordinator) to address any questions you may have.

Admissions Requirements

• B.S. or equivalent degree with 3.0 or above GPA from an accredited university
• Knowledge of College Algebra

Once students have completed all the requirements, they should to apply for the graduate degree certificate program through the NDSU Graduate School. Please contact the Graduate School for further information.

The Statistics Graduate Certificate is offered to non-majors.  Students hoping to earn the certificate must take 12 semester credit hours consisting of graduate level courses in statistics. STAT 725 needs to be the first course taken for students with little or no prior knowledge of statistics. No credit will be given for STAT 725 for the certificate if it is not the first course taken. Statistics courses numbered 700-724 do not count towards this degree. Students in the certificate program cannot receive credit for both STAT 661 and STAT 726. STAT 726 is recommended. Also, students in this program cannot receive credit for both STAT 670 and STAT 671. After completing the requirements for the certificate, please contact the Department of Statistics to verify completion. 

Admissions Requirements

• B.S. or equivalent degree from an accredited university
• Knowledge of College Algebra

• Students need to apply to the Graduate Certificate Program in Statistics at least one semester prior to completion.

Sample of Courses

STAT 725 Applied Statistics - 3 credits
STAT 726 Applied Regression & Analysis of Variance -3 credits
STAT 662 Introduction to Experimental Design -3 credits
STAT 663 Nonparametric Statistics -3 credits

Total Number of Credits = 12

Students need to apply to the graduate degree certificate program through the Graduate School.  Please contact the Graduate School for further information.