The University of Chicago’s MS in Statistics program offers rigorous training and the option to focus on a theoretical or applied statistics master’s. Pursue computational modeling, applied statistics, or advanced statistical theory in one of the best MS in Statistics programs in the U.S. You’ll gain the analytical, computational, and research skills needed to advance in academia or industry. Excel in data-driven fields such as finance, health, technology, and public policy.
You can complete the program in one or two academic years, depending on your background and study plan.
What Makes UChicago the Best MS in Statistics
#3 in the Nation
UChicago has one of the best MS in Statistics, consistently top-ranked by U.S. News & World Report Graduate Rankings.
Research Opportunities
Collaborate with top-tier faculty on cutting-edge projects in theoretical and applied statistics. Impact a variety of fields from biophysics to public health, or artificial intelligence adoption to business and education.
Career Success
Graduates excel at leading universities, tech companies, and research institutions. We offer personal advising, professional-development workshops, practical job application/promotion toolkits, and more.
Customize Your MS in Statistics
The Master's in Statistics at the University of Chicago offers great flexibility. Build a professional degree preparing you to lead emerging fields, or customize a MS in Statistics that prepares you for doctoral study in any field intersecting with statistics or data science. Complete your degree in 1-2 years.
Choose to focus on a theoretical or applied statistics master’s. Then select electives and a research focus that align with your career goals.
Areas of focus can include:
- Biostatistics
- Statistical genetics
- Statistical finance
- Environmental statistics
- Computational neuroscience
- Machine learning
- Pattern recognition
- Scientific computation
- Survey methodology
- And more
How Will an MS in Statistics Change You?
Featured Statistics Faculty
Learn from published researchers and leaders in Bayesian methods, machine learning, and computational statistics as you complete a theoretical or applied statistics master’s.
Rina Foygel Barber, Louis Block Professor, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2025 and received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2023. Her research focuses on developing and analyzing estimation, inference, and optimization tools for structured high-dimensional data problems such as sparse regression, sparse nonparametric models, and low-rank models.
Brent Doiron, Heinrich Kluver Professor in the Departments of Neurobiology and Statistics, is the Director for the Grossman Center for Quantitative Biology and Human Behavior. Recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship in Neuroscience and a Vannevar Bush faculty fellowship award, his research focuses on a combination of nonlinear dynamics and statistical mechanics, with an emphasis on the genesis and transfer of variability in neural circuits.
Rebecca Willett, Worah Family Professor in the Wallman Society of Fellows, is the Faculty Director of AI at the Data Science Institute. A recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, her research is focused on machine learning, signal processing, and large-scale data science. She is a member of the DARPA Computer Science Study Group, and received an Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Program award in 2010.
Interdisciplinary Research and Professional Development
What makes this program one of the best MS in statistics is our approach to collaborative cross-discipline work. Apply your skills across UChicago’s renowned economics, data science, and biological research communities:
- Gain Consulting Experience: consult for researchers in other departments in the University, working as the quantitative expert to solve important research problems of our day.
- Build Presentation Skills: All students in the MS in Statistics give a seminar on their master's paper at the completion of the program. Students are also encouraged to participate actively in courses and seminars.
- Statistics Colloquium Series: Learn from global experts from a wide range of industries, academic institutions and professional roles in this unique colloquium.