Statistics Honors and Bachelor’s Thesis

Requirements

The Statistics BA or BS with Honors is awarded to students who complete the requirements of the Statistics BA or BS and achieve the following criteria:

  1. Maintain a GPA of 3.25 or higher overall.
  2. Maintain a GPA of 3.5 or higher in the courses within the major.
  3. Complete an approved honors paper (STAT 29900 Bachelor’s Paper).

The honors paper is typically based on a structured research project undertaken by the student, under the supervision of a faculty member in the Department of Statistics.

Important Deadlines

Students who wish to write the honors paper (=Bachelor’s thesis) must adhere to the following deadlines, assuming graduation in the Spring quarter of the fourth year:

  1. By the Friday of the fifth week of the Autumn quarter of the fourth year (or the third to the last quarter): Submit the
    • adviser’s name (must be a faculty member in the Department of Statistics),
    • a tentative thesis title, and
    • the name of the second reader (and specify the department if not from Statistics).
      Note: Students eligible and interested in pursuing honors should consult the Departmental Adviser for Majors (Yibi Huang, yibih@uchicago.edu) before the end of their third year. To make the deadline, students wish to write an honors paper are advised to find a thesis adviser by the end of the third year to start background reading in the summer and determine the topic and scope of the work to be undertaken for the thesis. See How to find a thesis adviser.
  2. Enroll in STAT 29900 in the Winter quarter of the student’s fourth year (or the quarter before the graduation quarter), with a good draft of the thesis due by the first day of the exam period.
    • How to enroll in STAT 29900?
    • Note: Credit for STAT 29900 does NOT count towards the Statistics major, though it counts toward the 42 courses required for graduation.
  3. Submit the final version of the thesis by the Friday of the fifth week in the Spring quarter of the student’s fourth year (or the graduation quarter).

Question: I am working on a project with someone outside the Statistics department, can I turn it into a Statistics Bachelor’s thesis?

Answer: You need to find a faculty co-adviser within the Statistics Department of Statistics who would be responsible for helping you shape your project into an appropriate Statistics bachelor’s thesis following the timeline above.

Thesis Cannot Be Reused for Multiple Majors

The honor’s paper or project used to meet the Statistics honors requirement may not be used to fulfill the bachelor’s paper or project requirement in another major or course.

CONTACT: For further questions about the Statistics Undergraduate Research, Bachelor’s Thesis, Honors, STAT 29700 or STAT 29900, please contact Yibi Huang at yibih@uchicago.edu.

DISCLAIMER: The information provided here does not supersede or replace the University’s and Department’s official webpages on:

Information valid as of January 18, 2025