Choosing the STAT or Stat/CS Major

Useful information on other pages…

On this page,…


What do I need to do before joining STAT?

The Department of Statistics also has certain entry requirements that must be completed before joining the program.

Effective Spring 2013, the curriculum change requirements to enter the Statistics major are (1) completion of Calculus I, II, and III and (2) completion of one of STAT 400, STAT 408, or MATH 461 with a grade of B- or better.

Effective Fall 2015, the curriculum change requirements to enter the Statistics & Computer Science major are (1) completion of at least two CS courses required for the major other than CS 125 (typically CS 173 and CS 225), with grades of A- or above and (2) a cumulative GPA of at least 3.67.

Our department is only able to assist active majors with course registration. Please see the STAT Course Details page for more information.


When can I join STAT?

The university allows students to change their major during certain times of the academic year.

  • Beginning of Spring semester.
  • Middle of Spring semester (usually March).
  • Middle of Summer semester (usually June).
  • Beginning of Fall semester.
  • Middle of Fall semester (usually October).

The specific dates of the next curriculum change period are listed on the LAS Declaration page.


How to officially switch to STAT from your current major and…

you’re already in LAS,…

The Curriculum Change form is available online.  LAS students may now submit their requests to change from one LAS major to another LAS major using  the college’s Curriculum Change Form.

All Curriculum Change requests will undergo a final review by a dean/advisor in 2002 Lincoln Hall.  Students will receive email notifications when 1) their request has been submitted and 2) their request is approved, pending, or denied.  The entire process should take several business days as with our other online forms.

you’re in DGS or another college,…

You must go through the Intercollegiate Transfer (ICT) process to move into LAS and Statistics. Details about ICT can be found here.


How to officially add STAT as a second major and…

you’re already in LAS,…

You will need to pick up a paper form from either LAS or the Statistics advisor in order to get your double major approved. Details about adding a second major can be found here.

you’re currently in another college,…

You will need to apply for a second degree in LAS by visiting the LAS Student Academic Affairs Office in 2002 Lincoln Hall. Details about the dual degree process can be found here.


How do I register for STAT courses if I’m not in the program yet?

To be sure that we try to satisfy the needs of our current majors first, we cannot provide any kind of exceptions or overrides to non-majors, but once a student becomes a major, we will can help if you act promptly. Here’s the registration schedule to help explain.

April (for Summer and Fall) / November (for Spring): Priority Registration exists for Stat, Stat/CS, and other majors who are specifically required to take certain upper-level STAT courses numbered 400 and above. Non-majors cannot access STAT courses at this time.

Early May / December: Priority Registration ends.  The restrictions will be removed. Non-majors can access courses at this time.

The restrictions will come off one course at a time throughout the day but not at specific predetermined times. We can not anticipate when a specific course will have its restriction lifted. Once the restriction for a course is lifted, any student in any major can sign up for courses with remaining seats as seen on Enterprise/Self-Service. Watch the official STAT Course Registration page for updates.

Once the number of remaining seats reach 0, the class is full. Additional seats are cannot be made available.

Monday during the week before classes begin: This is the first day you can join a major in Fall and Spring. See the LAS Students page for upcoming dates. As long as you

  1. join the Stat program by the first day of classes, and
  2. contact stat-reg@illinois.edu or the advisor by the first day of classes.

then we will get you into the classes you need to make progress in the major.*

* We might not be able to get you what you want that specific semester in terms of advanced electives, but we’ll make sure you’re on track. This also includes access to MATH 415. We also cannot guarantee a specific section. The closer we get to the first day of classes, the selection dissipates.