Houston Daily

The University of Houston is set to introduce a new Ph.D. program in Statistics and Data Science, beginning in the fall of 2025. The university states that this program stands out for its emphasis on data science, aiming to equip students with advanced technical and research skills necessary for analyzing large volumes of information.

According to Professor Bernhard Bodmann, chair of the Department of Mathematics at UH, “We live in a golden age of statistics. We have so much data begging to be interpreted, and that’s one of the things statistics does — it can look at a lot of data and make meaningful statements about what we observe.”

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved the program on October 23. The launch comes as demand grows for specialists in data and artificial intelligence across sectors such as health care, energy, and technology in Houston. National projections from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that employment for data scientists is expected to increase by 34% between 2024 and 2034, making it one of the fastest-growing professions.

Bodmann also highlighted the role statisticians play in developing reliable frameworks for artificial intelligence algorithms: “When an AI hallucinates, it makes up stuff that’s not true,” he said. “Statistics is precisely the right language to phrase statements that relate to performance guarantees in AI and more generally in data science.”

The new Ph.D. curriculum will provide training in statistical theory, data analysis, and computing. Graduates will be prepared for careers not only in academia but also in industries such as energy, health care, finance, and manufacturing.

A planned Statistics & Data Science Consulting Center will offer students practical experience through interdisciplinary collaborations with researchers throughout campus.

Professor Mikyoung Jun, director of both the new Ph.D. program and UH’s Master’s degree program in Statistics and Data Science, commented on developments within the field: “Now the field is branching out — it’s not just statistics and mathematics separately,” she said. “There’s a lot of opportunities to work together and make the field bigger.”

Further details about admission requirements are available at www.uh.edu/nsm/math/graduate/phd-datascience.