The Faculty of Math’s Biostatistics major unites students’ passion for math and statistics with their desire to help address major public health and medicine problems facing the world. In this one-of-a-kind major offered by the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, students learn to analyze disease and public health data to better the public good.
“I guess I’ve always been a person who has that idea of changing the world or helping people, and I think the area that a lot of people think of when they think that is health care,” says Biostatistics major Keeley Isinghood in a new video profiling the major. She loves the focus on using data to help people. “All this data came from real people and it [will] now create real change, which is really cool!”
A Biostatistics degree allows students to combine their interest in biology with in-depth statistics training, all while receiving practical co-op experience in a variety of biology and health care settings. Graduates often get positions in pharmaceutical companies, hospital research centres, non-profits, and government agencies, explains Richard J. Cook, professor of Statistics and Faculty of Mathematics research chair. “Our students are in high demand because there’s an appreciation for the expertise they bring,” Cook says.
Watch the video below to learn more about majoring in Biostatistics at the University of Waterloo.