Course Comparisons

STAT 200 vs. 20010

They are essentially the same course taught in different styles
Stat 20010 explores the topics of introductory statistic through the lenses of a case study, with more focus on statistical literacy and conceptual understanding than on computation
STAT 200 is offered in Autumn and Spring; STAT 20010 is offered in Winter

STAT 200/20010 is a “statistical literacy” course.

Students should take STAT 200/20010 if interested in …
- understanding basic statistical reasoning
- learning how to interpret and critique statistical concepts regularly mentioned in the news
Students should NOT take STAT 200/20010 if interested in…
- understanding enough statistics to read the methodology section of a research paper in your field of interest
- taking more advanced statistics courses later
- gaining experience with statistics computing/software
STAT 200/20010 does NOT cover statistical computing (or very little)

STAT 118-119 is about equal to STAT 220 + computational tools of collecting, managing, storing, processing and visualization of data
STAT 118-119 is less mathematical but more computational than STAT 220
STAT 118-119 cover less probability than STAT 220. STAT 118-119 introduce key ideas of statistical inference: confidence intervals, hypothesis tests and regression using simulation, resampling, and randomization rather than the traditional methods based on normal and t-distributions
STAT 220 uses R and STAT 118-119 uses Python and Jupyter Notebook
The information above do not supersede or replace the information and rules in the College Catalog for Data Science Majors and Minors

Both are introductory statistics courses
- No prior knowledge of statistics is expected or required
STAT 220 and 234 sometimes use the same base textbook.
Both courses cover the basic statistical concepts and methodology needed as prerequisite for more advanced statistics courses (STAT 224/222/226/27410, SOCI 20253, etc).
- Courses that require introductory statistics as prerequisite typically list the prerequisite as “STAT 220 or 234 or 245”
Both courses use R to analyze data.

STAT 234 = STAT 220 + exploration of the math behind the statistical methods
STAT 220 is an “algebra-based” intro to statistics like “STAT 101” at most universities
- prerequisite: a little calculus (MATH 131 completed … or placement into MATH 151)
- … but calculus is not used in STAT 220
STAT 234 is a calculus-based intro to statistics
- prerequisite: MATH 133, 153, or 162 completed (not concurrent)
STAT 234 elaborates more on probability theory than STAT 220. In particular, STAT 234 introduces continuous probability distributions using Calculus while STAT 220 does it without calculus
STAT 220 elaborates more on data collection methods and the common pitfalls but STAT 234 doesn’t.

STAT 244 has a far more extensive coverage in probability theory than STAT 234 does
STAT 244-245 cover fundamental principles of statistical inference like maximum likelihood estimates, likelihood ratio tests, and Bayesian inference, etc, but STAT 234 doesn’t
STAT 245 covers the mathematical theory behind statistical methods like analysis of variance, multiple linear regression, in a unified framework

To take STAT 24410, students need to take STAT 251 in addition to the prerequisites of STAT 244
STAT 24410 shortens the probability theory in STAT 244 (as students have taken STAT 251) to covers some additional topics not covered in STAT 244
STAT 24510 also covers additional topics not in STAT 245
The combination STAT 24410-24500 is allowed
Students in STAT 24410-24510 are mostly MS students in Statistics as STAT 24410-24510 = STAT 30030-30040 are recommended courses of the MS program in Statistics

DISCLAIMER: These guidelines do not supersede or replace the University’s official publications on course prerequisites, course descriptions, or other relevant information in the College Catalog of the Statistics Major & Minor Programs and of the Data Science Major and Minor Programs, and at my.UChicago.

This webpage is maintained by Yibi Huang
Coordinator of Undergraduate Programs in Statistics
Email: yibih@uchicago.edu

Information valid as of