Can I put on my resume "Applied Stats Major" instead?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around how to accurately represent a Statistics major on a resume, particularly in relation to the curriculum's emphasis on Applied Statistics. Participants explore the implications of the degree's official title versus the skills and courses taken.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions why the degree is labeled "Statistics" instead of "Applied Statistics," suggesting that the latter may enhance competitiveness in job applications.
  • Another participant advises that the resume should reflect the degree as it appears on the diploma, emphasizing the importance of skills over the specific title.
  • Some participants suggest including additional information about courses or experiences to highlight applied skills, regardless of the official degree title.
  • There is a query about whether to include an emphasis on the resume if it is not printed on the diploma, with suggestions to clarify this through additional documentation.
  • A participant proposes that if elective courses in computer science are taken, it may be appropriate to indicate this on the resume, but seeks confirmation on the best way to phrase it.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that the resume should reflect the official degree title, but there is no consensus on how to best represent additional emphases or skills. Multiple views on the importance of the degree title versus the skills acquired remain present.

Contextual Notes

There are unresolved questions regarding the best practices for resume writing in relation to degree titles and emphases, as well as the potential impact on job applications.

annoyinggirl
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Hi, I will be majoring in Statistics at SFSU. However, while the curriculum is that of an Applied Statistics major (below is a link to a chart of the three offered emphasis, which we must choose one of out of ). Why, then, does the school call it "Statistics" instead of "applied Statistics"? And given that the curriculum is that of an Applied Statistics major, can I put on my resume "Applied Statistics with emphasis in _____ " instead of "Statistics major with emphasis in ____" ? Because I think the word "applied" makes me a much more competitive/desirable candidate (please correct me if I am wrong).

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I think you need to put whatever will be printed on your physical diploma. Perhaps there are other ways of communicating your "applied" skills?
 
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Greg Bernhardt said:
I think you need to put whatever will be printed on your physical diploma. Perhaps there are other ways of communicating your "applied" skills?

thanks for the reply. Do you have any suggestions on how i could do that?
 
To answer your original question, historically statistics was often only offered at the graduate level in many schools in the US, often as either part of the math department or part of the operations research/industrial engineering department. I would suspect that in recent years, with the recognition of a need for a separate statistics program and its applications in a variety of areas, there was a need to create a separate undergraduate statistics degree that catered to applications.

At any rate, in your resume, you should state the degree that will be printed on your diploma. It doesn't really matter whether the degree is called Statistics or Applied Statistics. The more important thing is what skills you possesses -- you can communicate those by what courses you've taken or what experiences you gained in internships (if you decide to seek it).
 
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StatGuy2000 said:
To answer your original question, historically statistics was often only offered at the graduate level in many schools in the US, often as either part of the math department or part of the operations research/industrial engineering department. I would suspect that in recent years, with the recognition of a need for a separate statistics program and its applications in a variety of areas, there was a need to create a separate undergraduate statistics degree that catered to applications.

At any rate, in your resume, you should state the degree that will be printed on your diploma. It doesn't really matter whether the degree is called Statistics or Applied Statistics. The more important thing is what skills you possesses -- you can communicate those by what courses you've taken or what experiences you gained in internships (if you decide to seek it).
thanks for reply.

So can i write on my resume "statistics major with emphasis in ______" or do i have to leave the "emphasis" out since it's not on the physical diploma, although it is true and could be proven by other documentation?
 
annoyinggirl said:
thanks for reply.

So can i write on my resume "statistics major with emphasis in ______" or do i have to leave the "emphasis" out since it's not on the physical diploma, although it is true and could be proven by other documentation?

My suggestion would be to simply write the title of your degree (I presume that would be BS in Statistics). You can then either put in brackets or in a separate line "with emphasis in _________", or describe key courses you had taken in your resume, which should show potential employers what types of skills you possess.
 
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StatGuy2000 said:
My suggestion would be to simply write the title of your degree (I presume that would be BS in Statistics). You can then either put in brackets or in a separate line "with emphasis in _________", or describe key courses you had taken in your resume, which should show potential employers what types of skills you possess.
i see. thank you . that cleared a lot of confusion for me.

Also, if i take my three elective courses in computer science with business emphasis, could i write "B.S in Statistics (Business and Computer Science), or would there be a better/more accurate way to write that?
 

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