undergradly.
Major · Mathematics & Statistics

Specialty statistics programs that file under the catchall CIP — read the syllabus, not the code

Statistics, Other (CIP 27.0599) is a catchall the federal IPEDS taxonomy uses for statistics programs that don't fit the named codes — 27.0501 Statistics General, 27.0502 Mathematical Statistics, or 27.0503 Mathematics + Statistics. About 347 students complete this bachelor's each year across just 18 institutions, with a five-year earnings median of $95,197. Programs filing here are usually specialty tracks — Biostatistics, Applied Statistics, Industrial Statistics, Sports Analytics, or analytics-tilted statistics curricula — so the major's actual content varies considerably by school.

Schools offering
18
Annual completions
347
Typical degree level
Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$95k

About this major

Statistics, Other (CIP 27.0599) is the federal IPEDS catchall code for instructional programs in statistics that don't fit a named sub-discipline — the CIP definition is, verbatim, "any instructional program in statistics not listed above." In practice, programs that file here are usually specialty tracks: Biostatistics undergraduate programs that route into pharma and clinical-research labor markets, Applied Statistics curricula that emphasize regression and modeling for industry analytics, Industrial Statistics and quality-control programs that feed manufacturing and operations research, Sports Analytics + Statistics tracks at schools building analytics specializations, and data-analytics-tilted statistics programs that cross into computer science. Because the CIP code is a catchall, the actual content varies considerably by institution, and the syllabus matters more than the code — a Biostatistics track at one school and an Industrial Statistics track at another both file here despite teaching meaningfully different material.

The scale is small: about 347 bachelor's completions a year across just 18 institutions — a fraction of the 3,379 completions at the named Statistics, General CIP (27.0501) across 163 schools. Output is concentrated at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (109), Brigham Young (101), and UC San Diego (42), with mid-tier programs at Miami University-Oxford (29), American (12), University of New Hampshire (11), and West Point (10). The dispersion across school types — flagship public, religious private, public flagship, mid-tier public, military academy — reinforces the catchall pattern: programs file here for institution-specific reasons, not because they share curricular identity. Compared with the California-heavy Statistics, General concentration (UCSB, UCLA, UC Davis at the top), this CIP's geography is genuinely scattered.

The earnings picture is strong but should be read carefully. The five-year bachelor's median of $95,197 matches the named Statistics, General CIP exactly — reflecting that whatever specialty the program teaches, the underlying labor market for statistics graduates rewards the toolkit. The career list shows two bachelor's-entry tracks above $100K: Actuaries (SOC 15-2011) at $125,770 with 21.8% projected growth, and Natural Sciences Managers (SOC 11-9121) at $161,180 with 3.7% growth. The two graduate-credential tracks — Statisticians (SOC 15-2041) at $103,300 with 8.5% growth, master's typical, and Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary at $79,350 with 2.3% growth, doctorate typical — represent the natural extensions for students aiming at named research or academic positions. Beyond the packet's four-career list, BLS data points to Data Scientists (SOC 15-2051) at $108,020 with 35% projected growth and Operations Research Analysts (SOC 15-2031) at $83,640 with 23% growth as the highest-velocity destinations for statistics graduates in 2026.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Natural sciences managers $161k +3.7% Bachelor's degree
Mathematical science teachers, postsecondary $79k +2.3% Doctoral or professional degree
Actuaries $126k +21.8% Bachelor's degree
Statisticians $103k +8.5% Master's degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$95k

Who this major is for

You may thrive in a 27.0599 program if you've already identified a specific specialty track — Biostatistics, Applied Statistics, Industrial Statistics, Sports Analytics, or a school-specific analytics curriculum — and the institution you're considering files that program under this catchall code. The catchall framing only matters as a research signal: it tells you to read the curriculum, talk to the department, and ask what the program actually teaches before applying. If you're pharma-bound or biotech-bound and the program is essentially Biostatistics filing under 27.0599 because the school doesn't run a named Biostatistics undergrad, this is one of the strongest pre-grad-school ramps available — MS Biostatistics at Hopkins, Harvard, UW, Michigan, UNC, or NCSU is the natural next step, and pharma sponsors (Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Merck, Gilead, Genentech) plus CROs (IQVIA, Parexel, PPD) hire those graduates aggressively. If you're tech-bound, the data scientist and ML engineer tracks at Google, Meta, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon clear $108K BLS median with 35% projected growth, and statistics graduates with demonstrated Python, real dataset experience, and machine-learning fluency layered on top of the core compete successfully at the bachelor's level.

Reconsider this CIP if you haven't yet identified a specialty target and want a broad-scope statistics curriculum — in that case, Statistics, General (27.0501) at 163 schools is the larger, more uniform option, and the named CIP avoids the catchall variability that makes program comparison harder here. Reconsider if the school you're looking at files under 27.0599 for reasons that don't match your interests — a sports analytics program is excellent for sports-bound students and a poor fit for biostatistics-bound ones despite sharing the code. Pause if your school's program leans heavily theoretical and you're aiming at applied roles, or vice versa. The economically rational play is to verify three things before committing: what the program actually covers (probability theory and inference depth, programming requirements in R and Python, machine-learning electives, internship or capstone integration), where graduates have placed in the last two cohorts, and which graduate-school destinations the department's recommendation pipeline reaches. Statistics graduates from any 27.05xx track who layer on Python and R fluency, real dataset portfolios (Kaggle, capstones, internships), and statistical computing software (SAS for pharma, Stata for econ, Spark or cloud-pipeline tooling for tech) compete strongly in the 2026 labor market — a market where AI and machine learning are tailwinds, not threats, because they are the same toolkit applied to bigger and harder problems.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Statistics, Other

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL 0 109 109
Brigham Young University Provo, UT 0 101 101
University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA 0 42 42
Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH 0 29 29
American University Washington, DC 0 12 12
University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, NH 0 11 11
United States Military Academy West Point, NY 0 10 10
Robert Morris University Moon Township, PA 0 9 9
Arkansas Tech University Russellville, AR 0 7 7
University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA 0 7 7
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Mathematics, General

18,758 completions/yr

Statistics, General

3,379 completions/yr

Applied Mathematics, General

2,591 completions/yr

Data Science, General

2,068 completions/yr

Mathematics and Computer Science

1,125 completions/yr

Business Statistics

843 completions/yr

Financial Mathematics

611 completions/yr

Mathematics and Statistics, Other

338 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What's the difference between Statistics, Other (27.0599) and Statistics, General (27.0501)?
Statistics, General (CIP 27.0501) is the named, broad-scope statistics major — about 3,379 completions a year across 163 colleges, covering probability, inference, regression, experimental design, and computational methods as a unified curriculum. Statistics, Other (27.0599) is the federal taxonomy's catchall for programs that don't fit a named code — typically specialty tracks like Biostatistics, Applied Statistics, Industrial Statistics, Sports Analytics, Quantitative Methods, or analytics-tilted statistics programs that combine theory with a domain focus. The other 27.05xx siblings are 27.0502 Mathematical Statistics & Probability (theory-heavy, master's-bound) and 27.0503 Mathematics + Statistics (joint majors). The five-year earnings median is similar to 27.0501 at $95,197, but the curriculum varies materially by institution, so the CIP code alone does not tell you what you'd actually study — the syllabus does.
Why are only 18 schools listed, and what does the institution mix tell me?
The small institution count (18 schools, 347 total completions) is the signature of a catchall CIP — most schools file their statistics output under the named 27.0501 code, and only programs whose internal naming or curriculum doesn't fit cleanly end up here. The top three completers tell distinct stories: Illinois Urbana-Champaign (109) likely files an applied or industrial-statistics track here; Brigham Young (101) files a similarly large specialty program; and UC San Diego (42) lists a math-stats hybrid that doesn't sit under the named code. Mid-tier programs at Miami University-Oxford (29), American (12), New Hampshire (11), and West Point (10) reflect a mix of liberal-arts statistics specialties and applied analytics tracks. Compared with the California-heavy Statistics, General concentration (UCSB, UCLA, UC Davis at the top), this CIP's geography is dispersed — institution-level research is essential before assuming any cohort signal.
Can someone enter data science, biostatistics, or actuarial work directly with a 27.0599 bachelor's?
Yes for the bachelor's-entry tracks the data packet lists — Actuaries (SOC 15-2011) at $125,770 with 21.8% projected growth and Natural Sciences Managers (SOC 11-9121) at $161,180 — if the program covers the right material. Data scientist roles (SOC 15-2051) at major employers (Google, Meta, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon) and statistical-analyst positions in pharma (Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Merck, Gilead, Genentech) and CROs (IQVIA, Parexel, PPD, Medpace) hire bachelor's completers regularly, but the labor-market floor is closer to $65K–$95K for bachelor's-only entry roles (statistical analyst, data analyst), with $90K–$130K reached after a master's and $130K–$200K after a PhD. The Statisticians line on the BLS list (SOC 15-2041) at $104,860 typically expects a master's. The 21.8% growth on actuaries is conditional on passing the SOA or CAS preliminary exams during the bachelor's window — those exams matter more than the CIP code for that specific track.
What industries hire statistics graduates most aggressively right now?
Five clusters dominate. Pharma and biotech (Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Merck, Gilead, Genentech, Bristol Myers Squibb) plus contract research organizations (IQVIA, Parexel, PPD, Medpace, Syneos, ICON) hire heavily for clinical biostatistics. Tech (Google, Meta, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon) hires statistics graduates into data scientist, analyst, and ML engineer roles — SOC 15-2051 Data Scientists at $108,020 BLS median with 35% projected growth is the fastest-growing destination on the BLS list. Finance — banks, hedge funds, and insurance carriers (Aetna, UnitedHealth, MetLife, Prudential) — takes the analytics and quant-research path, with actuarial science a structured ladder using SOA or CAS exams. Consulting (McKinsey QuantumBlack, BCG GAMMA, Bain Vector, Deloitte AI, ZS, Accenture Applied Intelligence) and government statistical agencies (CDC, NIH, BLS, BJS, Census, Federal Reserve, NSF, Treasury) round out the top destinations. The AI wave is a tailwind, not a threat — statistics and machine learning are the same toolkit applied to different problems, and hiring for both has been exceptionally strong from 2023 through 2026.
How does graduate school fit into the picture for a 27.0599 graduate?
Master's programs are the standard pivot for students aiming at named statistician, biostatistician, or research-scientist roles. Strong MS Statistics or MS Biostatistics destinations include Stanford, Harvard Biostatistics, Johns Hopkins Biostatistics, U Washington, U Michigan, UNC Chapel Hill, Berkeley, U Chicago, NCSU, and Iowa State. The bachelor's-to-master's path typically takes one to two years and lifts entry pay from the $65K–$95K bachelor's range to $90K–$130K. PhD programs at the same universities feed senior research-scientist positions in pharma R&D, tech AI labs (Google Brain, DeepMind, FAIR, Anthropic, OpenAI), federal research (NIH, NSF), and tenure-track faculty roles — a five-to-six-year commitment that pushes pay into the $130K–$200K+ range. The economically rational sequence depends on target track: actuarial work and corporate analytics often skip grad school in favor of professional exams; clinical biostatistics, federal statistical careers, and machine-learning research typically require it.
How does this differ from Applied Mathematics, Data Science, or Mathematics & Statistics, Other (27.9999)?
The relevant CIP siblings each carve out different territory. Applied Mathematics, General (27.0301) at 2,591 completions emphasizes mathematical modeling for physics, engineering, and operations research — lighter on inference, heavier on PDEs and continuous mathematics. Data Science, General (30.7001) at 2,068 completions in the Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies concentration is programming-forward and method-broad, often lighter on probability theory than a statistics curriculum. Mathematics + Computer Science (30.0801) at 1,125 completions is the joint-discipline credential at the math-CS boundary. Mathematics and Statistics, Other (27.9999) at 338 completions is the higher-level catchall for joint math-stats programs that don't fit any 27.05xx code. Business Statistics (52.1302) at 843 completions is the business-school analytics track. Statistics, Other (27.0599) sits closest to 27.0501 in earnings and labor-market reach but carries the catchall caveat — the actual curriculum at any given school may lean applied, biostatistical, or industrial in a way that the CIP code doesn't reveal.