Program overview
Probability Theory and Mathematical Statistics are two major branches of mathematics. Simply put, they study 'randomness' and 'drawing conclusions from data.' At the graduate level, you will delve into core courses such as measure theory, stochastic processes, advanced mathematical statistics, regression analysis, and time series analysis. This major is especially suitable for those who love math but don't want it to be too abstract, and who want to see theories directly applied — for example, using statistical models to predict stock trends, applying probability theory to analyze network traffic, or using Bayesian methods for machine learning. Chinese universities have a strong application-oriented focus in this field. For instance, Peking University, University of Science and Technology of China, and East China Normal University all have top-tier statistics teams. Many faculty members collaborate with enterprises and financial institutions, giving students access to real-world data problems. If you have a solid math foundation and an interest in programming (R, Python), this major will be a perfect fit.