Iitk Establishes Statistics Data Science Dept Dept To Address Shortage Of Trained Faculty In Statistical Sciences Globally

ation from the institute read.

The newly established department will bring together IIT Kanpur’s existing academic programmes in the field, including the BS–MS programmes in statistics and data science, the MSc programme in statistics, and the PhD programme in statistics.

“A need was felt for a separate department as the institute was running a couple of programmes. The proposal was moved and it was approved by the Senate and the board of governors. Now 12-13 faculty members will be a part of this department,” said Prof Manindra Agarwal, director, IIT-K, over the phone.

The MSc programme (admissions through JAM) has been running since the 1970s, while the BS–MS programme (admissions through JEE) has been running since 2021.

These programmes will now be housed under the newly formed department, ensuring greater academic identity, coherence, and strategic growth. A total of 60 seats will be available for the MSc programme and around 30 seats for the BS–MS programme.

“The new department builds upon IIT Kanpur’s long-standing contributions to statistics, probability, and quantitative sciences,” the institute said in a release.

The department has been established with the goal of becoming the leading voice of statistical sciences in the country.

The establishment of the new academic unit also aligns with global and national trends driven by the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and machine learning, where robust statistical foundations are critical for building trustworthy, reliable, and interpretable systems. A key challenge globally remains the shortage of highly trained faculty in statistical sciences, and this initiative aims to contribute in addressing that gap,” an official said.

The institute said that globally, universities such as Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, and UC Berkeley have well-established departments dedicated to statistics and data science.