BS · 2025-2026
Financial Mathematics and Statistics
Department of Statistics & Applied Probability
Official sources · L&S
Letters & Science Academic Requirements (LASAR)
L&S uses LASAR (Letters and Science Academic Requirements), not CoE GEAR. Download LASAR from DUELS for your catalog year.
180–184 quarter units (184 if Area B foreign language completed at level 3) · 60 upper-division units · GE Areas A–G + special subjects (WRT, EUR, NWC, QNT, ETH)
Official major sheet — 2025-2026
Parsed from department major sheet. Verify on GOLD progress check.
Pre-major
39-41 units- ECON 1 — Principles of Microeconomics · 4 units
- ECON 2 — Principles of Macroeconomics · 4 units
- MATH 2A · 4 units (or MATH 3A)Calculus I
- MATH 2B · 4 units (or MATH 3B)Calculus II
- MATH 4A — Linear Algebra · 4 units
- MATH 4B — Differential Equations · 4 units
- MATH 6A — Vector Calculus I · 4 units
- MATH 6B — Vector Calculus II · 4 units
- MATH 8 · 5 units (or PSTAT 8)Transition to proofs / probability theory
Complete all pre-major courses with 2.5+ UC GPA to enter full major.
Either MATH 4A, 4B, 6A, or 6B must be completed with grade B or better to take MATH 8 or PSTAT 8.
MATH 8 is required if you plan to take upper-division MATH beyond 117 and 104A-B-C.
Preparation for the major
13-14 unitsChoose 1 from:
- CMPSC 8 · 4 units (or CMPSC 9, CMPSC 16, ENGR 3)One programming course required; CMPSC 8 (Python) or ENGR 3 (Matlab) common choices
- ECON 10A — Intermediate Microeconomic Theory · 5 units
- PSTAT 10 — Probability and Statistics · 5 units
All pre-major and preparation courses require grade C or better.
Preparation courses are excluded from pre-major GPA but count toward overall major GPA.
Upper-division core — Mathematics
16 units- MATH 104A — Introductory Numerical Analysis · 4 units
- MATH 104B · 4 units
- MATH 104C · 4 units
- MATH 117 — Series and Sequences · 4 units
Upper-division core — Statistics
20 units- PSTAT 120A · 4 units (or PSTAT W 120A)
- PSTAT 120B · 4 units
- PSTAT 126 · 4 units
- PSTAT 160A · 4 units (or PSTAT W 160A)
- PSTAT 160B · 4 units
Upper-division core — Financial mathematics
4 units- PSTAT 170 — Mathematical Finance · 4 unitsPSTAT 171 recommended preparation
Upper-division major electives
12 units required- ECON 100B
- ECON 101
- ECON 130
- ECON 134A
- ECON 134B
- ECON 140B
- ECON 141
- ECON 171
- ECON 181
- MATH 108A
- MATH 108B
- MATH 124A
- MATH 124B
- MATH 132A
- MATH 199
- PSTAT 120C
- PSTAT 130
- PSTAT 131
- PSTAT 132
- PSTAT 134
- PSTAT 135
- PSTAT 171
- PSTAT 173
- PSTAT 174 (or PSTAT W 174)
- PSTAT 176
- PSTAT 199
52 total upper-division major units required (40 core + 12 electives).
- • Joint program offered by PSTAT, Mathematics, and Economics.
- • Recommended plan does not include GE/LASAR — add via timeline overlay on iGauchoBack.
Major regulations
- Pre-major GPA
- 2.5+ UC GPA on pre-major courses
- Major GPA
- 2+ in all prep and upper-division major courses
- Minimum grade
- C or better in major courses
- P/NP grading
- Not allowed for major courses
Transfer admission
- Two or more pre-major courses remaining at UCSB: complete with 2.5 GPA.
- One pre-major course remaining: complete with C+ and one upper-division major course with C.
- All pre-major complete: complete two upper-division major courses with C in each.
Courses that do not count
Upper-division PSTAT courses (except 120A) restricted to full majors during Pass 1 and Pass 2.
Up to 8 upper-division units may overlap between two majors with chair approval.
Department faculty
Planning context for Statistics & Applied Probability. Full bios stay on the official site.
Key contacts
Probability; stochastic processes; stochastic differential equations
Research aligned with your path
Faculty whose focus overlaps common career outcomes for this major.
Asymptotic statistical inference; nonparametric models.
- Jean-Pierre Fouque ↗fouque@pstat.ucsb.edu
Distinguished Professor
- Alexander Franks ↗amfranks@ucsb.edu
Associate Professor
causal inference; Bayesian statistics; covariance estimation
- S. Rao Jammalamadaka ↗rao@pstat.ucsb.edu
Distinguished Professor
Mathematical statistics; probability
Financial mathematics; applied probability: energy markets; computational finance
Recommended 4-year plan
180–184 quarter units (184 if Area B foreign language completed at level 3) · 60 upper-division units · GE Areas A–G + special subjects. GE/LASAR slots fill quarters below ~12 major units — verify on GOLD.
Year 1
Fall
Winter
Spring
Year 2
Fall
Winter
Spring
Year 3
Fall
Winter
Spring
Year 4
Fall
Winter
Spring
Interactive graph shows prerequisite chains from the major sheet.
View roadmap graph →College-wide LASAR rules (GE, writing, 180+ units) apply in addition to the major requirements above. See LASAR and DUELS degree requirements.