Departmental Awards
Each year, we present four awards to outstanding statistics students. Our Undergraduate
Advisory Committee selects the winners with input from faculty members.
- Mu Sigma Rho Award: Mu Sigma Rho is the national honor society in statistics. This annual award recognizes
a statistics major chosen by the faculty for outstanding academic achievement.
- Stephen D. Durham Award: The Stephen D. Durham Award annually recognizes outstanding academic performance by
a senior statistics major. This award is named for Professor Durham, who retired in
1995 after 22 years as a USC statistics faculty member. He was director of undergraduate
studies in statistics from 1981 until 1993.
- Department of Statistics Excellence in Academics Award: The Department of Statistics
Excellence in Academics Award recognizes a sophomore or junior statistics major for
outstanding performance in the classroom as selected by the faculty.
- John D. Spurrier Scholarship: The John D. Spurrier Scholarship recognizes a freshman
statistics major for outstanding academic performance, as selected by the faculty.
This award is named for Professor Spurrier, who retired in 2008 after 34 years as
a USC statistics faculty member. He won many teaching awards and was director of undergraduate
studies in statistics from 2002 until 2006.