The Department of Statistics, which is part of Fırat University's Faculty of Science, was interviewed by faculty members in our newspaper (Harput Newspaper) to shed light on the department's potential for prospective students.

At the department board meeting, they stated that the course content for the new semester had been updated, expected program outcomes were reviewed, and the accreditation process was nearing completion.

What is your assessment of the department's accreditation efforts?

Our department has been actively student-focused since 2005, but after 2014, due to a lack of students, our program updates and accreditation process were halted until 2023-2024. With this year's incoming students, we are working diligently to accredit our department under FEDEK. Our faculty members are working tirelessly towards this goal.

What are the criteria for course updates?

As students arrive, we update our courses, taking into account current technology and scientific advancements.

We aim to update our students on basic, intermediate, and advanced statistics topics, focusing on mathematics and computers, and on software development, artificial intelligence, and deep learning.
To prepare our students for the professional world after graduation, we aim to guide them, especially starting in their sophomore year, according to their preferred professional fields.

What do you mean by professional fields?

It's important to note that there is no field that Statistics hasn't penetrated or touched. If categorized under general headings, we can consider Health Sciences, Social Sciences, Educational Sciences, Sports Sciences, Economics, Local Governments, Engineering, and Science.

How do you see the future and relevance of Statistics?

First of all, it's important to note that if you want to measure, count, determine the range of change in any living-focused situation (humans, animals, plants, etc.), and make future predictions or forecasts on that subject, Statistics must be used. Statistics is essential in today's most popular topics, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, social media content creation, etc. Therefore, Statistics: It will maintain its validity as a branch of science with an unknown, unpredictable, and boundless future.

Thank you very much for your time. Finally, is there anything you would like to say or add?

We thank you for your valuable time. Finally, we would like to say the following: Accreditation is truly crucial. It is especially crucial for students. Above all, it is a document demonstrating the international competence of the statistics education we provide. Students who wish to work abroad are required to have graduated from an accredited department. Therefore, as the Statistics Department of Fırat University's Faculty of Science, our accreditation is crucial.