Shane T. Jensen

Shane T. Jensen
  • Professor of Statistics and Data Science

Contact Information

  • office Address:

    415 Academic Research Building
    265 South 37th Street
    Philadelphia, PA 19104

Research Interests: bayesian multi-level modeling, spatial statistics, urban analytics, statistics in sports

Links: CV

Overview

Education

PhD, Harvard University, 2004
AM, Harvard University, 2001
MS, McGill University, 1999
BS, McGill University, 1997

Career and Recent Professional Awards

Savage Award for best thesis, International Society for Bayesian Analysis (2005)
David W. Hauck Award for Outstanding Teaching (2009)
Sports in Statistics Award, American Statistical Association (2011)
JASA Reproducibility Award, American Statistical Association (2023)

Academic Positions Held

Wharton: 2004-present

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Research

Teaching

Current Courses (Spring 2026)

  • STAT4420 - Intro Bayes Data Analys

    The course will introduce data analysis from the Bayesian perspective to undergraduate students. We will cover important concepts in Bayesian probability modeling as well as estimation using both optimization and simulation-based strategies. Key topics covered in the course include hierarchical models, mixture models, hidden Markov models and Markov Chain Monte Carlo. A course in probability (STAT 4300 or equivalent); a course in statistical inference (STAT 1020, STAT 1120, STAT 4310 or equivalent); and experience with the statistical software R (at the level of STAT 4050 or STAT 4700) are recommended.

    STAT4420001 ( Syllabus )

  • STAT9270 - Bayesian Statistics

    This graduate course will cover the modeling and computation required to perform advanced data analysis from the Bayesian perspective. We will cover fundamental topics in Bayesian probability modeling and implementation, including recent advances in both optimization and simulation-based estimation strategies. Key topics covered in the course include hierarchical and mixture models, Markov Chain Monte Carlo, hidden Markov and dynamic linear models, tree models, Gaussian processes and nonparametric Bayesian strategies.

    STAT9270001 ( Syllabus )

Awards and Honors

  • JASA Reproducibility Award, 2023 Description

    American Statistical Association

  • Wharton Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award, 2021
  • Wharton Teaching Excellence Award, 2020
  • Wharton Teaching Excellence Award, 2019
  • SABR Analytics Conference Research Award in Contemporary Baseball Analysis, 2016 Description

    for the paper “OpenWAR: an open source system for evaluating overall player performance in major league baseball.”

  • Sports in Statistics Award for Contributions to the Statistics in Sports Community, American Statistical Association, 2011
  • David W. Hauck Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, The Wharton School, 2009
  • Leonard J. Savage Award for best thesis in Application Methodology from the International Society for Bayesian Analysis, 2005

In the News

Knowledge at Wharton

Wharton Stories

Activity

Latest Research

Desen Lin, Shane T. Jensen, Susan M Wachter (2023), The price effects of greening vacant lots: how neighborhood attributes matter, Real Estate Economics, 51 (), pp. 573-610.
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In the News

Rethinking Tennis Strategy Through Data and Coachability

Leading tennis strategist explains how analytics, net play, and continuous learning are reshaping success at the highest levels of the sport.…Read More

Knowledge at Wharton - 2/11/2026
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Wharton Magazine

Changing the Game
Wharton Magazine - 10/20/2023

Wharton Stories

PhiladelphiaHow to Use Big Data to Make Cities Safer

How can we use publicly available data to understand what makes a city neighborhood safe? To answer this question, Shane Jensen and Dylan Small, Professors in Wharton’s Statistics Department, are using their skills in big data to reveal patterns of crime and safety in the city. Jonathan Wood, a WSII…

Wharton Stories - 04/09/2018
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