Contact the Sociology Department for enrollment information.

RATIONALE

A minor in social statistics is designed to provide students with a second marketable area of expertise and also provide them with important tools for carrying out quantitative research. Moreover the minor will build on the new curriculum developed by the Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences. Taking a coherent set of CSSS courses will expose students to the cutting edge of statistics and the social sciences.

CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

Coherent Set of Four Courses in Social Statistics.

Students will submit a list of four courses to the Methods and Statistics Area Committee for approval. These courses must be more advanced than the required statistics and methods courses for the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Sociology. These courses should form a coherent set of courses in social statistics. All courses in CSSS will automatically qualify. For example, CSSS currently offers courses in generalized linear models, hierarchical models, Bayesian methods, event history analysis, simulation methods, and analysis of network data. In addition, relevant courses in Statistics, Biostatistics, Economics, and Sociology will likely be approved so long as they help form a coherent set of social statistics courses.

Students pursuing approval of a course plan that includes courses not offered by CSSS or not included on the preliminary list below must provide the committee with recent syllabi and a rationale for including these course(s) in their plan.

Preliminary list of approved courses:

SOC 529

Structural Equation Models for Social Sciences (cross-listed as CS&SS 526)

CS&SS 542

Event History Analysis

SOC 536

Loglinear Models and Logistic Regression for the Social Sciences (cross-listed as CS&SS 536)

CS&SS 560

Hierarchical Modeling in the Social Sciences

CS&SS 564

Bayesian Statistics for the Social Sciences

SOC 565

Inequality: Current Trends and Explanations (cross-listed as CS&SS 565)

CS&SS 566

Causal Modeling

CS&SS 567

Statistical Analysis of Networks

CS&SS 594 (to be re-numbered to CS&SS 569)

Visualizing Data

Minimum Grade Point-Average.

Students must obtain a minimum grade point average of 3.3 for their four approved courses.

Methods Committee Evaluation.

When a student has completed all four courses, s/he will submit to the committee a packet including grades received, syllabi from the course, and any written papers completed for the courses. The Methods area faculty in Sociology will evaluate the performance in the course. In most cases this will be a pass (if the student has met the 3.3 grade point average, and the courses taken form a coherent set). The committee can also give evaluations consistent with certifying the minor, such as a pass with distinction. Finally, the committee can use its discretion to deal with grading in different departments that may use different standards.