Minor in Social Statistics in the Sociology Ph.D. Program

Contact the Sociology Department for enrollment information, forms, and specifics.

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 Sociology Minor in Social Statistics form and supporting materials to the Sociology Graduate Program Assistant.  The GPA will take care of submitting the packet to the Methods and Statistics Area Committee for approval.  You can find the Sociology form and specific information on this Minor on the Minor Area Examination web page.

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:

CS&SS 510
   Maximum Likelihood for Social Sciences
SOC 529
   Structural Equation Models for Social Sciences (cross-listed as CS&SS 526)
CS&SS 527
   Survey Research Methods
CS&SS 529
   Sample Survey Techniques
SOC 536
   Analysis of Categorical and Count Data (cross-listed as CS&SS 536)
CS&SS 544
   Event History Analysis for the Social Sciences
CS&SS 560
   Hierarchical Modeling in the Social Sciences
CS&SS 564
   Bayesian Statistics for the Social Sciences
CS&SS 566
   Causal Modeling
CS&SS 567
   Statistical Analysis of Networks
CS&SS 568
   Game theory for the Social Sciences
CS&SS 569
   Visualizing Data
CS&SS 589
   Multivariate Data Analysis for the Social Sciences
CS&SS 594
   Special Topics in Social Sciences and Statistics

Additional Requirements and Specifics, Cohorts Prior to 2011:

  • Students completing a CSSS Minor may double-count one methods course toward both their minor and their Ph.D. methods requirement.
  • Students must obtain a minimum grade point average of 3.3 for their four approved courses.

Additional Requirements and Specifics, Cohorts 2011 and Forward:

  • Students completing a CSSS Minor may double-count one methods course toward both their minor and their Ph.D. methods requirement.
  • Students must obtain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 for their four approved courses.
  • A minimum grade of 3.0 must be earned in each class applied as part of the Minor.
  • Students utilizing this Minor path must enroll in a minimum of one quarter of CSSS Seminar.


Methods Committee Evaluation.

When a student has completed all four courses, s/he will submit to the Sociology Graduate Program Assistant a packet including grades received, syllabi from the course, and any written papers completed for the courses. The Graduate Program Assistant will provide the materials to the Methods area faculty in Sociology who will evaluate the performance in the course. In most cases, this will be a pass (if the student has met all requirements listed above for their cohort, 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.