This document describes the guidelines for completing a Statistics Concentration in International Studies. Contact the Jackson School of International Studies Ph.D. Program for enrollment information.
Overview
Students with prior statistical training and/or desirous of developing further expertise in quantitative techniques that are relevant to their own research can take advantage of a “Statistics Concentration in International Studies.” This is an optional Ph.D. track for JSIS doctoral candidates, as well as other JSIS graduate students, formally sponsored and recognized by CSSS.
Statistics Concentration Committee
The Statistics Concentration Committee is composed of at least two faculty members, and normally includes the Director of the JSIS Ph.D. Program and another faculty member affiliated with CSSS who serves as chair. The Committee is responsible for approving a student’s course plan and certifying completion of the Statistics Concentration in International Studies.
Concentration Requirements
This concentration involves taking four advanced courses at the 500 level in social statistics that are approved formally as a coherent course plan by the Statistics Concentration Committee. Existing CSSS courses chosen primarily from JSIS Methods III qualify automatically for the course plan. However, using recent syllabi and a coherent rationale, students may also petition the aforementioned CSSS committee for approval of other statistical courses throughout UW that may be more relevant to their own research.
Students are also required to complete two quarters of an informal seminar series, specifically CS&SS 590 CSSS Seminar, which requires attendance for exposure to new methodological ideas but does not involve assignments.
Students must obtain a minimum grade point average of 3.3 for their four approved courses.
Courses
The following is a list of approved advanced quantitative courses that also automatically qualify for use in the optional Statistics Concentration in International Studies sponsored by CSSS ( JSIS Methods List III ):
- CS&SS 510 Maximum Likelihood Methods for the Social Sciences
- CS&SS 526 Structural Equation Models for the Social Sciences
- CS&SS 527 Survey Research Methods
- CS&SS 529 Sample Survey Techniques
- CS&SS 536 Analysis of Categorical and Count Data
- CS&SS 544 Event History Analysis for the Social Sciences
- CS&SS 560 Hierarchical Modeling for the Social Sciences
- CS&SS 564 Bayesian Statistics for the Social Sciences
- CS&SS 566 Causal Modeling
- CS&SS 567 Statistical Analysis of Social Networks
- CS&SS 569 Visualizing Data
- CS&SS 589 Multivariate Data Analysis for the Social Sciences
Prior Course Preparation
Students are advised that courses approved for the concentration require, at a minimum, preparation through a graduate-level statistics sequence. Examples of these sequences at the University of Washington include Political Science 500, 501 and 503; Sociology 504, 505, and 506; Biostatistics 511, 512, and 513, or Biostatistics 517, 518. Additionally, some courses may require calculus, matrix algebra, or advanced probability theory. In order to ensure sufficient preparation for the advanced courses and depending on their backgrounds, students may also consider taking some combination of the intensive one-week Math Camp (which takes place in early September), CS&SS 505 Review of Mathematics for Social Scientists, and/or CS&SS 508 Introduction to R.
Evaluation By The Statistics Concentration Committee
Once the four courses as well as the seminar series, is completed, students submit their grades, as well as any written papers from the courses, to the Statistics Concentration Committee described above. Once they do so, they qualify for a formal “Letter of Recognition” that certifies their completion of the Statistics Concentration in International Studies.
Additional Information
The CSSS Math Camp is an intensive one-week introduction to fundamental concepts of mathematics and probability designed to help prepare social science graduate students for advanced courses in statistical methodology in general, and CSSS courses in particular. Math Camp is offered in September.
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