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The purpose of the Graduate Certificate in Quantitative Methods is fourfold: (a) to strengthen interdepartmental links and communication among social and human science departments at CU Boulder, both in general and specifically with regards to quantitative research methodology and statistical analysis, (b) to provide incentive and recognition to graduate students from a diverse set of departments who choose to cultivate expertise in quantitative research methods and methods of statistical analysis, (c) to increase the visibility of and promote courses in quantitative research methods (possibly with the benefit that additional quantitative courses can be developed and taught), and (d) as a consequence of all of the above, to improve the quality of quantitative training of graduate students at CU Boulder, increasing students’ chances of employment upon completion of their graduate studies.

Requirements

This program is open to current CU Boulder graduate students. Students will be awarded the certificate if they complete (a) a two-semester foundational sequence in statistics, and (b) a minimum of four additional courses from the approved list of approved elections (below), at least one of which must be outside the student’s home department. Students from a department that does not offer a two-semester sequence of this nature are welcome to take one of the three sequences listed above, and are encouraged to make contact with the instructors of those sequences to determine which of them would provide the best fit.

Foundational Sequence in Statistics Examples

EDUC 8230/8240: An Introduction to Quantitative Methods in Educational Research and Quantitative Methods II
PSYC 5741/5751: General Statistics 1 and General Statistics 2
SOC 5111/6111: Data 1: Introduction to Social Statistics and Data 2: Data Analysis

Additional Courses

EDUC 7326: Quasi-Experimental Design for Causal Inference in Social Sciences
EDUC 7386: Evaluation in Education
EDUC 7396: Latent Variable and Structural Equation Modeling
EDUC 7456: Hierarchical Linear Modeling
EDUC 8240: Quantitative Methods in Educational Research II (Linear Regression Models)
EDUC 8710: Measurement in Survey Research
EDUC 8720: Advanced Topics in Measurement (Item Response Theory)
PSCI 7108: Network Analysis
PSCI 7155: Maximum Likelihood Estimation and Generalized Linear Models
PSYC 5541: Statistical Programming with R
PSYC 6200: Issues and Methods in Cognitive Science
SOCY 5031: Research Design
SOCY 7111: Data III—Advanced Data Analysis

Application Process 

• Complete the application form (see also example form)
• Review application with the advisor to ensure the courses meet the advisor's expectations for expertise in quantitative methods training; 
• Submit the application electronically—along with all available syllabi and an unofficial transcript—to soe.gradvise@colorado.edu.

Note: If your course plan meets the requirements and all courses have already been completed at the time of application, you will receive approval for the certificate. If some of the intended coursework will take place in future semesters, then the student will be given “conditional” approval. Once all coursework is completed, the student must submit an updated application that includes an unofficial transcript showing that the courses were satisfactorily completed.

Questions

The guidelines serve as a minimum threshold for the application process. However, each student's advisor may require his/her students to take more than the minimum of 6 courses, or to decide that certain courses are not sufficiently rigorous to count towards the certificate. The application will then be reviewed by a cross-disciplinary committee to evaluate whether the course plan meets the certificate requirements.

If you have questions, email Professor Derek Briggs.