Requirements

Research Tools

All students in the PhD in Political Science program are required to take 16 units of Research Tools courses. Students in the Research Methodology field must complete:

• PP 480 - Nature of Inquiry: Quantitative Research in Social Sciences  (4 units)

• PP 481 - Introduction to Statistical Analysis  (4 units)

• PP 482 - Advanced Quantitative Research Methods  (4 units)

• One course from:

  • PP 487L - Applied Data Analysis: Limited Dependent Variables and MLE  (4 units)

  • PP 487M - Applied Data Analysis: Machine Learning and Data Mining for Social Scientists  (4 units)

  • PP 487S - Applied Data Analysis: Survey of Advanced Methods  (4 units)

Applied Data Analysis (4 units)

Students must select a second course from the list below. This course cannot be double counted with the Specialized Research Tool.

• PP 487L - Applied Data Analysis: Limited Dependent Variables and MLE  (4 units)

• PP 487M - Applied Data Analysis: Machine Learning and Data Mining for Social Scientists  (4 units)

• PP 487S - Applied Data Analysis: Survey of Advanced Methods ​ (4 units)

Electives (20 units)

Students will select any combination of courses listed below. Categorization is solely to assist students in course selection. Students may select other courses in consultation with their faculty advisor and the department’s Academic Coordinator.

Professional and Applied Courses

These courses focus on a particular set of methods implemented in professional and academic settings such as policy analysis, program evaluation, the technology and research industries, non-profit organizations (NGO’s) and governmental institutions.

• PP 331 - Policy Evaluation  (4 units)

• PP 484 - Survey Research OR PSYCH 315J1 - Survey Research Methods (4 units in fall) AND PSYCH 315J2 - Survey Research Methods (2 units in spring)

• SP&E 318 - Cost Benefit Analysis  (4 units)

• SP&E 471 - Strategic Modeling for Politics, Economics, & Business Decisions  (4 units)

• SP&E 487 - Visualizing Data  (4 units)

• SP&E 489 - Computational Tools for Social Science  (4 units)

Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence/Computational Analytics/Big Data

These courses represent a set of interdisciplinary, state-of-the-science methodologies to analyze large datasets with classification, prediction, and exploratory research purposes.

• PP 487L - Applied Data Analysis: Limited Dependent Variables and MLE  (4 units)
• PP 487M - Applied Data Analysis: Machine Learning and Data Mining for Social Scientists  (4 units)
• PP 487S - Applied Data Analysis: Survey of Advanced Methods ​ (4 units)

• ECON 377 - Causal Modeling, Big Data, and Machine Learning  (4 units)

• SP&E 316 - Computational & Agent-Based Modeling  (4 units)

• SP&E 448 - Seminar in Social Network Analysis  (4 units)

• MATH 466 - Advanced Big Data Analysis  (4 units)

• SP&E 486 - Predictive Analytics and Machine Learning  (4 units)

Statistical Analysis

These courses offer a set of foundational skills for systematically collecting, processing, and analyzing data to discover, describe, and quantify patterns and trends.

• PP 487L - Applied Data Analysis: Limited Dependent Variables and MLE  (4 units)

• ECON 383 - Econometrics II  (4 units)

• ECON 384 - Time Series Econometrics  (4 units)

• ECON 386 - Advanced Applied Econometrics  (4 units)

• SP&E 438 - Dynamic Modeling  (4 units)

• PSYCH 308A - Intermediate Statistics  (2 units)

• PSYCH 308B - ANOVA  (2 units)

• PSYCH 315E - Multilevel Modeling  (2 units)

• PSYCH 315F - Factor Analysis  (2 units)

• PSYCH 315H - Structural Equation Modeling (2 units)

• PSYCH 315I - Longitudinal Methods  (4 units)

• MATH 454 - Statistical Learning  (4 units)

• CGH 301 - Biostatistics  (4 units) 

Foundational

These courses teach the theoretical (mathematical, technical, or conceptual) fundamentals of research methods. Check with faculty for prerequisites.

• ECON 317 - Game Theory and Asymmetric Information  (4 units)

• ECON 316 - Consumer Theory and General Equilibrium  (4 units)

• MATH 352 - Nonparametric Statistics  (4 units)

• MATH 353 - Asymptotic Methods in Statistics with Applications  (4 units)

• MATH 452 - Large Scale Inference  (4 units)

Other Methods and Skills

These courses offer students the opportunity to acquire analytic skills from an interdisciplinary perspective and diversify their methods repertoire.

• PP 483 - Legal Research Methods  (4 units)

• PP 485 - Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research OR PSYCH 315Q - Qualitative Research Methods 

• IST 370 - Introduction to GIS Analytics and Solution Development  (4 units)

• HISTORY 304 - Introduction to Oral History Methodology  (4 units)

• CLST 415 - Ethnographic Field Research Methods in Cultural Studies  (4 units)