Applied Data Science and International Studies, MS

See the Addendum to this Bulletin for corrections to this degree program.

The Master of Science in Applied Data Science program develops and empowers students to use state-of-the-art political assessment models across all scales of political interactions. Students are exposed to various political theories, domains, process, and methods knowledge to help them understand and predict human created uncertainty through the mechanism of politics. Successful students acquire the ability to use a variety of political, economic, statistical, bit data and data analytics tools to solve policy problems that provide them with a distinct competitive advantage in their professional careers. Topics covered span conflict and cooperation, income inequality, national policy development, economic growth, trade, exchange rates, demographic change, and sustainable development.

Degree Requirements

Coursework: 36 units; no Master’s research paper required. Students that require additional skills will complete this degree by taking additional classes not to exceed a maximum of 44 units.

Final Paper Portfolio: All students are required to submit two papers to the program office. One paper must be written during the student’s first semester in the program. A second paper should represent the student’s best work and may come from any subsequent semester that the student is enrolled in the program. Papers are used for accreditation reviews of the program. The program’s Student Handbook provides additional details.

Admission. Admission requirements are detailed in the Admissions section of the current Policies and General Information Bulletin.

University Policies. Policies detailed in the current Policies and General Information Bulletin apply.

Core Course Requirement (16 units)

INST 486 - Data Analytics & Visualization
INST 317 - Advanced Formal Models
INST 448 - Seminar in Social Network Analysis
INST 471 - Strategic Modeling for Politics, Economics, & Business (Capstone Seminar)

Research Tools (12 units)

INST 400 - Math Preparations Workshop (0 units) for those who need basic calculus, linear algebra and probability theory
INST 481 - Statistical Methods for Social Sciences (4 units)
INST 483 - Multivariate Analysis in International Studies Using SAS (4 units) And
INST 487 - Advanced Topics in Applied Econometrics

Note: MA students who wish to a substitute must gain prior approval by a Faculty Advisor and the Department Chair

Electives (8 units)

Choose one of the following tracks:

Security

INST 401 - World Politics
INST 430 - Seminar in Conflict & Peace, OR
PP 432 - Seminar in Civil War
INST 403 - Deterrence and Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

International Political Economy

SP&E 411 - International Political Economy And
SP&E 410 - Political Economy of International Development OR
PP 408 - Seminar in Political Demography OR TNDY407I Seminar in Social Demography
SP&E 429 - Political Economy of China
SP&E 359 - International Development: Finance, Institutions and Policy

Foreign Policy (Choose two classes within a region)

PP 420A - Foreign Policy USA
PP 420E - Foreign Policy of Latin America
PP 420F - Foreign Policy of the Middle East
PP 375 Politics of Africa
PP 417 European Public Policy
PP 413 Politics of Asia

Computational Analytics

ECON 317 - Game Theory & Asymmetric Information
SP&E 316 - Seminar in Computational & Agent-Based Modeling
SP&E 438 - Dynamic Modeling

Health

CGH 300 - Theoretical Foundations in Health Promotion and Education
CG H302 - Epidemiology
SP&E 349F - US Health Policy
PP 408 - Seminar in World Politics: Political Demography & Development

Note: Students who wish to substitute a class or create additional tracks must gain prior approval by a Faculty Advisor to choose the best courses for their goals.