Population Studies and Training Center

Course Requirements

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Course Requirements

The master’s program in Social Data Analytics is a terminal degree program designed to be completed in two semesters. The program requires eight courses (four per semester), including an optional intensive research internship that is attached to a faculty-directed research practicum. Students also have the option to specialize in one of three tracks in qualitative, spatial, or demographic analysis.

Brown undergraduates who enter the program as fifth-year Master’s students are allowed to use up to two undergraduate courses to count towards the eight credit requirements if the courses are among the required or elective courses for the program.

All entering students are required to have

  1. One-semester introductory statistics course (SOC 1100 Introductory Statistics for Social Research or an equivalent),
  2. More advanced course in statistics or a course in college calculus (MATH 0050 and 0060, or MATH 0090 or an equivalent), and
  3. One-semester course in research methods (SOC 1020 Methods of Social Research or an equivalent).

Total of 8 Courses

Two Required Courses

  • Multivariate Statistical Methods I (SOC 2010)
  • Multivariate Statistical Methods II (SOC 2020)

Five Elective Advanced Analysis Courses Across Three Topical Areas

Research Internship and Directed Research Practicum

Students may elect to enroll in a faculty Directed Research Practicum (SOC 2982) in the first or second semester in conjunction with a research internship. The internship provides students with hands-on experience in social research. Internship experiences may occur outside of the department (either off-campus with a local organization in the for-profit or not-for-profit sector or an on-campus organization) or on a faculty member's research project. Activities may range from data collection, data entry, data file management, descriptive analyses, and more advanced model estimation. Students sometimes opt to design their own project under the supervision of a faculty member.