The undergraduate Certificate in Social Science Analytics requires a minimum of 18 s.h. Students complete requirements in five different component areas for a total of at least six courses. Students must maintain a grade-point average of at least 2.00 in work for the certificate. Up to 6 s.h. of transfer credit may be counted toward certificate requirements.
The certificate may be earned by any student admitted to the University of Iowa who is not enrolled in a UI graduate or professional degree program. Undergraduate to Graduate (U2G) students may earn the certificate when the undergraduate classification is primary.
Some of the certificate courses have prerequisites not included in the certificate requirements. Students should select courses for which they have met the prerequisites.
The Certificate in Social Science Analytics requires the following coursework.
| Requirements | Hours |
|---|---|
| Introduction to Data and the Social Sciences Course | 3 |
| Social Science Research Design and Data Analysis Course | 3 |
| Core Statistics Courses | 6-7 |
| Building Skills and Data Science Course | 3-4 |
| Applied Research Experience | 3 |
Introduction to Data and the Social Sciences
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| This course: | ||
| POLI:1050/RELS:1050 | Big Ideas: Introduction to Information, Society, and Culture | 3 |
Social Science Research Design and Data Analysis
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| One of these: | ||
| POLI:2000 | Designing Political Research | 3 |
| SOC:2170 | Research Methods | 3 |
Core Statistics
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Two of these: | ||
| POLI:3000 | Analyzing Political Data | 3 |
| SOC:2160 | Applied Statistics for Social Scientists | 3 |
| STAT:1020/PSQF:1020 | Elementary Statistics and Inference | 3 |
| STAT:2010 | Statistical Methods and Computing | 3 |
| STAT:3120/DATA:3120/IGPI:3120 | Probability and Statistics | 4 |
| STAT:3200/DATA:3200/IGPI:3200/ISE:3760 | Applied Linear Regression | 3 |
| STAT:4143/PSQF:4143 | Introduction to Statistical Methods | 3 |
| STAT:6513/PSQF:6243 | Intermediate Statistical Methods | 3 |
Building Skills and Data Science
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| One of these: | ||
| CS:1210 | Computer Science I: Fundamentals | 4 |
| CS:2110 | Programming for Informatics | 4 |
| CS:2420 | Analyzing Data for Informatics | 3 |
| CS:2520 | Human-Computer Interaction for Informatics | 3 |
| CS:3980 | Topics in Computer Science I | 3 |
| ECON:4800 | Econometric Analysis | 3 |
| GEOG:2050 | Foundations of GIS | 4 |
| GEOG:3540/IGPI:3540 | Geographic Visualization | 3 |
| GEOG:4150/GHS:4150/IGPI:4150 | Health and Environment: GIS Applications | 3 |
| GEOG:4580/IGPI:4581 | Introduction to Geographic Databases | 3 |
| POLI:3050 | Problems in Methods | 3-4 |
| SOC:3880 | The Sociology of Networks | 3 |
| SOC:4000 | Data Science for Social Good | 3 |
| STAT:1015/DATA:1015 | Introduction to Data Science | 3 |
| STAT:4520/IGPI:4522/PSQF:4520 | Bayesian Statistics | 3 |
| STAT:4540/BAIS:4540/DATA:4540/IGPI:4540 | Statistical Learning | 3 |
| STAT:4580/DATA:4580/IGPI:4580 | Data Visualization and Data Technologies | 3 |
| STAT:6560 | Applied Time Series Analysis | 3 |
Applied Research Experience
| Course # | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| At least 3 s.h. from these: | ||
| GEOG:4030 | Senior Project Seminar | 3 |
| GHS:3010/IGPI:3011 | Social Science Approaches to Global Health | 3 |
| JMC:3025 | Iowa Policy and Opinion Lab | 0-3 |
| POLI:3001 | Hawkeye Poll | 3 |
| POLI:3127 | Legislative Policy Seminar | 3 |
| POLI:3525 | Iowa Policy and Opinion Lab | 0-3 |
| POLI:3994 | Political Science Undergraduate Research Projects | 1-4 |
| POLI:4600 | Honors Research Project | 3 |
| POLI:4701 | Undergraduate Research Tutorial | 3 |
| SOC:3170 | Applied Research | 3 |
| SOC:4998 | Honors Research | arr. |
| STAT:6220/DATA:6220 | Consulting and Communication with Data | 3 |
The certificate will ensure students are more competitive for careers and opportunities with political campaigns, policy analysis, public opinion firms, consulting and government agencies, and local communities.
The Pomerantz Career Center offers multiple resources to help students find internships and jobs.