Quantitative Data Analysis, Graduate Certificate

Certificate Candidacy

To earn a graduate certificate at Washington University, a student must complete all courses required by their department; maintain satisfactory academic progress; fulfill all academic and residence requirements; and apply to graduate via Workday Student. Graduate certificates are not standalone programs and are only available to current students in applicable graduate programs. Thus, graduate certificates are conferred at the same time as the student’s primary graduate program.

Program Requirements

  • Total Units Required: 15
  • Certificate Length: Varies
    • Students will be awarded the certificate at the time of completion of their PhD. Therefore, time to completion varies based on the length of their program.
    • Note: Students must be enrolled in 9 graduate credits each semester to retain full-time status. As students complete their coursework, if enrolled in fewer than 9 graduate credits, they must enroll in a specific Arts & Sciences graduate course that will show 0 units but does count as full-time status. Students should connect with their department to ensure proper enrollment prior to Add/Drop.
  • Grade Requirement: 2.7, Students must earn a B- or higher in each course for it to count toward the certificate.

Required Courses

The goal of the certificate is to ensure that students have a solid basis in probability and statistics, inference, and quantitative research design as well as some depth of experience in a more advanced topic area. As such, students completing the certificate are required to take at least five courses, the categories of which are shown below. Some courses appear in more than one area, but a course can only be used to fill one of the requirements. In consultation with the certificate advisor, students may substitute equivalent courses or more demanding mathematical treatments of the same course material.  Students must earn at B- or higher in each course for it to count toward the certificate. For programming prerequisites, visit our Quantitative Data Analysis website.

Core Area Courses

Students must choose at least one course from each area:

Probability and Statistics

ANTHRO 5365Seminar: Problems in Applied Data Analysis3
POLISCI 5690Quantitative Political Methodology I3
POLISCI 5695Quantitative Political Methodology II3
PSYCH 8066Quantitative Methods I3
SWSA 5230Applied Linear Modeling3

Inference and Quantitative Research Design

EDUC 5600Foundations of Educational Research3
MATH 5110Experimental Design3
POLISCI 5063Causal Inference3
PSYCH 8011Research Designs and Methods3

Focus Area Courses

Students must choose at least two courses from one of these three areas:

Longitudinal and Time-Series Data Analysis

BSDC 8010Multilevel & Longitudinal Modeling3
BDSC 8011Propensity Score Analysis3
MEC 8661Analysis of Time Series Data3
MSB 5565Survival Analysis3
POLISCI 5725Multilevel Models in Quantitative Research3
PSYCH 8068Hierarchical Linear Models3
PSYCH 8165Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis3
PSYCH 8167Applied Bayesian Statistics for Psychologists3

Multivariate and Machine Learning Analysis

BSDC 8008Structural Equation Modeling3
CSE 5104Data Mining3
CSE 5107Machine Learning3
MATH 5350Topics in Combinatorics3
MATH 5430Multivariate Statistical Analysis3
PSYCH 8112Psychological Assessment I3
PSYCH 8160Applied Multivariate Analysis3

Data Mining and Specialized Research Tools

CSE 5104Data Mining3
CSE 5107Machine Learning3
ECON 8110Applied Econometrics3
MATH 5310Bayesian Statistics3
MSB 5520Introduction to Bioinformatics3
PSYCH 8167Applied Bayesian Statistics for Psychologists3
SWPM 6076Foundations of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for the Applied Social Sciences3

The fifth course can be from any of the three focus areas, or it can be a second course from the Probability and Statistics group.

Visit the Psychological & Brain Sciences page
for additional information about this program.

Contact Info

Phone:314-935-6520
Website:https://psych.wustl.edu/graduate-program