• Who's Who in Quantitative Social Science
• Overview
• Minor in Quantitative Social Science

Who's Who in Quantitative Social Science

Director:
Scott Basinger, Department of Political Science

Overview

The Quantitative Social Science Minor exists to encourage students to acquire the knowledge, skills and tools needed to conduct scientific research. We draw inspiration from Herbert Simon - a seminal figure in the fields of Psychology and Political Science, and a Nobel Laureate in Economic Science - who wrote, "The social sciences need the same kind of rigor and the same mathematical underpinnings that made the "hard" sciences so brilliantly successful."

Quantitative Social Science is an interdisciplinary initiative, with faculty drawn from the departments of Economics, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology. The Minor in Quantitative Social Science is available to all UH students; academic advising is offered by undergraduate advisory staff members in the aforementioned departments. The Minor is directed by Dr. Scott Basinger (PGH 447).

Minor in Quantitative Social Science

Many courses can satisfy both a requirement of the student's major and a requirement of the Quantitative Social Science Minor. However the interdisciplinary nature of quantitative methodology obliges students not to confine coursework to any one department. A maximum of 6 semester hours of completed minor coursework may be counted towards a student's major. Note that any course that counts towards a student's major and towards the Core Curriculum cannot also count towards the 18 semester hours required for the minor.

The Quantitative Social Science Minor requires a minimum of 18 semester hours:

1. Three hours on statistical concepts and basic statistical analysis (ECON 2370, MATH 2311, POLS 3316, PSYC 3301, SOC 3400).
2. Three hours on research design (COMM 2300, POLS 3312, PSYC 2301, SOC 3401).
3. Three hours on regression analysis (ECON 4365).
4. Three hours completing a directed research project. Credit may be given for a Senior Honors Thesis (ECON 3399-4399, POLS 3399-4399, PSYC 3399-4399, SOC 3398, SOC 4399), or students may use a 4000-level special problems course, completed after the required course on research design and the two required courses on statistical analysis. Research projects must satisfy minimal criteria determined by the QSS director.
5. Six hours of electives at the 3000-level or higher. Students may fulfill the elective component with approved courses in economics, political science, psychology, and sociology. A list of approved courses, updated each semester, will be available from the QSS director. Credit for appropriate Selected Topics or Special Problems courses offered by any department, including Interdepartmental Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (ILAS), may be granted by petition.

Each CLASS area provides the opportunity to take special problems (independent study) courses. Participation in these courses requires an approved petition to be on file in the appropriate department. No more than six semester hours of special problems courses may be used to satisfy any major or minor requirements in CLASS.

Following is a partial listing of courses that would count as satisfactory electives for the Minor in Quantitative Social Science:

ECON 4349: Introduction to Game Theory

ECON 4360: Introduction to Mathematical Economics

ECON 4364: Introduction to Experimental Economics

PSYC 4347: Tests and Measurements

SOC 3352: Population Analysis

Courses numbered 6000 or higher are normally limited to graduate and postbaccalaureate students, however students may request permission from their department or college to enroll in these classes. The instructor's permission should also be sought.

At least 12 of 18 hours must be in residence. A minimum 2.00 grade point average is required for all courses attempted in the minor.