Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences (QMSS) is an innovative, flexible interdisciplinary social science Master of Arts degree program at Columbia University that focuses on quantitative research techniques and strategies. The program integrates the perspectives and research methods of six social science disciplines: Economics, History, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and Statistics. Each year we bring together a group of students with widely-varying backgrounds, drawing on their diverse experiences, expertise, and interests.
History and Organizational Background
QMSS was established in 1999 with support from the Ford Foundation. In July 2002, the program was organized under the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy (ISERP). The Institute is the research arm of the social sciences at Columbia, and is descended from the Bureau for Applied Social Research (BASR), established in 1944 by sociologist Paul F. Lazarsfeld. ISERP hosts a broad array of workshops and programming and provides numerous research and academic opportunities for QMSS affiliates.Pedagogy
The QMSS curriculum provides students with a common grounding in the statistical tools and theoretical perspectives of the social sciences while allowing them the opportunity to pursue their own interests and develop specialized skills. The two-semester sequence of core courses focuses foremost on research design in the social sciences and then on statistical techniques, with readings and examples drawn from all six disciplines.
Students also take a number of elective courses, and they can select not only from the offerings of the six social science departments with which QMSS is partnered, but may draw on the resources of Columbia’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and other affiliated institutions, as well, to make the most of their experience at the university.
Concurrent with their coursework, students participate in a year-long weekly seminar series with presentations by faculty from Columbia and other New York area universities, as well as by researchers from the private- and non-profit sectors. These seminars reinforce the lessons of the core courses, while exposing students to an essential part of the research process.
In a capstone course, QMSS students write a thesis, offering them the opportunity to apply the tools and methodologies developed through their coursework to questions of particular interest to them.
For more information about courses see Courses