Course requirements: The student must take (or have taken) the following six required courses in statistics or their equivalents:

One of the following two sequences:

Course List

Code	Title	Units
SDS 5010	Probability	6
and SDS 5020	Mathematical Statistics
SDS 5061	Theory of Statistics I	6
and SDS 5062	Theory of Statistics II

plus:

Course List

Code	Title	Units
SDS 5071	Advanced Linear Models I	3
or SDS 5130	Linear Statistical Models
SDS 5210	Statistical Computation (or a suitable substitute elective approved by the department)	3
SDS 5310	Bayesian Statistics	3
SDS 5910	Practical Training in Statistics	0

If an equivalent course has been taken and proficiency in the course material has been demonstrated, other 5000-level and above electives may be chosen by the student in consultation with their advisor to make up the 36 units. Typically, at most three electives shall be chosen from outside the Department of Statistics and Data Science.

A list of eligible electives is available on the Master's Degree Program Structure page on the Department of Statistics and Data Science website. Students may petition for the eligibility of courses outside this list after consultation with their advisor.

Master’s Degree in Statistics for Political Science PhD Students

General requirements: This program is a tailored master’s degree in statistics for graduate students in political science. Note that, while the program is designed to serve political science graduate students, it is run by the Department of Statistics and Data Science. Students interested in this program will need to begin their additional coursework during their third year of study (or before). Students are encouraged to apply for the program in their third year, but they may prefer to try the additional courses first.

Requirements for admission: 

• To be eligible for this program, students must have already passed POLSCI 5094 Mathematical Modeling in Political Science, POLSCI 5690 Quantitative Political Methodology, and POLSCI 5696 Quantitative Political Methodology II and earned a grade of A- or A in these courses. Although exceptions have been made in the grade requirements at the request of political science faculty, this decision is up to the Department of Statistics and Data Science.
• Students must obtain permission from the methodology field committee in the Department of Political Science.
• Students must formally apply to the Department of Statistics and Data Science Master of Arts program.

Modified course requirements for the degree: Students must meet the core course requirements for the traditional Master of Arts in Statistics (typically five courses), with two exceptions: 

• SDS 5130 Linear Statistical Models may be replaced with POLSCI 5690 Quantitative Political Methodology I and POLSCI 5695 Quantitative Political Methodology II, with 3 additional credits produced.
• SDS 5910 Practical Training in Statistics is not required.

There are three political science courses that count toward this master's degree in statistics that are required of all political science graduate students:

• POLSCI 5103 Theories of Individual and Collective Choice II 
• POLSCI 5690 Quantitative Political Methodology I 
• POLSCI 5695 Quantitative Political Methodology II 

These additional details make a total 21 credits: 15 required credits from statistics courses, plus 3 additional credits from substituting POLSCI 5690 and POLSCI 5695 for SDS 5130, plus 3 credits from POLSCI 5103. Outstanding students who wish to not make the substitution can take SDS 5130 and one additional SDS elective, but only with permission. The remaining 15 credits are completed through electives and an optional thesis.

Students may choose any electives acceptable for the traditional Master of Arts in Statistics. The following additional electives are also available for students in this program:

• POLSCI 5063 Causal Inference
• POLSCI 5626 Applied Statistical Programming 
• POLSCI 5720 Topics in Quantitative Political Methodology: Computational Social Science

Thesis: To be eligible for the thesis option, a student must maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or above in the first two semesters (or 18 units) of coursework satisfying the program requirements. A maximum of 3 units may be used for thesis research. The thesis must be supervised by faculty with an appointment in Statistics and Data Science (e.g., a faculty member with a joint appointment in Political Science and SDS).