Quantitative Minor

(coordinated by Brian Flaherty)

The quantitative minor is intended to signify that a graduate student has gained competence in statistical, mathematical, computational, and/or other research methods topics beyond basic department and area requirements.

Requirements

To complete the minor, students must pass PSYCH 524/522 and 525/523 (or equivalent) with at least a 3.5 GPA. If you earn below a 3.5 in one or both of these classes, but you still wish to obtain the department quantitative minor, get in touch with the head of the quantitative area to discuss ways to accomplish this.

Four additional quantitative courses (for a minimum of 12 credits) are required for the minor.[1]  Courses must be rigorous and include assessment of student learning. The student should achieve a basic level of competence in the course topics. Simply knowing how to run software is insufficient. For this reason, CR/NC courses, labs, software classes, and workshops do not count toward the minor.

The list of courses that count toward the minor is here: https://psych.uw.edu/graduate/areas/quantitative-minor/courses

To request a course be added to this list, please send the course syllabus to a quantitative faculty. (Courses taught by graduate students do not count toward the minor. This aligns with the practices of the Center for Statistics & Social Sciences (CSSS) for their concentrations, as well as the College of Education’s practices for the Psychometrics and Applied Analytics Graduate Certificate.)

The four additional quantitative classes must be passed with a minimum grade of 3.5.

Optional paper

A student may opt to write a quantitative research paper or substantive research paper employing sophisticated quantitative techniques in lieu of one of the four additional courses. The goal of the paper is for the student to demonstrate competence in one or more quantitative methods they have learned. This paper will be read and evaluated by two quantitative faculty. If the paper has already been published, only one quantitative faculty need read it. Once approved, the paper should be submitted for a conference presentation and/or publication. When a student chooses to write this paper, the minimum number of additional course credits (over and above PSYCH 524/522 and 525/523) required for the minor is reduced to nine.

Optional plan of study review

While not required, you may find it useful to discuss your plan of study with your advisor and/or Quantitative Area faculty. Among other things, this can help insure that the courses you plan to take fulfill the minor's requirements.

Final documentation

Once completed, record your work for the minor on the “Documentation of Completion of the Quantitative Minor” form.

The current list of courses automatically applicable to the minor is here:
https://psych.uw.edu/graduate/areas/quantitative-minor/courses

[1]           Some areas require an additional quantitative course beyond the department requirements. Courses satisfying an area requirement may also count toward the quantitative minor.