Computational Social Science, Minor

This minor introduces and develops the essential skills for employing mathematical, formal, and computational methods in the social sciences. Students completing this minor will have a grasp of the fundamentals necessary for pursuing more in-depth studies in the emerging fields of computational social science and big data. The foundational courses emphasize skills in probability, statistics, and introductory programming. Other courses focus on the application of formal and computational methods in the social sciences including digital analysis of texts, maps, and networks. An additional elective provides breadth in social scientific studies of computation or the foundational principles of logic and computation.

Complete all courses listed below unless otherwise indicated. Also complete any corequisite labs, recitations, clinicals, or tools courses where specified. No more than two courses may be used to satisfy other program requirements.

Foundational Courses 

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
MATH 2280	Statistics and Software	4
or CRIM 3700	Analyzing and Using Data on Crime and Justice
or ECON 2350	Statistics for Economists
or INSH 3102	Introduction to Statistics in the Social Sciences
or POLS 2400	Quantitative Techniques
or PSYC 2320	Statistics in Psychological Research
or SOCL 2320	Statistical Analysis in Sociology
INSH 1500	Digital Methods for Social Sciences and Humanities	4
or CS 2500	Fundamentals of Computer Science 1
or DS 2000 and DS 2001	Programming with Data and Data Science Programming Practicum

Applications of Computational Approaches in the Social Sciences

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete two courses from the following. Students may complete a capstone project under the direction of a faculty member in lieu of an application course:		8
COMM 2105	Social Networks
DS 3000	Foundations of Data Science
or DS 4200	Information Presentation and Visualization
or DS 4300	Large-Scale Information Storage and Retrieval
or DS 4400	Machine Learning and Data Mining 1
INSH 2102	Bostonography: The City through Data, Texts, Maps, and Networks
MISM 2301	Introduction to Information Systems and Digital Technologies
or MISM 2510	Fundamentals of Information Analytics
PHIL 2001	Ethics and Evolutionary Games
POLS 3310	Public Opinion, Voting, and Elections
PPUA 5262	Big Data for Cities

Elective in Social Inquiry, Computation, and Logic 

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete one course from the following:		4
ANTH 3418	Wired/Unwired: Cybercultures and Technopolitics
CS 2800	Logic and Computation
ECON 4681	Information Economics and Game Theory
IS 2000	Principles of Information Science
MATH 3081	Probability and Statistics
PHIL 1115	Introduction to Logic
or MATH 1215	Mathematical Thinking
PHIL 4515	Advanced Deductive Logic

GPA Requirement

2.000 GPA required in the minor