Certificate in Applied Social Research

The Certificate in Applied Social Research advances and refines students' ability to identify, gather, interpret, and organize information about today’s pressing social issues. The courses provide hands-on training so students acquire the research tools needed to produce and communicate evidence-driven arguments about how to address social inequalities and social justice issues. The Certificate in Applied Social Research gives students a strategic advantage in the competitive job market and provides the skills necessary to identify and create new pathways for social change.

Learning Outcomes

1. Link sociological theory to the development of research questions.
2. Apply a variety of research design strategies to research questions.
3. Assess the quality and limitations of both quantitative and qualitative data.
4. Discuss socio-cultural, ethical, and political considerations in social science research.
5. Collect both quantitative and qualitative data from a variety of sources, including considerations of sampling, conceptualization, operationalization, and measurement.
6. Manage different types of social science data, including restructuring data for analysis, transcription, coding, and integrating data from diverse sources.
7. Identify and apply appropriate techniques for analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data.
8. Effectively present and write up research results for a variety of audiences, including considerations of causality, data display and visualization, and integrating quantitative and qualitative results.

Effective Spring 2023

Each course used to satisfy requirements of the certificate requires a minimum grade of C (2.000), i.e. all SOC courses AND electives.

Additional coursework may be required due to prerequisites.