The department places a high value on first-rate social scientific methodology. All doctoral students (except those whose primary field is political  theory) complete one course in research design and two courses in  statistical methods. Many students also take advanced training in multivariate analysis, causal inference, and comparative methods. The university's Optional PhD Emphasis in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences provides further training and certification. 

R Training Modules    

Thank you to datacamp.com for providing access to their online R training modules, which we use in our graduate methods courses.

Faculty:

• M. Kent Jennings
• Cynthia Kaplan
• Paasha Mahdavi
• Daniel Masterson
• Matto Mildenberger
• Neil Narang
• Eric Smith
• Leah Stokes
• Heather Stoll
• Mark Buntaine (Bren School)

Summer Institute of Qualitative and Multi-method Research:

The department is an affiliated institution of the Consortium on Qualitative Research Methods (CQRM), which co-hosts the Institute for Qualitative and Multi-Method Research at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University.   For more information about the Summer Institute, please visit their website.

ICPSR Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research:

Held at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, the Summer Program provides a comprehensive, integrated program of studies in research design, statistics, data analysis, and social science methodology.  To learn more about the Summer Program, please visit the program's website.

The Stanford University Summer Institute in Political Psychology (SIPP):

The Summer Institute in Political Psychology is a three-week intensive training program that introduces graduate students, faculty members, and professionals to the world of political psychology scholarship. The curriculum is designed to accomplish one preeminent goal: to produce skilled, creative, and effective scholarly researchers who will do more and better work in political psychology as the result of their attendance at SIPP. Please visit program website for more.

Guidelines for Departmental Funding of Summer Methods Training Programs:

The Department of Political Science may be able to provide some funding to help current students cover some of the costs of enrollment in and travel to the program.  Before funds can be granted, the following steps must be taken:

1. Students must first apply for a grant through the Broom Center for Demography at UCSB.  More information about their process can be found on the Broom Center website. 
2. After applying for a grant through the Broom Center, students may request supplementary funding from the department.  Students must show that they have first applied for Broom Center funding.  
3. Prior to submitting an application to ICPSR, students are required to seek the advice of one of the department's faculty members in charge of teaching statistics (Professor Mildenberger, Professor Narang, Professor Smith, Professor Stokes, or Professor Stoll) to determine whether the specific ICPSR summer program is suitable to the student's individual learning goals and study plans. For other programs, students should consult with and secure support from their faculty advisor(s).
4. The department is able to consider offering each attendant up to $500 towards travel support, which will be issued in the form of reimbursement.