On October 4, Columbia University announced the launch of a new Master of Science in Political Analytics. The program–developed by the School of Professional Studies (SPS) and the Department of Political Science—draws from University faculty to train a new generation of professional political analysts, uniquely equipped in the substance of politics and quantitative methods. Combining a scholar-practitioner model—a foundational offering at SPS—and a core academic curriculum, students build their understanding of theory and research along with hands-on application in a professional setting.
Professor of Political Science Gregory J. Wawro is the founder and leader of this innovative new program. Professor Wawro specializes in American politics, including Congress, elections, campaign finance, judicial politics, political economy, and political methodology. “One of the key goals of this program is to narrow the gap between substantive political professionals and those involved on the technical analytic side,” said Dr. Wawro. “The program teaches analytics in an explicitly political context, facilitating crosswalk with nontechnical professionals and decision-makers.”
In addition to new hires at SPS, the program will draw on an esteemed roster of faculty members from the Department of Political Science, as well as from the Quantitative Methods in the Social Science program, and the School of International and Public Affairs.
The Department of Political Science at Columbia University was founded in 1880 and was the first of its kind in the country. Today it is one of the largest departments in the university, serving one of the largest undergraduate majors on campus and annually attracting an elite group of graduate students. Its faculty includes leaders and prizewinners in every subfield in the discipline. Its graduates are leaders in global and domestic private and public sector organizations and professors in world-class colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad.
Join Professor Wawro, as well as additional experts from the Political Science department and other guests, for a panel discussion and program launch on October 24. RSVP for “Analytics and the 2022 Midterm Elections: Strategy, Prediction, and Explanation.”
