I’m really interested in schools like Emory or Dartmouth that combine a liberal arts application of math/statistics into areas like anthropology, sociology, poli sci, etc. Are there any other colleges/universities that offer a degree of similar caliber or study? Any UG programs or departments come to mind?
If it helps, I’m interested in getting an MBA and going into either Data Analytics or Quantitative Finance.
Thanks guys! 
Harvard, UChicago, Yale, Penn, all the usual suspects.
@CU123 But those are usually in the pure/applied math major/department, and don’t have as much emphasis on areas like data science, statistical computing, and regression analysis.
As someone who is interested in this exact same field as well and is looking at pursuing the same type of education you are, I believe I can shed some light on this.
I spent two weeks at Emory University and I was very impressed with their QSS track and program. Their Poli Sci concentration is incredible and really respected in the community of pollsters and pundits alike.
I don’t know much about the Dartmouth program, so I really shouldn’t comment about it, but I have to imagine it is well respected.
Check out Cornell University’s information science program. They have an amazing social science concentration of Information science, but you can do several other concentrations such as UX, Data Science, Information law and public policy, Networks, and so much more. They recently opened the Bill and Melinda Gates center for information science and it is as beautiful as it is purposeful. You can also get a minor or double major in Applied Economics and Management which sounds like what you are looking for. Also, graduating from an Ivy places you in a great spot for the most prestigious MBA programs. Right now this is my first choice, so you might see me there!
Clemson University Honors and College of Charleston Honors are two you might want to check out. They aren’t as “prestigious” in name, but they will have great job placement. I met the head of CoC Data Science and he knows what he is doing. The harbor walk campus is amazing and companies work with the students, so if you can stand out, you will have a good shot at a starting salary of at least 100k at one of the 200+ Tech companies in Charleston (Boeing, Mercedes Benz, and a thousand tech companies near the campus). Also, CoC looks out for there top students like no other school I have seen. Very impressed with the grad placement rates as well.
Anyways, this is just my view on the matter. You can contact me directly if you have any other questions.
Wesleyan’s Quantitative Analysis center (QAC) helps to provide and coordinate data analysis coursework across a broad spectrum of disciplinary applications:
http://www.wesleyan.edu/qac/courses/index.html#courses_index
One big beneficiary has been the Wesleyan Media Project, an internationally recognized election year tracking survey: http://mediaproject.wesleyan.edu/#wes%20media%20project
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/campaign-season-spending-up-75-since-2008-study-shows/
@descartsphilospher My son is a William Aiken Fellow at the Honors College at CofC. He is a CS / Data Science double major. Your impression of Dr Van Deldan is spot on. The growth of that program in the 2 short years that he has been Dean of CS is commendable . He is very hands on and involved with his students . He has developed relationships with the booming tech community in Charleston. CofC’s Cybersecurity team took first place in a statewide Cybersecurity competition , beating both Clemson and University of SC. It’s a great program and warrants a look if one is interested in Data Science or Computer Science.
@descartsphilospher Are you sure about that $100k+ claim? Seems a bit out of proportion for a school of that range. Where did you get that from?
While finding a combined program is really nice, you don’t need to go to a school that has a special program. Look for colleges/universities that have a good statistics department with a variety of offerings and also offer social science majors. Then you can double major, major in one and minor in the other, or you can create an individualized quantitative social sciences major at any of these schools. For example, Duke’s Program II would be a great place to do this: draw some classes from Statistical Sciences, from math, from their great social science departments, maybe do the certificate in decision sciences.
I mean, at it’s core, that’s all Dartmouth’s and Emory’s programs are anyway: interdisciplinary majors with courses drawn from multiple departments. You take a bevy of courses in math and statistics and a concentration/cluster of courses in the social sciences (and in Dartmouth’s case, some methods courses in computer science). It looks a lot like doing a stats major with a social science minor.
Some departments do have more of an emphasis or track in the application of statistics in the social sciences, although sometimes this is hard to tell without scouring their catalog. For example, Columbia’s statistics major is extremely flexible and would be a great place for a student who is interested in quantitative social sciences, especially because there are so many joint majors with statistics (including economics and political science). Columbia also has various graduate-level statistics classes in social sciences programs that you could take senior year, like in the Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences program or in the political science and economics departments. There are also lots of centers like the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy, a Columbia think tank that does lots of QSS work (I worked as a statistical consultant for ISERP as a graduate student). And there are also lots of great statisticians who have developed methods widely used in the social sciences, like Andrew Gelman and Michael Sobel.
Generally speaking, Columbia’s a great place for this 
But there’s no specific major labeled “quantitative social sciences.” You’d get it from a combo of classes taken and who you choose to take classes with and work with.
Another good place to look for this combined program is Carnegie Mellon. They have a Quantitative Social Science Scholars program. Check out their majors in the Social and Decision Sciences, too; many of them are analytical/quant-heavy.
@aneeshs17 - ^Yeah, a brand new BS even with a data science degree would be unlikely to make $100K right out of the gate. Some graduate-level data scientists with a bit more experience can definitely make that much, as data science is a high-paying field - but mostly at high-paying companies with big data science arms.
Northwestern has been having a full fledged undergraduate program that truly integrates math and social science since the 1970s (MMSS). One of the founders was Nobel laureate Dale Mortensen. It remains a unique program in the sense that it’s not a “combined” programs like many others (where you take courses separately across different departments with little integration).
http://www.mmss.northwestern.edu/
http://www.mmss.northwestern.edu/admission/recent-grads.html
Check out Michigan:
It offers internship and other programs for undergraduates.
“ISR is the world’s largest academic social science survey and research organization. We are a leader in developing and applying new social science methods, and are committed to educating the next generation of social scientists.”
"The University of Michigan Institute for Social Research (ISR) at the University of Michigan is the largest academic social research and survey organization in the world, established in 1949. With an annual research budget of over $80 million, ISR includes more than 250 scientists from many academic disciplines – including political science, psychology, sociology, economics, demography, history, anthropology, and statistics. It has been said to be “the premier center for survey research methodology in the world. There are no close seconds.”
I’d study econ, finance, statistics and/or your favorite social science undergrad and then do a grad program in psychometrics or quantitative finance.
I knew there was a big Midwestern school with an undergrad MMSS program but I couldn’t remember what it was - I kept going to Chicago!
The MMSS is at Northwestern. Rigorous program with incredible placements:
http://www.mmss.northwestern.edu/undergraduate/employment-placements.html