<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I am looking at a master’s program (non-PhD) to gain a better quantitative background and skill working with statistics and statistical analysis. One program that interested me when I came across it was the Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences (QMSS) master's program at Columbia. It seems like a good way to gain more coursework in statistics within a short timespan (one year).</p>
<p>However, I do not see much written about this program, so it is hard to get a better sense of its reputation. Additionally, it seems that it gears itself toward students who are looking to use a terminal master’s program as a stepping stone to a PhD.</p>
<p>Does anyone have familiarity with this program?</p>
<p>Specifically, for those looking to use it to go to into industry (as opposed to moving on to a PhD), how worthwhile is it in terms of job placement and reputation?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>I wondered the same thing myself - I was going to apply to Columbia’s QMSS program myself back in 2007-2008, but you could only apply to one GSAS program and I applied to a PhD there instead. (I just finished it.)</p>
<p>QMSS tries to straddle the line. I would guess that most students in the program are interested in getting a PhD later, although perhaps not right away. And the program is kind of structured that way - you have to do some kind of research project (I remember my lab got a couple of QMSS students applying to work with us). I think that you can make it whatever you want it; what a quantitative hirer is really going to want is skills. They want someone who can do the things they want them to do, and who has experience implementing these kinds of solutions when doing real-world problems.</p>
<p>To that end - I think QMSS is a great program. It would probably be useful if you want to go on to do MA-level social science research at think tanks, non-profits, universities, NGOs, etc. You would still most likely be hired into social scientist roles, but as a social scientist with a great deal of quantitative skill/background. But if you want to be a professional statistician, I think you should pursue an MA or MS in statistics. Because of the high demand, most statistics programs have very few prerequisites - just three semesters of calculus and linear algebra, usually.</p>