Duke Statistics vs. Northwestern MMSS

[artsykern]

<p>Hi, I was recently accepted to both NU, more specifically the MMSS program at NU and Duke. I'm not completely sure what I want to do yet in the future, but am thinking about Applied Math or Statistics or possibly econ, but I am definitely leaning more towards a quantitative/scientific perspective. I know that the MMSS program at NU is very quantitative and can help fulfill the Kellogg certificate requirement that is very useful in the finance/consulting/business field. However, I'm not completely sure whether or not I want to go into business yet. But I really like how NU is close to Chicago/downtown in contrast to Duke in Durham. However, I love both schools, and cannot decide on which school to pick. If anyone could also expand more on what MMSS is like (how big are class sizes usually, and how are classes structured/conducted? for example, are there large lecture classes that then split into smaller groups for discussion, like that kind of a style for classes?), also I'd like to know more about post-MMSS life. What other fields do people go into other than business or grad school? Same with post-Duke life, especially for Math and Statistics majors? Also if possible, if anyone is majoring in statistics at Duke, could they explain that program more? Is it very research oriented? Any advice is appreciated! (:</p>

[Sam_Lee]

<p>Since there are about 20 freshmen and 20 sophomore enrollees each year and all MMSS students take the same MMSS classes, the class size should be around 40 or less (less if the course has more than one sections).
[Mathematical</a> Methods in the Social Sciences Program – Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Northwestern University](<a href=“http://www.mmss.northwestern.edu/index.html]Mathematical”>Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences - Northwestern University)

A central feature of modern social, behavioral, managerial and policy sciences is the use of mathematics and statistics, both as languages and as methods of abstraction and analysis. The faculty at Northwestern use a mathematical approach to social science in their research, and mathematics is a major component of graduate programs in the social sciences. However, most traditional undergraduate programs in the social sciences do not incorporate mathematical approaches in an organized and consistent manner. Consequently, undergraduate students in traditional programs do not receive systematic preparation in mathematical modeling. </p>

<p>In the MMSS program, students receive the training needed to build and analyze mathematical models. Graduates of this program have been extraordinarily successful as graduate students and professionals because of their rigorous preparation for examining situations with mathematical analysis.</p>

<p>MMSS students pursue a double course of study: a common mathematics and quantitative methods sequence and a social science major of their choice. In addition to the traditional social science disciplines - anthropology, economics, history, linguistics, political science, psychology, and sociology - other fields such as Slavic studies, cognitive science, computer science, mathematics, philosophy and statistics have been chosen as joint majors by students in the MMSS program.</p>

<p>In their first two years in the program, MMSS students enroll in a coordinated sequence of twelve one quarter courses (two courses per quarter) that provide a coordinated and rigorous treatment of mathematics and statistics and their applications in the social sciences. Classes in this core curriculum are open only to MMSS students and are taught at an advanced level that is appropriate for this select group of students. The mathematics and social science topics are interwoven so that the material introduced in the mathematics courses can be used efficiently in the social science courses. Courses address both theory and analysis of concrete data, stressing the historical context within which various models were developed, the data to be explained, the policy questions of interest, and the mathematical implications of the models.</p>

<p>In their senior year, all MMSS students participate in a year-long senior thesis seminar. Working closely with the seminar leader and a social science faculty advisor, students formulate, research, and write an independent thesis.

</p>

<p>MMSS is a great program regardless whether you’d use it to fulfil the pre-reqs for Kellogg cert programs. By the way, despite the name, your primary major doesn’t have to be in social sciences; it can be in science or engineering. The “math methods” in MMSS are applicable to science and engineering fields.</p>

<p>From a CC memeber and a MMSS student:

it’s less of a workload than quantitative/hard science major (i.e. the workload is substantially lower than any premed/engineer student). It’s also probably higher than a pure econ major, but it’s on the spectrum, it’s closer to pure econ than it is to engineer. </p>

<p>Grades thing only sort of makes sense - average MMSS GPA is a 3.6, and MMSS classes are usually curved to an A-/B+ (i.e., 50% of the class gets an A- or higher) rather than the typical econ class which is curved to a B. This is to account for the fact that MMSS students are higher caliber than the average student at Northwestern and the program doesn’t want to penalize students GPA for taking harder classes.</p>

<p>I’d say it’s 60% Wall St/Consulting, 25% Grad School in a social science, 15% other.

</p>

[kimfuge88]

<p>MMSS is taught by the top game theory (arguably the best group in the world) and econometrics (top 5-6) economists at NU. If you want to a very quantitative studies of social studies, MMSS is really tough to beat.</p>

[artsykern]

<p>Thank you for your helpful responses. Sam Lee, for the 15% other, what are some examples of what others do? And how hard is it to find a job after graduating with a Bachelor’s? Do most need to continue their studies after undergraduate school to find a job? Also, how much background should I have? I’ve only taken half a semester of AP Macroeconomics and half a semester of AP Government and Politics at my school. How intensive are the PoliSci classes I have to take? I feel pretty prepared for the quantitative work though. Also, I understand that I can take MMSS with a math major, but how beneficial would that be since most are social science majors?</p>

[Sam_Lee]

<p>^Research think tanks, actuaries, corporation/govt, etc. I’ve been told MMSS students are highly sought after. The most popular primary major is economics.</p>

<p>[Job</a> Opportunities, Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences – Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Northwestern University](<a href=“http://www.mmss.northwestern.edu/students/employment.html]Job”>http://www.mmss.northwestern.edu/students/employment.html)
The “MMSS internship directory” shows you many of the summer internships MMSS students have in the past 2 years.</p>

<p>As for math vs social science, that really depends on your interest. But as far as job search goes, you’d look more well-rounded when you pair it with econ than math. But with the quarter system, it’s very doable to do Econ + MMSS + math minor or even triple-majoring isn’t out of the question.</p>