M.A. in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences The department also participates fully in the interdisciplinary Program in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences. This M.A. program trains students in how to apply quantitative methods to problems in the social sciences as they arise in business, government, and nonprofit organizations. The program draws on the diverse strengths of the statistics and social sciences faculties at Columbia and other institutions in the New York metropolitan area. It is designed for students with a strong background in social sciences or quantitative methods who are interested in deepening their analytical skills and broadening their knowledge of the social sciences. See later in this application. Division of Sociomedical Sciences The Division of Sociomedical Sciences brings together a multi-disciplinary faculty of social scientists and health professionals interested in studying the influence of social and cultural factors on health and health care delivery. An understanding of these factors is essential in the work of all public health professionals (health administrators, health educators, policy analysts). Students in the Division generally have academic backgrounds in the social sciences, or professional experience in clinical health areas (nursing, social work, medicine, dentistry). Some students may be involved in research and desire further graduate and postdoctoral training; others, in their roles as practitioners, may wish to learn how to measure and evaluate the sociocultural factors that influence their work. A growing number are pursuing the M.P.H. degree in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and go on to careers in health education. Areas of research currently being addressed by faculty and students in the Division include preventive health behavior, the role of social supports, stress and coping, mental health effects of AIDS and tuberculosis, ethical and social policy issues in AIDS, health professionals and AIDS, gender and health, drug use in adolescents and adults, tobacco policy, and health consequences of lifestyle. Students are encouraged to participate in ongoing research projects.     return to The Graduate Program in Psychology                                   modified August 16, 2004