Familiar with Columbia QMSS?

[lilcoconut]

Does anyone know much about the QMSS (quantitive methods in social science) program at Columbia? I would like to hear from some insiders about the program. thanks!

[Max Power]

I went there and can answer any questions. Pm me

[Max Power]

In the past few years, QMSS has placed 3 in Columbia's poli sci PhD program, 1 at Princeton, 1 at Harvard and 1 at UConn I believe. I don't know of anyone who went there and wanted to pursue a PhD in poli sci who struck out.

[jacib]

I don't know anyone who struck out, but I know a few people who went in wanting to apply for PhDs and then, after the progran, deciding they didn't want to be in academia.

[Max Power]

I would argue that realizing you don't want to be in academia before you are in a phd program is a successful outcome.

[experiencevsinformation]

In the past few years, QMSS has placed 3 in Columbia's poli sci PhD program, 1 at Princeton, 1 at Harvard and 1 at UConn I believe. I don't know of anyone who went there and wanted to pursue a PhD in poli sci who struck out.

Just curious, how do programs like this and other one-year master's actually help with PhD applications? Applications are usually sent in December/January meaning that the first semester either isn't over or is just finished, and there might not be much else in the way of tangible to send in your application.

Do students usually get recommendations from their professors at QMSS for their PhD applications?

Can/Do they take advantage of being in the program to write or improve their writing sample before applying?

Does simply being in the program give their application a boost, with the assumption that they will finish the program and come out stronger in quantitative methods, or whatever else the one-year program focused on?

[Max Power]

It often means taking a year in between while applying. My the ways that QMSS helped me were that

1) I got fresh grades to offset my undergrad ones

2) I got letters great letters from QMSS

3) I honed my research interests

4) I used a seminar paper that I wrote as my writing sample for my applications

[Inscrutable_Chinaman]

Was just about to create a thread asking about this topic, glad to see there's this one (and many others evidently).

Following on from the last question that was asked -- while I guess that means many people have to take a year out after doing the QMSS, do you know of anyone that went straight into a PhD program without doing a gap year?

And second, how rigorous is the requirement for quantitative courses for admissions into the program? The website's brief section on that topic can be summed up as "some stats" necessary. I'm only applying to this course because I had no quant whatsoever at undergrad level, would like to know if I'll have to do some post-bacc in order to get into QMSS.