[Methods Speaker Series] [UT Austin]
The Department of Government at UT Austin offers many opportunities for quantitative research and methodological training. Here’s what makes our program an intriguing option:
Coursework
Our department offers a diverse array of methodology courses, including:
- Statistical Analysis in Political Science (GOV 350K) – Foundation in quantitative methods
- Statistical Analysis in Political Science II (GOV 391L) – Advanced quantitative methods
- Making Big Data (GOV 385L) – Data creation/curation techniques
- Machine Learning in Political Science (GOV 391K) – Applications of ML to political research
- Bayesian Statistics (GOV 385L) – Advanced statistical modeling
Institutional Strengths
UT Austin has strengths in computational research and methodology:
- Home to the NSF Institute for Foundations of Machine Learning (IFML)
- Houses the Center for Generative AI
- Consistently ranks as a top contributor to leading machine learning venues
- Offers an affordable Master’s in Artificial Intelligence program ($10,000 total)
Faculty
The Department of Government at UT Austin has a strong faculty specializing in quantitative methods. Here are some:
- Michael Auslen: A focus on political methodology, particularly public opinion estimation.
- Jason Brownlee: Interests include comparative politics, democracy, and research methods.
- Alison Craig: Interests in American political institutions, legislative politics, policy process, network analysis, and text as data.
- Zachary Elkins: Democracy, institutional reform, national constitutions, research methods, text analysis, and national identity
- Michael Findley: Researches political violence, international development, and methodology.
- John Gerring: Focuses on research methods; qualitative inquiry.
- Max Goplerud: Focuses on the intersection of Bayesian methods and machine learning.
- Connor T. Jerzak: Specializes in political methodology, causal inference, and AI.
- Stephen Jessee: Specializes in studies of ideology, latent variable models, voting, and courts, among other things.
- Tse-min Lin: Specializes in political methodology, political behavior, and East Asian politics.
- Minh D. Trinh: Studies the inner workings of durable authoritarian regimes using innovative quantitative methods.
- Christopher Wlezien: Interests include public opinion, public policy, and research methods.
Note: List is preliminary and incomplete!
Additional Opportunities
Students can further develop their quantitative training through additional courses in the Statistics and Data Science Department. There is also an opportunity for Government and other PhD students to pursue a Master’s in Statistics alongside their PhD.
Furthermore, Austin’s vibrant tech ecosystem, including headquarters of Tesla, Dell, and Oracle, creates unique opportunities for applied quantitative research and industry collaboration.
For more information about our quantitative methods training or to apply to our program, see[this link] and [this link]. For information about our Methods Speaker Series, see here [this link].