Research Methodology, Graduate Minor

Saint Louis University offers a graduate minor in research methodology designed to provide students with a background in advanced analysis and methods.

Administered through SLU's Department of Sociology and Anthropology, the minor is open to all students and can be tailored to meet students’ own disciplinary program needs.

Elements of the minor are developed by consensus between students, their advisor/mentors and the graduate director in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology.

Curriculum Overview

SLU's graduate minor in research methodology consists of (with prerequisites) five courses: a basic, quantitative statistics/analysis course; two advanced quantitative analysis courses; and two advanced research methodology courses.

Students may petition to include additional courses by submitting a copy of the syllabus for such courses. Upon approval, these courses can also be included in the minor. At least 80% of the courses included in the minor must be taken at Saint Louis University and all courses must be graded courses; no pass/fail or satisfactory/unsatisfactory coursework will be accepted.

Admission Requirements

To be admitted to this minor program, students must be seeking a degree in a Saint Louis University graduate program. They must have taken a general research methodology course prior to admission to the minor. This must be a basic introductory course that provides an overview of all major forms of research methodology and design. This prerequisite serves as a foundation for all other courses taken in this minor.

To add the research methodology minor, contact the coordinator of the graduate research methodology minor. A petition to amend the graduate program along with an academic plan for the minor must be completed and submitted to the associate graduate dean/director of the college, school or center appropriate for the student. Upon completion of the minor requirements, it will be noted as a “Minor in Research Methodology” on the academic transcript.

Students are encouraged to discuss the possibilities of the minor with their advisor/mentor, or they can contact the graduate director in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, allowing them to build a minor that is best suited for their own needs and the goals of their major program. 

The research methodology minor is administered through SLU's College of Arts and Sciences. It is composed of at least 15 credits that include a basic statistical analysis course, two courses in advanced methodology and two courses in advanced analysis.

Courses that fulfill these categories come from a wide variety of departments across the University.†

• Cluster I: Core course. All students must take an introductory inferential statistics course.

• Cluster II: Advanced methodology and design courses. A student would select at least two courses from this cluster.

‡

GIS 5010 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems and SOC 5650 Principles and Methods of GIScience are the same course. Only one of these can count toward this requirement.

• Cluster III: Advanced statistics/analysis courses. A student would select at least two courses from this cluster.

While 15 credits are required, students may take more courses and get credit for them. In order for the minor to be listed on an official University transcript, students must complete the Petition to Amend the Graduate Program.

†

Substitutions of coursework can only be made with the prior approval of the student's mentor and the coordinator of the research methodology minor program.

Continuation Standards

Students must maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 in all graduate/professional courses.

For more information about the research methodology minor, please contact:

Hisako Matsuo, Ph.D.
Professor of research methodology and sociology
Morrissey Hall, 1905
hisako.matsuo@slu.edu
314-977-2536