Self and Other Course Pairing
Introduction to Statistical Methods and Data Analysis: With an Eye on Politics (ST 110)
An introductory statistics course requiring no calculus. Statistical methods are motivated through real data sets. Topics include graphical summaries of data, measures of central tendency and dispersion, chi-squared tests, regression model fitting, normal distributions, and sampling. Technology will be used.
Faculty biography
Dr. Richard Auer - Starting year 44 at Loyola, Dr. Auer is the senior most professor (and employee) at the school. With a Loyola Master's in Clinical Psych along with his PhD in Stat, he loves being able to connect with ST110 students who are almost all social science oriented. Despite what students may think, nearly all of them will encounter data and even review or perform research. He wants to help these students to a more fulfilling future.
The Science of Politics (PS 101)
Politics is the set of human and social activities that concern public affairs. These include the power relations among individuals and groups and the distribution of resources, such as the provision of public goods. Among other questions, we will examine why and how we organize collectively for economic, social, and political ends; why politics involves both cooperation and conflict; why political parties exist in almost all countries, even in non-democratic ones; the types of regimes that govern us, notably democracies and dictatorships; and how we elect political leaders in the United States and abroad. The goal is to equip you with the basic toolkit of a political scientist and, in doing so, gain the ability to examine public affairs more rigorously through analytic and social scientific lenses, thereby going beyond journalistic accounts of current affairs. We will put that into practice by reading news of current affairs alongside the relevant theories.
Faculty biography
Dr. Joan Ricart-Huguet is a faculty member in the Department of Political Science. He received his Ph.D. in Politics from Princeton University and an M.A. from Columbia University. He enjoys introducing students to the fundamentals of politics (PS 101) as well as teaching more advanced courses in his areas of expertise, such as African politics, political economy, and political leaders. Originally from Catalonia, he came to the United States for school and decided to stay after living in the wonderful states of CA, NY, NJ, and CT. He enjoys most sports, especially tennis and soccer.
Mentor biography
Luke Haus is an Associate Director in the Office of Student Engagement. Luke oversees the Evergreens and new student programs. Luke joined Loyola in 2020 as the Assistant Director of Student Engagement for leadership development programs, before transitioning to his new role. Luke is passionate about helping students better understand themselves and those around them so they can grow to their fullest potential while here at Loyola. Luke is a 2017 graduate of Loyola and has since received his Master's in Higher Education Administration from Kent State University.
Virtual Advisor
This course pairing is not recommended for students intending to major in business or natural sciences. PS 101 is recommended for students interested in Political Science. PS 101 will count as an elective for students who major in Sellinger school majors, Economics, Sociology, and Psychology.
