WELCOME TO THE SUMMER QUANTITATIVE REASONING INSTITUTE!

We will continually update this site throughout the spring.

Dear SQRI Students and Families,

The English mathematician, Karl Pearson, once observed that “statistics is the grammar of science.”  We know now that it is also the language of public policy.  Understanding how to use quantitative data to support one’s arguments and evaluate those of others is one of the essential skills students must learn in college.  This skill is the focus of the Summer Quantitative Reasoning Institute (SQRI).

The institute is not a “math camp” but an intense program of training in several social science disciplines: political science and international relations, economics, and psychology.  Students will learn how to think like a social scientist by not only receiving instruction in how these disciplines study the world, but by designing and engaging in a sustained, three-week collaborative research project with peers and their faculty mentors.  Students will be trained in how to use the statistical tools of these disciplines to answer a variety of research questions such as what factors cause war, how patterns of economic growth are related to social inequality, and how individuals make choices.  Students in the SQRI will present their analyses and their results in writing and in public presentations, culminating at the end of the program in an oral exposition of their project’s findings using text, figures, and graphs.  In short, they will have, during the three-weeks of the SQRI, the very same experience that Carleton students do who eventually major in the social sciences and go on to use their quantitative reasoning skills in diverse fields such as law, science, academics, public policy and public administration, journalism, and information technology.

We wish to welcome you to the SQRI experience as one of the best ways to mix excellent college-level training in the social sciences with the fun of engaging with peers and faculty in the study of some of the most compelling issues we grapple with every day.

Sincerely,

Al Montero
Professor of Political Science and Director of Latin American Studies
Director of Summer Quantitative Reasoning Institute

Credit Information:

Students will complete a guided research project that will culminate with a poster presentation at the end of the program.  We provide a written evaluation of each student’s participation soon after the completion of the program. Six Carleton credit hours (which are equivalent to approximately three college semester hours) are awarded to participants who successfully complete the program. (**This credit does not count toward Carleton's Quantitative Experience requirement.**)  These credits typically transfer to other schools.

Carleton College has long upheld a tradition of providing equal opportunity to all people. The following nondiscrimination statement is stipulated in the Minnesota State Statutes: As required by state and federal law, Carleton College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, status with regard to public assistance, age, or disability in the providing employment or in its educational programs and activities.