Institutional Research and Assessment in Higher Education Certificate

Location(s): Brookings Main Campus

View of a table during a meeting.

Program Coordinator/Contact

Kurt Cogswell, Department Head
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
Chicoine Architecture, Mathematics and Engineering Hall 209, Box 2225
605-688-6196

Program Information

The Institutional Research and Assessment in Higher Education Certificate enables students to explore fundamental concepts in institutional research and assessment. Students are introduced to knowledge and skills needed to access, manage, analyze, and use data in today’s complex higher education contexts. Data use for decision-making in higher education is critical for improving student success and institutional effectiveness.

Relying on the both in-person and online offerings, the 15-credit graduate certificate provides students with coursework and professional training for higher education careers as institutional research (IR) and assessment professionals. This interdisciplinary certificate is a collaborative program drawing students from mathematics and statistics, student affairs/higher education administration, and social sciences.

Course Delivery Format

The program provides courses face to face on campus and online.

Student Learning Outcomes

Students completing this certificate will:

Examine fundamental knowledge and skills for conducting institutional research and assessment in higher education.
Use appropriate data management and data analysis techniques to summarize data and interpret results.
Apply good practices of institutional research, assessment, and survey design to collect information related to institutional effectiveness, student outcomes, and compliance reporting.

Certificate Requirements

EDER 605 - Foundations of Institutional Research and Assessment in Higher Education Credits: 3
STAT 794 - Internship (COM) Credits: 1-3 (3 credits required)

Research Methods - Select from the following:

Select one course from the list below. Credits: 3

CHRD / HDFS 602 - Research and Evaluation in Counseling and Human Development Credits: 3
CMST 787 - Research in Communication and Media Credits: 3
ECON 707 - Research Methodology in Applied Economics Credits: 1-3
EDER 610 - Introduction to Research Credits: 3
EDER 614 - Advanced Educational Research Design and Analysis Credits: 3
EDER 711 - Educational Assessment (COM) Credits: 3
HNS 708 - Applied Research and Evidence Based Analysis Credits: 3
MCOM 786 - Conducting Professional Research Credits: 3
NURS 721 - Assessment and Evaluation in Nursing Education Credits: 3
NURS 825 - Qualitative Research Methods in Nursing Credits: 3

Statistics & Analytics - Select from the following:

Select two courses from the list below. Credits: 6

ECON 705 - Econometrics Credits: 3
HSC 631 - Biostatistics I Credits: 3
HSC 731 - Biostatistics II Credits: 3
STAT 515 - R Programming Credits: 3
STAT 541 - Statistical Methods II Credits: 3
STAT 545 - Nonparametric Statistics (COM) Credits: 3
STAT 551 - Predictive Analytics I Credits: 3
STAT 553 - Applied Bayesian Statistics Credits: 3
STAT 601 - Modern Applied Statistics I Credits: 3
STAT 602 - Modern Applied Statistics II Credits: 3
STAT 686 - Regression Analysis I Credits: 3
STAT 687 - Regression Analysis II Credits: 3
INFS 762 - Data Warehousing and Data Mining Credits: 3 (DSU)
INFS 774 - Big Data Analytics Credits: 3 (DSU)
NURS 830 - Quantitative Methods in Nursing Research Credits: 3

Total Required Credits: 15

Additional Admission Requirements

TOEFL: 71 Internet-based
TOEFL Essentials: 7.5
IELTS: 6.0
Duolingo: 100

Please refer to the following for additional information: Graduate School Admissions

Additional Information

Students enrolled in SDSU certificate programs are not eligible for federal student financial aid. The non-federal alternative loan programs may be used for students meeting the lender criteria as found at www.sdstate.edu (search alternative loans). For further information, please contact the SDSU financial aid office at 605-688-4695 or finaid@sdstate.edu.