Quantitative social science

Training in quantitative methods

The partnership of organisations is funding a new programme designed to promote a step-change in quantitative methods training for social science undergraduates in the UK.

Over a five-year period the programme will fund the creation of 15 specialist training centres. This aims to nurture social science graduates with the right skills, but also encourage more and better quantitative methods training at institutions in the long-term.

What funds are available and how will it work?

Funding of up to £350,000 per year for up to five years is available for individual applications. Undergraduate departments or groups of departments are invited to apply.

These funds should be used to support:

• A wide range of training activities
  This work should lead to embedded skills training for this subject area at the relevant institution.
• A network of specialist centres
  The programme will support successful institutions to act  as specialist centres that will exchange ideas and run joint activities for the benefit of the wider HE sector.

The programme encourages funding applications that are innovative and experimental, but applications might, for example, also include:

• new courses with significant focus on quantitative methods
• vacation training activities and work placements, and bursaries for students to attend them
• developing links between undergraduate and postgraduate provision for quantitative methods training.

The programme officially launched at the British Academy on Friday 19 October 2012, with a second event at Manchester University on 8 November 2012.

How to apply

The deadline for applications was 28 February 2013. Applications will now be peer-reviewed and shortlisted for selection panel.

Any enquires regarding the programme should be sent to QMenquiries@nuffieldfoundation.org.

Successful Centres of Excellence in Quantitative Methods will be announced in June 2013.

‘Stand Out and Be Counted’

With the British Academy and the Economic and Social Research Council, we have launched a guide aimed at students. This shows the importance of strengthening the UK’s quantitative skills base.

The guide – ‘Stand Out and Be Counted’ – illustrates how quantitative skills can broaden students’ career paths.

It contains personal stories from journalists, entrepreneurs, charity workers, lecturers, PhD candidates and civil servants. It dispels many of the myths that surround quantitative skills, and highlights their potential to be versatile, insightful, creative and fun.

It includes contributions from the CEO of Waterstones, the UK’s National Statistician, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Statistics, Director of YouGov and Editor of the Guardian’s DataBlog.

• See the guide

Earlier work

Between 2008 and 2012 HEFCE joined with ESRC to co-fund a series of pilot projects focused on testing new and different approaches to teaching quantitative methods.

The findings from these projects have informed the design of the framework for the new funding programme, launched in October 2012.

Further details about the pilot projects can be found on the ESRC web-site. 

Page last updated 27 March 2013