MSc Politics & Data Science

Program Overview

The MSc Politics and Data Science at UCD SPIRe equips students with advanced data science skills to understand and engage with digital politics. The program offers flexible streams for students with social science or technical backgrounds and emphasizes hands-on learning through projects and simulations. Graduates are prepared for careers in government, tech, international organizations, and more, where they can leverage their expertise in the intersection of politics and data.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The MSc Politics and Data Science program is designed to address the impact of generative AI, large language models, and machine learning on political processes and their ethical implications. It aims to equip students with a critical perspective on how data science shapes political narratives and decisions in both democratic and non-democratic regimes.

Objectives:

• To provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the intersection of politics and advanced data science in the digital era.
• To equip students with the theoretical overview and empirical tools necessary to understand and engage with the "brave new world of digitised politics."
• To train students to become experts in the latest quantitative methodologies and research skills.
• To prepare graduates to critically assess and contribute to the evolving landscape of politics in the age of data science and AI.

Outline:

The program is structured in two streams:

• Social Science Background Stream: This stream is designed for students with backgrounds in political science and related social sciences.
It introduces them to advanced data science methods, emphasizing the use of large language models and machine learning in political analysis.
• Technical Background Stream: This stream is tailored for students with a computer science or related technical background.
It focuses on political science research design and theories, integrating these with data science applications.

Course Schedule:

• The program is offered as a full-time (1 year) or part-time (2 years) option.
• Part-time programs run for 2 years, with students typically taking 1-2 modules per semester.
• The final 30-credit module is completed during the second year of the part-time program.
• Part-time programs are offered during the day and are not timetabled in the evenings or at weekends.
It introduces descriptive statistics, multiple regression analysis, and statistical inference, teaching students to draw conclusions from sample data. The course also covers practical R programming for data analysis. It is designed to equip students with the skills to automate tasks and develop more complex software.
• POL42350 Connected_Politics (Spring): Under the guidance of both a project and a module coordinator, small teams will tackle a pressing social or political question using advanced methodologies such as quantitative text analysis, machine learning, image recognition, and network analysis.
• POL42540 Applied Data Wrangling and Visualisation (Autumn) (5-Credits): This module focuses on data wrangling and visualization techniques.
• POL42050 Quantitative Text Analysis (Spring): This module equips students with the ability to analyze vast text corpora, employing both traditional statistical methods and cutting-edge machine learning techniques.
• SOC41070 Sociological Thinking in the Digital Age (Spring): This module explores the impact of digital technologies on society.

Option Modules for Social Science Background Stream:

• IS40840 Data & Society (Autumn): This module examines the relationship between data and society.
• POL40050 Theories of International Relations (Autumn): This module explores various theories of international relations.
• POL40140 Theories of Global Justice (Autumn): This module examines theories of global justice.
• POL40160 Comparative Public Policy (Autumn): This module compares public policy across different countries.
• POL40540 Comparative European Politics (Autumn): This module examines the politics of European countries.
• POL41020 Politics of Human Rights (Autumn): This module explores the politics of human rights.
• POL41510 Politics and Change in the Middle East and North Africa (Autumn): This module examines political change in the Middle East and North Africa.
• POL41980 Peace & Conflict Studies (Autumn): This module explores the causes and consequences of conflict.
• POL42040 Gender & the Political System (Autumn): This module examines the role of gender in politics.
• POL42530 The Politics of International Trade and Investment (NEW) (Autumn): This module examines the politics of international trade and investment.
• POL42550 Feminist Theory (NEW) (Autumn): This module explores feminist theory.
• SOC41130 AI and Society (Autumn): This module examines the impact of AI on society.
• DEV40020 Gender and Development (Spring): This module explores the intersection of gender and development.
• POL40100 Politics of Development (Spring): This module examines the politics of development.
• POL40370 International Political Economy (Spring): This module explores the relationship between politics and economics in the international system.
• POL40610 EU Foreign, Security, and Defence Policy (Spring): This module examines the foreign, security, and defense policy of the European Union.
• POL40970 Politics of European Governance (Spring): This module examines the governance of the European Union.
• POL41030 Theory of Human Rights (Spring): This module explores the theory of human rights.
• POL41640 Qualitative Research Methods for Political Science (Spring): This module introduces students to qualitative research methods.
• POL41720 Gender Peace and Security (Spring): This module examines the relationship between gender and peace and security.
• POL41860 Governance, Politics and Development (Spring): This module explores the relationship between governance, politics, and development.
• POL41910 Political Violence (NEW) (Spring): This module examines the causes and consequences of political violence.
• POL42430 IR Theory: Conflict and Identity (NEW) (Spring): This module explores theories of conflict and identity in international relations.
• POL42500 Politics of Authoritarianism (Spring): This module examines the politics of authoritarian regimes.
• SOC41070 Sociological Thinking in the Digital Age (Spring): This module explores the impact of digital technologies on society.

Summer Trimester Core Module:

• POL42310 Thesis: Students can choose to complete a thesis.
• POL42300 SPIRe Internship (NEW!
• ): Students can choose to complete an internship.

Core Modules for Technical Background Stream:

• POL42350 Connected_Politics (Spring): Under the guidance of both a project and a module coordinator, small teams will tackle a pressing social or political question using advanced methodologies such as quantitative text analysis, machine learning, image recognition, and network analysis.
• POL42540 Applied Data Wrangling and Visualisation (Autumn) (5-Credits): This module focuses on data wrangling and visualization techniques.
• POL42050 Quantitative Text Analysis (Spring): This module equips students with the ability to analyze vast text corpora, employing both traditional statistical methods and cutting-edge machine learning techniques.
• SOC41070 Sociological Thinking in the Digital Age (Spring): This module explores the impact of digital technologies on society.

Option Modules for Technical Background Stream:

• IS40840 Data & Society (Autumn): This module examines the relationship between data and society.
• POL40050 Theories of International Relations (Autumn): This module explores various theories of international relations.
• POL40140 Theories of Global Justice (Autumn): This module examines theories of global justice.
• POL40160 Comparative Public Policy (Autumn): This module compares public policy across different countries.
• POL40540 Comparative European Politics (Autumn): This module examines the politics of European countries.
It introduces descriptive statistics, multiple regression analysis, and statistical inference, teaching students to draw conclusions from sample data. The course also covers practical R programming for data analysis.
• POL41020 Politics of Human Rights (Autumn): This module explores the politics of human rights.
• POL41510 Politics and Change in the Middle East and North Africa (Autumn): This module examines political change in the Middle East and North Africa.
• POL41980 Peace & Conflict Studies (Autumn): This module explores the causes and consequences of conflict.
• POL42040 Gender & the Political System (Autumn): This module examines the role of gender in politics.
• POL42530 The Politics of International Trade and Investment (NEW) (Autumn): This module examines the politics of international trade and investment.
• POL42550 Feminist Theory (NEW) (Autumn): This module explores feminist theory.
• SOC41130 AI and Society (Autumn): This module examines the impact of AI on society.
• DEV40020 Gender and Development (Spring): This module explores the intersection of gender and development.
• POL40100 Politics of Development (Spring): This module examines the politics of development.
• POL40370 International Political Economy (Spring): This module explores the relationship between politics and economics in the international system.
• POL40610 EU Foreign, Security, and Defence Policy (Spring): This module examines the foreign, security, and defense policy of the European Union.
• POL40970 Politics of European Governance (Spring): This module examines the governance of the European Union.
• POL41030 Theory of Human Rights (Spring): This module explores the theory of human rights.
• POL41640 Qualitative Research Methods for Political Science (Spring): This module introduces students to qualitative research methods.
• POL41720 Gender Peace and Security (Spring): This module examines the relationship between gender and peace and security.
• POL41860 Governance, Politics and Development (Spring): This module explores the relationship between governance, politics, and development.
• POL41910 Political Violence (NEW) (Spring): This module examines the causes and consequences of political violence.
• POL42430 IR Theory: Conflict and Identity (NEW) (Spring): This module explores theories of conflict and identity in international relations.
• POL42500 Politics of Authoritarianism (Spring): This module examines the politics of authoritarian regimes.
• SOC41070 Sociological Thinking in the Digital Age (Spring): This module explores the impact of digital technologies on society.

Summer Trimester Core Module:

• POL42310 Thesis: Students can choose to complete a thesis.
• POL42300 SPIRe Internship (NEW!

Teaching:

• Modules that involve programming skills are taught by social scientists, ensuring lecturers share a common background with students.
• This approach fosters better understanding and ensures technical modules are relevant to political and social contexts.
• The program emphasizes hands-on learning through the development of projects and simulations.

Careers:

Potential Future Employers:

• Government
• Tech industry
• Corporate Sector
• International Organizations (EU, UN, WTO, World Bank)
• Non-Government Organisations
• Public opinion institutes
• Think tanks

Potential Roles:

• Political Advisor
• Social Data Specialist
• Data Scientist
• Social Science PhD candidate

Other:

• The program is offered by the UCD School of Politics and International Relations (SPIRe).
• SPIRe operates a Graduate Scholarship program.
• The program is part of the SPIRe Internship program, which allows students to choose between a Masters thesis or an internship.
• The program is related to other programs offered by UCD, such as MSc Politics, MSc International Relations, MSc International Political Economy, MSc International Development, MSc Business Analytics, and MSc Social Data Science.

MSc Politics & Data Science (W473) Full Time EU fee per year - € 10100 nonEU fee per year - € 22600 MSc Politics & Data Science (W474) Part Time EU fee per year - € 6420 nonEU fee per year - € 11300