'Data Analytics for Politics and Society' (DAPS) provides a unique offer for graduates of modern universities in Russia and around the world. Specialists of different backgrounds realize the need to develop additional competencies for a successful career in modern society. The experience of technical universities in St. Petersburg shows that many engineers strive to get a second specialty in socio-economic disciplines, and the experience of courses and summer schools on data analysis and programming indicates their high demand among students in the social sciences and humanities. One can observe a growing number of people with competences in the programming languages ​​R and Python among the applicants to the current master's programmes. Engineers, linguists, and psychologists apply for the MA and MS in human-computer interaction. At the same time, many graduates of the HSE St. Petersburg campus  ("Political Science and World Politics", "Sociology and Social Informatics", "Management and Analytics in the Public Sector" and others) already have a high level of competence in programming languages ​​and their application thanks to two minors "Data Processing and Analysis" and "Python Programming Basics" (120 students in each). Though the existing educational programmes in the campus do not meet the needs of those graduates for further growth. So they leave HSE in search of a different level of education.

The programme is based on the combination and connection of substantive theory and methodological practice. The basics of human behavior analysis, analysis of social and political processes and comparative social and political analysis will be combined with the mastery of technical disciplines that will give students a solid foundation in data science methods, including the R and Python programming languages, statistical methods, machine learning, network analysis and computer text analysis. Courses on model building and on the use of experiments in social science will provide a strong link between substantive social science and digital analysis methods.

The programme will be implemented as a research master's degree with a strong emphasis on project-based research and publication preparation. In particular, the MA will recommend presenting term papers and dissertations in the format of articles prepared according to the standards of international journals and conferences in computer science. The campus already has successful experience in implementing such recommendations both at the BA amd MA levels. For students planning to go into the digital sectors of the economy, such publications will help in obtaining a high-paying job, and for students aiming for academic paths - in entering graduate school.

Project work will be the basis of the program's training, along with a blended learning format. Thus lectures will be transferred online, and HSE platform and EdX courses will be widely used, while the main efforts of the programme's instructors will be directed at students' practical work with data, discussion of the most modern literature on computational social science, and supervision of students' project work. The development of certain theories will be carried out on specific problems of social and political analysis, and the development of methods will be based on the use of real data sets.

While completing her studies on DAPS, the graduate develops universal, general professional (defined in the sections of the MA programme by areas of training) and professional competencies.

Professional competencies (planned results of mastering the MA programme):

• Able to use current results of scientific research in political science and related disciplines, develop applications of political science to solve practical problems of professional activity (PC-1);
• Able to work with modern scientific literature (including literature in English), analyze the state and trends in the development of political science (PC-2);
• Able to use modern empirical databases (including foreign ones) in scientific and project activities, independently create databases for the implementation of research and practical tasks (PC-3);
• Able to analyze empirical data (political, economic and sociological research) using modern qualitative and quantitative methods and using the appropriate software (PC-4);
• Able to build and analyze mathematical models of socio-political systems and processes (PC-5);
• Able to develop a design for scientific and applied research, including that carried out by a team, based on modern methodologies of political science and general scientific approaches (PC-6);
• Able to plan and organize political campaigns (PC-7);
• Able to organize and conduct political science expertise of socially significant projects (PC-8);
• Able to carry out professional communication with state and municipal authorities and administration (PC-9);
• Able to create and use regulatory documents within the scope of his/her professional responsibilities (PC-10);
• Able to independently prepare general analytical materials (reviews, notes, reports, reports, recommendations, etc.) and proposals for decision-makers in the political sphere (PC-11).

The totality of all universal, general professional and professional competencies formed in a graduate ensures her ability to carry out professional activities in at least one area or sphere of professional activity, or to solve problems of professional activity of at least one type established in the educational standart.

The core of the programme is made up of three tracks:

• Model Building
• Data Analysis and Statistics
• Analytics for Government and Society

The core courses provide training in the fundamental aspects of applied data science, social research, and modeling of social and political phenomena. The most important skills that students need to develop are model thinking and model building. The programme's courses combine training in predictive modeling and causal thinking with knowledge of a wide range of analytical methods, which develops students' ability to apply methods meaningfully and accurately.

The programme introduces students step by step to model thinking, starting with general courses on social research methods and continuing with empirical practice of the acquired skills. Students can sequentially select courses to form an individual study trajectory, focusing more on mastering advanced data analysis techniques or immersing themselves in social and political theory. In the second year of study, all students will move on to active practice in applying data analysis skills to real-world problems in the fields of social science, industry, and policy development.

The program is implemented as a research master's degree with a strong emphasis on project-based scientific work and publication preparation, which is achieved through a strong project component. During the two years of study, students participate in project seminars, group projects, and a research seminar. The results of this work are reflected in the texts of the Course paper and Term Paper, which are recommended to be prepared in the format of scientific articles. The range of research topics includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:

• Evidence-based policy
• Electronic government
• Open data for social and political sciences
• Computer modeling of social and political processes
• Comparative studies of political and social attitudes
• Agent modelling
• Network analysis
• Social interventions, evaluation and consequences

This degree programme of HSE University is adapted for students with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities. Special assistive technology and teaching aids are used for collective and individual learning of students with SEN and disabilities. The specific adaptive features of the programme are listed in each subject's full syllabus and are available to students through the online Learning Management System.

All documents of the degree programme are stored electronically on this website. Curricula, calendar plans, and syllabi are developed and approved electronically in corporate information systems. Their current versions are automatically published on the website of the degree programme. Up-to-date teaching and learning guides, assessment tools, and other relevant documents are stored on the website of the degree programme in accordance with the local regulatory acts of HSE University.

I hereby confirm that the degree programme documents posted on this website are fully up-to-date.

Vice Rector Sergey Yu. Roshchin

Summary of Degree Programme 'Data Analytics for Politics and Society '