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[quote=Anonymous]I'm also a former economics professor, and I've worked with political scientists. Their field is becoming more quantitative, and you do need a good grounding in statistics to do research.

Math, in particular multivariate calculus and linear algebra, is the underpinning of most of the statistical algorithms that social scientists use. Someone with an undergrad degree might only encounter this level of work if they were writing a senior thesis project. They can certainly get away with just letting the computer do the work, but really understanding the statistics is what generally separates out the people who graduate with honors.

Additionally, most MPP programs, like, say, the Kennedy School, prefer applicants who have had calculus. This is often because calculus makes it easier to understand the required economic courses. Economics uses calculus equations to model behavior, because economists often want to know the rate of change of one variable with respect to another.

Tldr;
If your son takes econometrics, which is essentially economics statistics, he will stand out a bit from garden variety poly sci grads. Also, he can get away without taking multivariable calculus, but taking it will make statistics and economics easier to understand down the road.[/quote]

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