Minor Requirements

Declare a Minor

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DECLARE DIDA AS A MINOR

DiDa Requirements:

The Digital & Data Studies minor is open to all students in Harpur College and CCPA. Students in other colleges are free to take courses, but cannot declare the minor.

Required Courses: 12 credits

These courses are offered every semester.

  • An Intro to Programming Course, generally HARP 150 - Intro to Coding (Python), which provides programming skills and lays the basis for computational thinking to liberal arts students. There are no prerequisites for HARP 150. Students with prior programming experience can take HARP 151 instead. Students who have taken CS 110 may count that as their programming course.
  • A Methods Course: DIDA 325 - Data & Society, which provides students with experience in obtaining, analyzing, and visualizing real-world datasets from many different domains and then connects these practices to the realm of critical data studies. Students especially interested in data analytics may consider taking this course first.
  • A Capstone Course: DIDA 425 - Digital Inquiry and Practice, a small, hands-on, capstone course, which focuses on project-based learning. It should be taken in the junior or senior year, after completing other DiDa coursework.

Electives: 12 credits

  • A master list of all electives can be found at this link. Electives offered in the upcoming semester are below. Up to 8 elective credits from the courses below can come from a student's major.
  • Fall 2023

    Electives Housed in the DiDa Program:

    • DIDA 120: Interactive Fiction
    • DIDA 130: Intro to Statistical Thinking
    • DIDA 181A: Database Fundamentals
    • DIDA 280: Critical Practices in Social Media
    • *DIDA 340: Intro to Deep Learning (requires HARP 150)

    Electives Offered by Other Programs without Prerequisites:

    • ARTS 265: Digital Photography
    • PHIL 150: Ethics, Technology, and Policy
    • GEOG 160: GIS for Social Sciences & Humanities
    • GEOG 280P: Python Programming for GIS
    • GEOG 360: Cartography for GIS
    • SOC 305: Social Research Methods
    • WRIT 312: Surveillance and Social Media
    • WRIT 344: Reading & Writing Blogs
    • WRIT 345: Writing & Producing Podcasts

    Other Electives Offered by Other Programs:

    • *ARTS 410: Graphic Design III
    • *CINE 250: Animation
    • *CINE 252: Video & Filmmaking I
    • *ECON 416: Economic Analysis with Python
    • *ECON 466: Introduction to Econometrics
    • *ECON 467: Economic Forecasting
    • *MATH 448: Mathematical Statistics
    • *MATH 455: Intro to Regression Models
    • *MATH 457: Intro to Statistical Learning
    • *PSYC 344: Research Methods

    *Course has prerequisites.

  • Summer 2023
    • DIDA 130: Intro to Statistical Thinking
    • DIDA 210: Digital Text Analysis
    • ART 265: Digital Photography
    • WRIT 312: Surveillance and Social Media
    • PLSC 380J: Statistics in Policy Analysis with R
    • PLSC 380T: Policy Analysis & Data w/ Python
    • *MATH 329: Intro to Scientific Computing
    • *PSYC 344: Research Methods

    * course has prerequisites

  •  Spring 2023

    Core Electives:

    • GEOG 380R: Spatial Fundamentals in R
    • *HARP 151: Programming in Action

    Departmental Electives without Prerequisites:

    • ANTH 200: Statistics in Anthropology
    • ARTS 265: Digital Photography
    • GEOG 203: Race, Ethnicity, and GIS
    • WRIT 344: Reading & Writing Blogs
    • WRIT 345: Writing & Producing Podcasts

    Other Departmental Electives

    • *ARTS 360: Intermediate Photography
    • *ARTS 410: Graphic Design III
    • *CINE 252: Video & Filmmaking I
    • *CINE 253: Intro to Creative Sound Proc.
    • *ECON 416: Economic Analysis with Python
    • *ECON 466: Introduction to Econometrics
    • *ECON 467: Economic Forecasting
    • *MATH 329: Intro to Scientific Computing
    • *MATH 448: Mathematical Statistics
    • *MATH 455: Intro to Regresion Models
    • *PSYC 344: Research Methods in Psychology

    *course has prerequisites

  • Winter 2023
    • PLSC 380H: Visualizing Violence with R
  • Fall 2022

    Core Electives:

    • HARP 130: Intro to Statistical Thinking (also satisfies the Statistics requirement)
    • *HARP 151: Programming in Action
    • HARP 210: Digital Text Analysis
    • GEOG 380A: Spatial Fundamentals in R

    Departmental Electives:

    • *ECON 416: Economic Analysis with Python
    • *ECON 466: Introduction to Econometrics
    • *ECON 467: Economic Forecasting
    • *MATH 329: Intro to Scientific Computing
    • PHIL 150: Ethics, Technology, and Policy
    • *PSYC 344: Research Methods in Psychology

    *course has prerequisites

  • Summer 2022

    Core Electives:

    HARP 181T: Digital Storytelling on Tiktok

    Departmental Electives:

    • HIST 380D: Podcasting US History
    • MATH 488P: Principles of Data Science
    • PLSC  380J: Analyzing Politics Using R
    • PLSC 380T: Computational Text Analysis with Python
    • PSYC 344: Research Methods in Psychology

Statistics

  • This requirement may be satisfied through evidence of successful coursework at Binghamton University or another institution
  • Or through a certificate of completion of an 8-week online course
  • Accepted Courses for the Statistics Requirement

    Introductory Statistics Course Roster

    • ANTH 200: Statistics in Anthropology
    • HARP 130: Intro to Statistical Thinking
    • MATH 147: Elementary Statistics
    • MATH 148: Elem Stats for Biologist
    • *PSYC 243: Statistical Analysis and Design

    Other Statistics Courses

    • *MATH 147A: Elementary Statistics (advanced placement required)
    • MATH 327: Probability with Stat Methods
    • *MATH 448: Mathematical Statistics (math majors only)
    • *ECON 366: Statistical Methods (Econ majors only)
    • *BME 340 Bioinformatics and Biostatistics (BME students only)
    • *BIOL 437 Biostatistics

    *course has prerequisites

Sample Capstone Projects (by major)

Explore examples of possible paths that students can follow depending on their major

  • Graphic Design

    A Graphic Design major in the Digital and Data Studies program combines creative expertise with computational skills, resulting in dynamic web-based projects. An example is the below experimental web project produced by Allie Wong, '16, Graphic Design Major. Allie is now the Senior Designer at Pearlfisher. Hover over the graphics and click on the highlighted sections to watch and read the whole sequence. Please note this video is best viewed on a desktop or laptop computer. Sample Capstone Project

  • English

    An English Major takes advantage of new methods in text analysis and natural language processing to explore key themes and patterns in American literature. An example is the below text analysis using the Harpur College course catalog. Toggle the settings in the upper right corner (using the four-paned window icon) to view Harpur College's undergraduate programs in a new way! For instance, try Loom, a Visualization Tool. Or select a specific program, by clicking on Scale, and then Document, in the lower left. Sample Capstone Project

  • History

    A History major in the Digital and Data Studies program uses data-driven approaches and computational methods to analyze vast quantities of historical information for the study of local history. Jason Tercha, a graduate student in the department of history, has taught data analysis to Harpur undergraduate students through Harpur Edge's "Crash Courses." He also offers a lecture course in digital history. Take a look at the map below, produced by Jason, which shows the locations of nineteenth-century businesses in Arlington VA. Click on the dots or select specific categories for more information. Sample Capstone Project

  • Geography

    A Geography Major with a minor in Digital and Data Studies gains skills in geospatial analysis and becomes an expert in ArcGIS, the industry standard platform for mapping. An example is the below Story Map by Alexa Sikoryak, a Geography Major, who continued to pursue her MA in Geography at Binghamton University through their 3+2 program. Carried out in 2018-19, this project explored the settlement and movement patterns of the deer population in the Binghamton University Nature Preserve, based on their thermal signatures, gathered using drones. Sample Capstone Project