Spring 2025: May 5 — June 5 (5 weeks)
Subject: CMSC
Course Level: 200
Number of Credits: 1 U.S. / 2 ECTS
Max Enrollment: 22
Schedule: Mon, Thu 16:10 – 17:30 CET (Berlin) | 10:10 – 11:30 PM EDT (New York)
Language of Instruction: Russian
Course Prerequisites: Russian B2 / Equivalent or higher

This course explores how visualization and exploratory data analysis (EDA) can be used to tell data-driven research stories. It aims to provide students with a foundational understanding of EDA and visualization by identifying patterns and trends, detecting anomalies, and testing hypotheses. The course covers the basics of EDA, including both graphical and non-graphical methods for univariate analysis (of both quantitative and qualitative variables), bivariate analysis (for two quantitative variables, two categorical variables, and one quantitative and one categorical variable), the basics of multivariate analysis, and result interpretation. Students will use open-source software (R and RStudio) for EDA and visualization and will learn basic programming to ensure the reproducibility of their data analysis results. Course readings include research articles that employ simple techniques, as well as publications from various fields, including journalistic investigations based on open data.

Guidelines for the Statement of Purpose:
Craft a reflective statement of purpose explaining your interest in the Smolny Beyond Borders online course. The file should be saved with your name and course title as the filename and uploaded accordingly. Your statement’s clarity and substance will significantly influence our selection. Convey your motivations and aspirations for this course succinctly but thoroughly. Kindly write your statement in the course’s Language of Instruction.

Application Portal Instructions:
1) Use the Latin alphabet for all entries on the portal, including your name. If the Language of Instruction is Russian, you may use Cyrillic only within the Statement of Purpose file, and the title of the file should still be in English.
2) Refrain from using email addresses associated with Russian or Belarusian educational institutions.
3) While completing the “Required Information” section, ensure you fill in the “Province” field for your address.
4) Provide an address outside Russia or Belarus in both the “Required Information” and “Geographic Location Confirmation” sections of the “Online Course Application”. This ensures we can send your transcript.
5) You must press the “Sign” button twice during the application.
6) If you hold a bachelor’s degree, select “4th+” in the “Academic Year (online)” section.
7) Applicants either unaffiliated or affiliated with educational institutions in Russia and Belarus should list ‘Smolny Beyond Borders’ as their educational institution.
8) In the student ID section, enter ‘SBB’.
9) Consider drafting your motivation letter ahead of time. Save it as a separate file with this format: LastName_FirstName_CourseTitle for a smoother application process.