Victoria Vazquez, Class of 2018

After graduating with a bachelor’s in sociology and criminal justice from Rutgers in 2018, I wasn’t sure what my next step was going to be. All I did know was that I wanted to continue going to school and that I loved research. So, without knowing very much about it, I applied for the Data Collection and Management certificate program at Montclair. And I am so glad that I did.

The Data Collection and Management certificate program gives you not only statistical analysis tools that are needed to interpret data but hands on experience working with data sets and different methods of obtaining your own data. The program is set up in such a way that allows you to shape it to fit your needs, whether that be for market research, policy research, or in my case, academic research. Since graduating from this program I have been accepted to the Sociology Ph.D. program at Temple University. There is no doubt in my mind that the certificate program helped make this opportunity possible and I know I will continue to use the tools I learned as I continue my academic career!