Welcome to DePaul's Quantitative Reasoning course!

The purpose of the Quantitative Reasoning course at DePaul University is to help you to become a confident and critical user of quantitative information. The course addresses the growing need for quantitative and computer literacy in the face of an enormous expansion in the use of quantitative methods and information in the social and physical sciences as well as daily life. Key characteristics of the course are

• Emphasis on reasoning
• Interdisciplinary context
• Technology as an integral part of course
• Active learning

Course Format:

You will learn primarily working with data sets from many different disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, environmental science, economics, finance, and history. After learning how to work with the data, you will write critiques of quantitative arguments, gather data to support your own arguments, and present persuasive arguments.

You will use spreadsheets (Excel), word processors (Word), presentation software (PowerPoint), and the Internet in an integrated manner in all aspects of the course. Specific quantitative skills that are addressed include:

• Simple Mathematical Models (linear and exponential)
• Proportional Reasoning
• Percentage Change
• Consumer Price Index
• Financial Mathematics

The course is taught by instructors from many disciplines; psychology, communication, geography,  history as well as mathematics and computer science. The course is a prerequisite to the Science Inquiry Domain courses in the Liberal Studies Program. It provides a solid foundation upon which subsequent courses in the disciplines and the Liberal Studies Program can and must necessarily build.

As with learning any other skill, mastering these will require practice during class time and afterwards. The Quantitative Reasoning Center is open in the evening and on the weekend; lab assistants familiar with QR are available for free assistance whenever the lab is open. 

Objectives:

The Quantitative Reasoning course is designed to help students achieve the following objectives:

• become acquainted with basic mathematical models and their limitations
• understand and critique quantitative arguments, whether given numerically, graphically, or in written form
• create graphs to describe quantitative data
• interpret graphs
• be aware of the variety of ways in which numbers are used
• be able to calculate and understand percentages and rates
• use commonly-used computer applications to analyze data