KINGSTON, R.I. – May 29, 2025 – An increasing range of career trajectories depend on mastering advanced techniques with complex data analysis, and the University of Rhode Island’s College of Environment and Life Sciences has launched a program designed to boost job market competitiveness by developing these skills in a flexible environment.

URI’s new graduate certificate in econometrics and data analysis offers students and professionals the opportunity to sharpen their expertise with econometrics, data processing, database management, and coding skills. Through the three-course, 12-credit program, students gain a comprehensive understanding of statistical and machine learning methods and how to apply them to real-world problems. Graduates will be able to apply these advanced skills to economic and financial problems within fields such as public policy, economic development, environmental and natural resource management, agriculture, energy, political science, and more.

Corey Lang, URI professor of environmental and natural resource economics, says the certificate was developed as URI sought to offer flexible offerings for professionals looking to further their education.

“Econometrics and data analysis were identified as an area of high demand,” he says. “We chose to develop a certificate that meets that demand and builds on our existing expertise in URI’s Environmental and Natural Resource Economics Department.”

The certificate program is taught by Lang, along with Pengfei Liu and Hui Zhou, fellow professors in the department. All three are noted for their academic research and contributions in policy work. They are looking forward to welcoming more students to the new certificate program.

“This program is widely applicable,” Lang notes, “to economics, business, political science, public policy, and public health. Students and professionals in the life sciences may also find it helpful.”

The certificate offers students the ability to analyze large and connected datasets to gain valuable insights, inform decision-making across industries and government agencies, and enhance competitiveness in the job market. Skills in econometrics and machine learning are valuable with the increasing availability of real-time, complex, large datasets.

The first certificate of its kind in New England, the program is designed to appeal to working professionals’ schedules. Enrolled students can choose to complete courses fully online or in in-person classes. Those pursuing the online option can work asynchronously with needed support. Students can earn the certificate online and/or in person, in as little as one to two years.

Econometrics in action

Graduate student Katherine Westerman completed the program this year and says the certificate gives potential employers evidence of her applied econometrics skills.

“Having this certificate solidifies the specific skills I’ve learned and provides employers more context than they might have looking at my course history alone,” she says.

She is also using what she’s learned for her dissertation research. As she trains to be an environmental economist, the methods she learned in the program are critical for the kind of research she wants to conduct. She is already using the difference-in-differences and double lasso machine learning approaches learned in her courses, which she terms “very cool,” and looking forward to testing new skills acquired in the program. She says the courses were challenging, providing a solid foundation for her research and introducing her to methods that work well together.

The program’s machine learning class was a highlight: “I loved having code to play with and modify. Theory and practical skills were mixed, and I enjoyed the whole program immensely.”

The certificate is also open to undergraduate students in URI’s Environmental and Natural Resource Economics program who can get an Accelerated Bachelor’s to Graduate Certificate (ABC) in Econometrics and Data Analysis, combining the B.S. and the graduate certificate in just over four years.

For more information, visit here or contact Todd Guilfoos, Graduate Program Director, at 401-874-4398, guilfoos@uri.edu. Applications for the 2025-26 program are due by August 15.