Illogical Prerequisites

Course: Introduction to SPSS
Course: SOCI 333 (3)
Description: Introduction to the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), a computer software for data processing and statistical analysis, enabling students without knowledge of programming or without programming aspirations to utilize the computer for scientific research

Pre-reqs: SOCI 210 (Introduction to Sociology), SOCI 331 (Social Statistics)

 

Here is my issue. I want to take this course because I like SPSS. I like it because it is useful for generating statistical data in a short amount of time and if I end up doing anything research related in the future, it would be very useful. My department (psychology) doesn’t offer the course, but Sociology does. I want to take the course, but I don’t want to take two redundant courses. My opinion on the matter is that because I have had PSYC 210 (General Psychology) and PSYC 233 (Statistics for Psychology) I should be able to take the course with no problems. I originally thought that perhaps I was missing something from my interpretation of the course description that would require the Sociology course to be able to complete. After reading a syllabus from a previous semester I do not believe this to be the case. See Fall 2009 SOCI 333 Syllabus. Looking at the syllabus, I don’t think any social science course should be required, just a statistics course.

I have emailed the course instructor for a pre-requisite waiver/override, but I don’t know how much luck I will have in getting approval.