Utrecht, Netherlands

Advanced Course on Using Mplus

This is a five-day course on structural equation modeling (SEM) using Mplus. If you already know how to analyse your data in Mplus but want to learn more about what you are actually doing, and especially if you want to know more about advanced longitudinal analyses, this course is for you. The course consists of in-depth lectures on the fundamentals of Mplus and advanced longitudinal models.

Many researchers in the social and behavioral sciences are using, or want to use, Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to investigate their theories. Mplus is a popular and flexible software package for doing SEM. If you already know how to analyse your data in Mplus but want to learn more about what you are actually doing and especially about diverse forms of longitudinal analyses, this 5-day course is for you.

During the first day, the focus is on the formulas behind SEM, how to calculate the number of parameters and degrees of freedom by hand as a useful way of model checking, how to interpret the TECH1 output, when to worry about the default settings in Mplus, model parameterization, and model fit. In the following four days, diverse longitudinal models are discussed, including recent development with respect to cross-lagged panel models, the latent difference/change score models, latent growth curve models, latent class growth models, latent transition analysis, and dynamic structural equation models. In addition, it is discussed how diverse panel data models relate to causal inference.
Each afternoon, participants obtain hands-on experience with these topics and models during computer labs. During the labs of Days 2 and 3, participants also learn how to run analyses in batch and make tables and plots using Mplus Automation in R.

For this course we assume participants have Mplus experience and basic SEM knowledge (but you do not need to know matrix algebra, calculus, or likelihood theory).

Please note that there are no graded activities included in this course. Therefore, we are not able to provide students with a transcript of grades. You will obtain a certificate upon completion of this course.

A good preparation for this course is our Summer School course 'Introduction to Structural Equation Modeling using Mplus' or any other one-week introduction SEM course.

Course leader

Dr. Rebecca Kuiper

Target group

(Research) master students or (post-graduate) researchers who already use Mplus and/or followed a multiple-day introduction into Mplus, for example the USS course ‘Introduction to Structural Equation Modeling using Mplus’.

Participants from a variety of fields, including sociology, psychology, education, human development, marketing, business, biology, medicine, political science, and communication sciences, may benefit from the course.

A maximum of 80 participants will be allowed in this course. The selection for this course will be done on a first-come-first-served basis. Please note that there is always a one-day delay between the registration system and the information on the website about the availability of places.

For an overview of all our summer school courses offered by the Department of Methodology and Statistics please click here.

Course aim

The main objective of the course is to acquire an expert understanding of how longitudinal models as applied in the social and behavioral sciences are analyzed using Mplus.

Fee info

EUR 850: Course + course materials
EUR 250: Housing fee (optional)