diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index 1269177c..9b4ac678 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -9,13 +9,13 @@ os:
   - linux
 
 julia:
-  - nightly
-  - 1.0
+  - 1.1
+  - 1.2
 
 jobs: 
   include:
     - stage: "Documentation"
-      julia: 1.0
+      julia: 1.1
       os: linux
       script:
         - julia --project=docs/ -e 'using Pkg; Pkg.instantiate(); Pkg.develop(PackageSpec(path=pwd()))'
diff --git a/Manifest.toml b/Manifest.toml
index ad7714c9..347a0f78 100644
--- a/Manifest.toml
+++ b/Manifest.toml
@@ -1,20 +1,50 @@
 # This file is machine-generated - editing it directly is not advised
 
+[[AbstractFFTs]]
+deps = ["LinearAlgebra"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "380e36c66edfa099cd90116b24c1ce8cafccac40"
+uuid = "621f4979-c628-5d54-868e-fcf4e3e8185c"
+version = "0.4.1"
+
 [[ArnoldiMethod]]
 deps = ["DelimitedFiles", "LinearAlgebra", "Random", "SparseArrays", "StaticArrays", "Test"]
 git-tree-sha1 = "2b6845cea546604fb4dca4e31414a6a59d39ddcd"
 uuid = "ec485272-7323-5ecc-a04f-4719b315124d"
 version = "0.0.4"
 
+[[Arpack]]
+deps = ["BinaryProvider", "Libdl", "LinearAlgebra"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "07a2c077bdd4b6d23a40342a8a108e2ee5e58ab6"
+uuid = "7d9fca2a-8960-54d3-9f78-7d1dccf2cb97"
+version = "0.3.1"
+
+[[ArrayInterface]]
+deps = ["LinearAlgebra", "Requires", "SparseArrays"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "981354dab938901c2b607a213e62d9defa50b698"
+uuid = "4fba245c-0d91-5ea0-9b3e-6abc04ee57a9"
+version = "1.2.1"
+
 [[AssetRegistry]]
 deps = ["Distributed", "JSON", "Pidfile", "SHA", "Test"]
 git-tree-sha1 = "b25e88db7944f98789130d7b503276bc34bc098e"
 uuid = "bf4720bc-e11a-5d0c-854e-bdca1663c893"
 version = "0.1.0"
 
+[[AxisAlgorithms]]
+deps = ["LinearAlgebra", "Random", "SparseArrays", "WoodburyMatrices"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "a4d07a1c313392a77042855df46c5f534076fab9"
+uuid = "13072b0f-2c55-5437-9ae7-d433b7a33950"
+version = "1.0.0"
+
 [[Base64]]
 uuid = "2a0f44e3-6c83-55bd-87e4-b1978d98bd5f"
 
+[[BenchmarkTools]]
+deps = ["JSON", "Printf", "Statistics", "Test"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "5d1dd8577643ba9014574cd40d9c028cd5e4b85a"
+uuid = "6e4b80f9-dd63-53aa-95a3-0cdb28fa8baf"
+version = "0.4.2"
+
 [[BinDeps]]
 deps = ["Compat", "Libdl", "SHA", "URIParser"]
 git-tree-sha1 = "12093ca6cdd0ee547c39b1870e0c9c3f154d9ca9"
@@ -41,9 +71,9 @@ version = "0.4.4"
 
 [[CSTParser]]
 deps = ["Tokenize"]
-git-tree-sha1 = "0ff80f68f55fcde2ed98d7b24d7abaf20727f3f8"
+git-tree-sha1 = "c69698c3d4a7255bc1b4bc2afc09f59db910243b"
 uuid = "00ebfdb7-1f24-5e51-bd34-a7502290713f"
-version = "0.6.1"
+version = "0.6.2"
 
 [[CSV]]
 deps = ["CategoricalArrays", "DataFrames", "Dates", "Mmap", "Parsers", "PooledArrays", "Profile", "Tables", "Unicode", "WeakRefStrings"]
@@ -63,6 +93,12 @@ git-tree-sha1 = "13240cfcc884837fc1aa89b60d500a652bcc3f10"
 uuid = "324d7699-5711-5eae-9e2f-1d82baa6b597"
 version = "0.5.5"
 
+[[Clustering]]
+deps = ["Distances", "LinearAlgebra", "NearestNeighbors", "Printf", "SparseArrays", "Statistics", "StatsBase"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "f387d5937d0c9d0191c711d7d204bce15bd23b45"
+uuid = "aaaa29a8-35af-508c-8bc3-b662a17a0fe5"
+version = "0.13.3"
+
 [[ColorTypes]]
 deps = ["FixedPointNumbers", "Random"]
 git-tree-sha1 = "10050a24b09e8e41b951e9976b109871ce98d965"
@@ -70,10 +106,10 @@ uuid = "3da002f7-5984-5a60-b8a6-cbb66c0b333f"
 version = "0.8.0"
 
 [[Colors]]
-deps = ["ColorTypes", "FixedPointNumbers", "InteractiveUtils", "Printf", "Reexport", "Test"]
-git-tree-sha1 = "9f0a0210450acb91c730b730a994f8eef1d3d543"
+deps = ["ColorTypes", "FixedPointNumbers", "InteractiveUtils", "Printf", "Reexport"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "c9c1845d6bf22e34738bee65c357a69f416ed5d1"
 uuid = "5ae59095-9a9b-59fe-a467-6f913c188581"
-version = "0.9.5"
+version = "0.9.6"
 
 [[Combinatorics]]
 deps = ["LinearAlgebra", "Polynomials", "Test"]
@@ -93,10 +129,22 @@ git-tree-sha1 = "84aa74986c5b9b898b0d1acaf3258741ee64754f"
 uuid = "34da2185-b29b-5c13-b0c7-acf172513d20"
 version = "2.1.0"
 
+[[Conda]]
+deps = ["JSON", "VersionParsing"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "9a11d428dcdc425072af4aea19ab1e8c3e01c032"
+uuid = "8f4d0f93-b110-5947-807f-2305c1781a2d"
+version = "1.3.0"
+
+[[Contour]]
+deps = ["LinearAlgebra", "StaticArrays", "Test"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "b974e164358fea753ef853ce7bad97afec15bb80"
+uuid = "d38c429a-6771-53c6-b99e-75d170b6e991"
+version = "0.5.1"
+
 [[DataAPI]]
-git-tree-sha1 = "891a09f4f90361a28d0391c104a65c0202e22624"
+git-tree-sha1 = "8903f0219d3472543fc4b2f5ebaf675a07f817c0"
 uuid = "9a962f9c-6df0-11e9-0e5d-c546b8b5ee8a"
-version = "1.0.0"
+version = "1.0.1"
 
 [[DataFrames]]
 deps = ["CategoricalArrays", "Compat", "DataAPI", "InvertedIndices", "IteratorInterfaceExtensions", "Missings", "PooledArrays", "Printf", "REPL", "Reexport", "SortingAlgorithms", "Statistics", "TableTraits", "Tables", "Unicode"]
@@ -115,6 +163,12 @@ git-tree-sha1 = "bfc1187b79289637fa0ef6d4436ebdfe6905cbd6"
 uuid = "e2d170a0-9d28-54be-80f0-106bbe20a464"
 version = "1.0.0"
 
+[[DataValues]]
+deps = ["DataValueInterfaces", "Dates"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "b65fd071ca17aa265eb8c5ab0e522faa03a50d34"
+uuid = "e7dc6d0d-1eca-5fa6-8ad6-5aecde8b7ea5"
+version = "0.4.12"
+
 [[Dates]]
 deps = ["Printf"]
 uuid = "ade2ca70-3891-5945-98fb-dc099432e06a"
@@ -123,6 +177,12 @@ uuid = "ade2ca70-3891-5945-98fb-dc099432e06a"
 deps = ["Mmap"]
 uuid = "8bb1440f-4735-579b-a4ab-409b98df4dab"
 
+[[DiffEqDiffTools]]
+deps = ["ArrayInterface", "LinearAlgebra", "Requires", "SparseArrays", "StaticArrays"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "21b855cb29ec4594f9651e0e9bdc0cdcfdcd52c1"
+uuid = "01453d9d-ee7c-5054-8395-0335cb756afa"
+version = "1.3.0"
+
 [[DiffResults]]
 deps = ["Compat", "StaticArrays"]
 git-tree-sha1 = "34a4a1e8be7bc99bc9c611b895b5baf37a80584c"
@@ -135,10 +195,22 @@ git-tree-sha1 = "dc0869fb2f5b23466b32ea799bd82c76480167f7"
 uuid = "b552c78f-8df3-52c6-915a-8e097449b14b"
 version = "0.0.10"
 
+[[Distances]]
+deps = ["LinearAlgebra", "Statistics"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "44bd29b50552dfd0a0b674b925de2719f3b9bb0b"
+uuid = "b4f34e82-e78d-54a5-968a-f98e89d6e8f7"
+version = "0.8.1"
+
 [[Distributed]]
 deps = ["Random", "Serialization", "Sockets"]
 uuid = "8ba89e20-285c-5b6f-9357-94700520ee1b"
 
+[[Distributions]]
+deps = ["LinearAlgebra", "PDMats", "Printf", "QuadGK", "Random", "SpecialFunctions", "Statistics", "StatsBase", "StatsFuns"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "baaf9e165ba8a2d11fb4fb3511782ee070ee3694"
+uuid = "31c24e10-a181-5473-b8eb-7969acd0382f"
+version = "0.21.1"
+
 [[DocStringExtensions]]
 deps = ["LibGit2", "Markdown", "Pkg", "Test"]
 git-tree-sha1 = "0513f1a8991e9d83255e0140aace0d0fc4486600"
@@ -151,9 +223,21 @@ git-tree-sha1 = "4a84478277020abfff208cde31ba1aa68a5bc572"
 uuid = "e30172f5-a6a5-5a46-863b-614d45cd2de4"
 version = "0.23.0"
 
+[[FFTW]]
+deps = ["AbstractFFTs", "BinaryProvider", "Conda", "Libdl", "LinearAlgebra", "Reexport", "Test"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "e1a479d3c972f20c9a70563eec740bbfc786f515"
+uuid = "7a1cc6ca-52ef-59f5-83cd-3a7055c09341"
+version = "0.3.0"
+
 [[FileWatching]]
 uuid = "7b1f6079-737a-58dc-b8bc-7a2ca5c1b5ee"
 
+[[FillArrays]]
+deps = ["LinearAlgebra", "Random", "SparseArrays"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "8fba6ddaf66b45dec830233cea0aae43eb1261ad"
+uuid = "1a297f60-69ca-5386-bcde-b61e274b549b"
+version = "0.6.4"
+
 [[FixedPointNumbers]]
 git-tree-sha1 = "d14a6fa5890ea3a7e5dcab6811114f132fec2b4b"
 uuid = "53c48c17-4a7d-5ca2-90c5-79b7896eea93"
@@ -175,6 +259,18 @@ version = "0.5.0"
 deps = ["Random"]
 uuid = "9fa8497b-333b-5362-9e8d-4d0656e87820"
 
+[[GR]]
+deps = ["Base64", "DelimitedFiles", "LinearAlgebra", "Pkg", "Printf", "Random", "Serialization", "Sockets", "Test"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "b4c31b6377b6d51b6c69a3a9737d10c34d43974e"
+uuid = "28b8d3ca-fb5f-59d9-8090-bfdbd6d07a71"
+version = "0.41.0"
+
+[[GeometryTypes]]
+deps = ["ColorTypes", "FixedPointNumbers", "IterTools", "LinearAlgebra", "StaticArrays"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "2b0bfb379a54bdfcd2942f388f7d045f8952373d"
+uuid = "4d00f742-c7ba-57c2-abde-4428a4b178cb"
+version = "0.7.5"
+
 [[Gurobi]]
 deps = ["Compat", "Libdl", "LinQuadOptInterface", "MathProgBase"]
 git-tree-sha1 = "c2e1b1d4ce50764188c6496f298fa58bbf5e923e"
@@ -209,12 +305,23 @@ version = "0.5.0"
 deps = ["Markdown"]
 uuid = "b77e0a4c-d291-57a0-90e8-8db25a27a240"
 
+[[Interpolations]]
+deps = ["AxisAlgorithms", "LinearAlgebra", "OffsetArrays", "Random", "Ratios", "SharedArrays", "SparseArrays", "StaticArrays", "WoodburyMatrices"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "e1bac96b5ef3ea23b50e801b4a988ec21861a47f"
+uuid = "a98d9a8b-a2ab-59e6-89dd-64a1c18fca59"
+version = "0.12.2"
+
 [[InvertedIndices]]
 deps = ["Test"]
 git-tree-sha1 = "15732c475062348b0165684ffe28e85ea8396afc"
 uuid = "41ab1584-1d38-5bbf-9106-f11c6c58b48f"
 version = "1.0.0"
 
+[[IterTools]]
+git-tree-sha1 = "2ebe60d7343962966d1779a74a760f13217a6901"
+uuid = "c8e1da08-722c-5040-9ed9-7db0dc04731e"
+version = "1.2.0"
+
 [[IteratorInterfaceExtensions]]
 git-tree-sha1 = "a3f24677c21f5bbe9d2a714f95dcd58337fb2856"
 uuid = "82899510-4779-5014-852e-03e436cf321d"
@@ -244,6 +351,12 @@ git-tree-sha1 = "8e1aea93f99e1141a8053e1d542d4534f62fe43f"
 uuid = "4076af6c-e467-56ae-b986-b466b2749572"
 version = "0.18.6"
 
+[[KernelDensity]]
+deps = ["Distributions", "FFTW", "Interpolations", "Optim", "StatsBase", "Test"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "c1048817fe5711f699abc8fabd47b1ac6ba4db04"
+uuid = "5ab0869b-81aa-558d-bb23-cbf5423bbe9b"
+version = "0.5.1"
+
 [[LaTeXStrings]]
 deps = ["Compat"]
 git-tree-sha1 = "7ab9b8788cfab2bdde22adf9004bda7ad9954b6c"
@@ -274,6 +387,12 @@ git-tree-sha1 = "d6692a09d0424e34c884cd819b8ed47943eefc20"
 uuid = "f8899e07-120b-5979-ab1d-7b97bb9e1a48"
 version = "0.6.0"
 
+[[LineSearches]]
+deps = ["LinearAlgebra", "NLSolversBase", "NaNMath", "Parameters", "Printf", "Test"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "54eb90e8dbe745d617c78dee1d6ae95c7f6f5779"
+uuid = "d3d80556-e9d4-5f37-9878-2ab0fcc64255"
+version = "7.0.1"
+
 [[LinearAlgebra]]
 deps = ["Libdl"]
 uuid = "37e2e46d-f89d-539d-b4ee-838fcccc9c8e"
@@ -292,10 +411,10 @@ deps = ["Base64"]
 uuid = "d6f4376e-aef5-505a-96c1-9c027394607a"
 
 [[MathOptInterface]]
-deps = ["Compat", "Unicode"]
-git-tree-sha1 = "5d3de69c9220610d0336ab45d3eb8b6ac7a7c807"
+deps = ["BenchmarkTools", "LinearAlgebra", "OrderedCollections", "SparseArrays", "Test", "Unicode"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "2c964a0bbbdd09a270b21c3ed293061a38898eee"
 uuid = "b8f27783-ece8-5eb3-8dc8-9495eed66fee"
-version = "0.8.4"
+version = "0.9.0"
 
 [[MathProgBase]]
 deps = ["Compat"]
@@ -309,6 +428,12 @@ git-tree-sha1 = "2d94286a9c2f52c63a16146bb86fd6cdfbf677c6"
 uuid = "739be429-bea8-5141-9913-cc70e7f3736d"
 version = "0.6.8"
 
+[[Measures]]
+deps = ["Test"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "ddfd6d13e330beacdde2c80de27c1c671945e7d9"
+uuid = "442fdcdd-2543-5da2-b0f3-8c86c306513e"
+version = "0.3.0"
+
 [[Missings]]
 deps = ["SparseArrays", "Test"]
 git-tree-sha1 = "f0719736664b4358aa9ec173077d4285775f8007"
@@ -336,24 +461,59 @@ git-tree-sha1 = "5b41f03d63400c290bab4e1a49fb9ac36de1084a"
 uuid = "a975b10e-0019-58db-a62f-e48ff68538c9"
 version = "0.7.0"
 
+[[NLSolversBase]]
+deps = ["Calculus", "DiffEqDiffTools", "DiffResults", "Distributed", "ForwardDiff"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "1c4b1d76f731dee88a0f494c59c750f3fd7d9ddd"
+uuid = "d41bc354-129a-5804-8e4c-c37616107c6c"
+version = "7.4.0"
+
 [[NaNMath]]
 deps = ["Compat"]
 git-tree-sha1 = "ce3b85e484a5d4c71dd5316215069311135fa9f2"
 uuid = "77ba4419-2d1f-58cd-9bb1-8ffee604a2e3"
 version = "0.3.2"
 
+[[NearestNeighbors]]
+deps = ["Distances", "LinearAlgebra", "Mmap", "StaticArrays", "Test"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "f47c5d97cf9a8caefa47e9fa9d99d8fda1a65154"
+uuid = "b8a86587-4115-5ab1-83bc-aa920d37bbce"
+version = "0.4.3"
+
 [[Observables]]
 deps = ["Test"]
 git-tree-sha1 = "dc02cec22747d1d10d9f70d8a1c03432b5bfbcd0"
 uuid = "510215fc-4207-5dde-b226-833fc4488ee2"
 version = "0.2.3"
 
+[[OffsetArrays]]
+git-tree-sha1 = "1af2f79c7eaac3e019a0de41ef63335ff26a0a57"
+uuid = "6fe1bfb0-de20-5000-8ca7-80f57d26f881"
+version = "0.11.1"
+
+[[Optim]]
+deps = ["Calculus", "DiffEqDiffTools", "FillArrays", "ForwardDiff", "LineSearches", "LinearAlgebra", "NLSolversBase", "NaNMath", "Parameters", "PositiveFactorizations", "Printf", "Random", "SparseArrays", "StatsBase"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "ca8f8917df469d607f8cf116784e58c9c084d0b4"
+uuid = "429524aa-4258-5aef-a3af-852621145aeb"
+version = "0.19.2"
+
 [[OrderedCollections]]
 deps = ["Random", "Serialization", "Test"]
 git-tree-sha1 = "c4c13474d23c60d20a67b217f1d7f22a40edf8f1"
 uuid = "bac558e1-5e72-5ebc-8fee-abe8a469f55d"
 version = "1.1.0"
 
+[[PDMats]]
+deps = ["Arpack", "LinearAlgebra", "SparseArrays", "SuiteSparse", "Test"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "9d6a9b3e19634612fb1edcafc4b1d75242b24bde"
+uuid = "90014a1f-27ba-587c-ab20-58faa44d9150"
+version = "0.9.9"
+
+[[Parameters]]
+deps = ["Markdown", "OrderedCollections", "REPL", "Test"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "70bdbfb2bceabb15345c0b54be4544813b3444e4"
+uuid = "d96e819e-fc66-5662-9728-84c9c7592b0a"
+version = "0.10.3"
+
 [[Parsers]]
 deps = ["Dates", "Test"]
 git-tree-sha1 = "db2b35dedab3c0e46dc15996d170af07a5ab91c9"
@@ -370,6 +530,24 @@ version = "1.1.0"
 deps = ["Dates", "LibGit2", "Markdown", "Printf", "REPL", "Random", "SHA", "UUIDs"]
 uuid = "44cfe95a-1eb2-52ea-b672-e2afdf69b78f"
 
+[[PlotThemes]]
+deps = ["PlotUtils", "Requires", "Test"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "f3afd2d58e1f6ac9be2cea46e4a9083ccc1d990b"
+uuid = "ccf2f8ad-2431-5c83-bf29-c5338b663b6a"
+version = "0.3.0"
+
+[[PlotUtils]]
+deps = ["Colors", "Dates", "Printf", "Random", "Reexport", "Test"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "8e87bbb778c26f575fbe47fd7a49c7b5ca37c0c6"
+uuid = "995b91a9-d308-5afd-9ec6-746e21dbc043"
+version = "0.5.8"
+
+[[Plots]]
+deps = ["Base64", "Contour", "Dates", "FixedPointNumbers", "GR", "GeometryTypes", "JSON", "LinearAlgebra", "Measures", "NaNMath", "Pkg", "PlotThemes", "PlotUtils", "Printf", "REPL", "Random", "RecipesBase", "Reexport", "Requires", "Showoff", "SparseArrays", "Statistics", "StatsBase", "UUIDs"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "a9c011a7176a9010dda4853373e8d89a83f9d69d"
+uuid = "91a5bcdd-55d7-5caf-9e0b-520d859cae80"
+version = "0.25.3"
+
 [[Polynomials]]
 deps = ["LinearAlgebra", "SparseArrays", "Test"]
 git-tree-sha1 = "62142bd65d3f8aeb2226ec64dd8493349147df94"
@@ -381,6 +559,12 @@ git-tree-sha1 = "6e8c38927cb6e9ae144f7277c753714861b27d14"
 uuid = "2dfb63ee-cc39-5dd5-95bd-886bf059d720"
 version = "0.5.2"
 
+[[PositiveFactorizations]]
+deps = ["LinearAlgebra", "Test"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "957c3dd7c33895469760ce873082fbb6b3620641"
+uuid = "85a6dd25-e78a-55b7-8502-1745935b8125"
+version = "0.2.2"
+
 [[Printf]]
 deps = ["Unicode"]
 uuid = "de0858da-6303-5e67-8744-51eddeeeb8d7"
@@ -389,6 +573,12 @@ uuid = "de0858da-6303-5e67-8744-51eddeeeb8d7"
 deps = ["Printf"]
 uuid = "9abbd945-dff8-562f-b5e8-e1ebf5ef1b79"
 
+[[QuadGK]]
+deps = ["DataStructures", "LinearAlgebra", "Test"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "3ce467a8e76c6030d4c3786e7d3a73442017cdc0"
+uuid = "1fd47b50-473d-5c70-9696-f719f8f3bcdc"
+version = "2.0.3"
+
 [[REPL]]
 deps = ["InteractiveUtils", "Markdown", "Sockets"]
 uuid = "3fa0cd96-eef1-5676-8a61-b3b8758bbffb"
@@ -397,10 +587,17 @@ uuid = "3fa0cd96-eef1-5676-8a61-b3b8758bbffb"
 deps = ["Serialization"]
 uuid = "9a3f8284-a2c9-5f02-9a11-845980a1fd5c"
 
+[[Ratios]]
+deps = ["Compat"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "cdbbe0f350581296f3a2e3e7a91b214121934407"
+uuid = "c84ed2f1-dad5-54f0-aa8e-dbefe2724439"
+version = "0.3.1"
+
 [[RecipesBase]]
-git-tree-sha1 = "7bdce29bc9b2f5660a6e5e64d64d91ec941f6aa2"
+deps = ["Random", "Test"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "0b3cb370ee4dc00f47f1193101600949f3dcf884"
 uuid = "3cdcf5f2-1ef4-517c-9805-6587b60abb01"
-version = "0.7.0"
+version = "0.6.0"
 
 [[Reexport]]
 deps = ["Pkg"]
@@ -420,6 +617,12 @@ git-tree-sha1 = "cbbc2c710abea5cfe71459ce4711d80a212aac5a"
 uuid = "89212889-6d3f-5f97-b412-7825138f6c9c"
 version = "0.8.6"
 
+[[Rmath]]
+deps = ["BinaryProvider", "Libdl", "Random", "Statistics", "Test"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "9a6c758cdf73036c3239b0afbea790def1dabff9"
+uuid = "79098fc4-a85e-5d69-aa6a-4863f24498fa"
+version = "0.5.0"
+
 [[SHA]]
 uuid = "ea8e919c-243c-51af-8825-aaa63cd721ce"
 
@@ -430,6 +633,12 @@ uuid = "9e88b42a-f829-5b0c-bbe9-9e923198166b"
 deps = ["Distributed", "Mmap", "Random", "Serialization"]
 uuid = "1a1011a3-84de-559e-8e89-a11a2f7dc383"
 
+[[Showoff]]
+deps = ["Dates"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "e032c9df551fb23c9f98ae1064de074111b7bc39"
+uuid = "992d4aef-0814-514b-bc4d-f2e9a6c4116f"
+version = "0.3.1"
+
 [[SimpleTraits]]
 deps = ["InteractiveUtils", "MacroTools"]
 git-tree-sha1 = "05bbf4484b975782e5e54bb0750f21f7f2f66171"
@@ -465,6 +674,28 @@ version = "0.11.0"
 deps = ["LinearAlgebra", "SparseArrays"]
 uuid = "10745b16-79ce-11e8-11f9-7d13ad32a3b2"
 
+[[StatsBase]]
+deps = ["DataAPI", "DataStructures", "LinearAlgebra", "Missings", "Printf", "Random", "SortingAlgorithms", "SparseArrays", "Statistics"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "c53e809e63fe5cf5de13632090bc3520649c9950"
+uuid = "2913bbd2-ae8a-5f71-8c99-4fb6c76f3a91"
+version = "0.32.0"
+
+[[StatsFuns]]
+deps = ["Rmath", "SpecialFunctions", "Test"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "b3a4e86aa13c732b8a8c0ba0c3d3264f55e6bb3e"
+uuid = "4c63d2b9-4356-54db-8cca-17b64c39e42c"
+version = "0.8.0"
+
+[[StatsPlots]]
+deps = ["Clustering", "DataStructures", "DataValues", "Distributions", "KernelDensity", "Observables", "Plots", "RecipesBase", "Reexport", "StatsBase", "Tables", "Widgets"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "5c4a479eedbaf338be5a4352bac9b06efc182396"
+uuid = "f3b207a7-027a-5e70-b257-86293d7955fd"
+version = "0.11.0"
+
+[[SuiteSparse]]
+deps = ["Libdl", "LinearAlgebra", "SparseArrays"]
+uuid = "4607b0f0-06f3-5cda-b6b1-a6196a1729e9"
+
 [[TableTraits]]
 deps = ["IteratorInterfaceExtensions"]
 git-tree-sha1 = "b1ad568ba658d8cbb3b892ed5380a6f3e781a81e"
@@ -473,18 +704,18 @@ version = "1.0.0"
 
 [[Tables]]
 deps = ["DataAPI", "DataValueInterfaces", "IteratorInterfaceExtensions", "LinearAlgebra", "TableTraits", "Test"]
-git-tree-sha1 = "951b5be359e92703f886881b175ecfe924d8bd91"
+git-tree-sha1 = "aaed7b3b00248ff6a794375ad6adf30f30ca5591"
 uuid = "bd369af6-aec1-5ad0-b16a-f7cc5008161c"
-version = "0.2.10"
+version = "0.2.11"
 
 [[Test]]
 deps = ["Distributed", "InteractiveUtils", "Logging", "Random"]
 uuid = "8dfed614-e22c-5e08-85e1-65c5234f0b40"
 
 [[Tokenize]]
-git-tree-sha1 = "c8a8b00ae44a94950814ff77850470711a360225"
+git-tree-sha1 = "dfcdbbfb2d0370716c815cbd6f8a364efb6f42cf"
 uuid = "0796e94c-ce3b-5d07-9a54-7f471281c624"
-version = "0.5.5"
+version = "0.5.6"
 
 [[URIParser]]
 deps = ["Test", "Unicode"]
@@ -499,6 +730,12 @@ uuid = "cf7118a7-6976-5b1a-9a39-7adc72f591a4"
 [[Unicode]]
 uuid = "4ec0a83e-493e-50e2-b9ac-8f72acf5a8f5"
 
+[[VersionParsing]]
+deps = ["Compat"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "c9d5aa108588b978bd859554660c8a5c4f2f7669"
+uuid = "81def892-9a0e-5fdd-b105-ffc91e053289"
+version = "1.1.3"
+
 [[WeakRefStrings]]
 deps = ["Random", "Test"]
 git-tree-sha1 = "9a0bb82eede528debe631b642eeb48a631a69bc2"
@@ -522,3 +759,9 @@ deps = ["Colors", "Dates", "Observables", "OrderedCollections", "Test"]
 git-tree-sha1 = "c53befc70c6b91eaa2a9888c2f6ac2d92720a81b"
 uuid = "cc8bc4a8-27d6-5769-a93b-9d913e69aa62"
 version = "0.6.1"
+
+[[WoodburyMatrices]]
+deps = ["LinearAlgebra", "Random", "SparseArrays", "Test"]
+git-tree-sha1 = "21772c33b447757ec7d3e61fcdfb9ea5c47eedcf"
+uuid = "efce3f68-66dc-5838-9240-27a6d6f5f9b6"
+version = "0.4.1"
diff --git a/Project.toml b/Project.toml
index 325d38e9..f66893e2 100644
--- a/Project.toml
+++ b/Project.toml
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 name = "CurricularAnalytics"
 uuid = "593ffa3d-269e-5d81-88bc-c3b6809c35a6"
 authors = ["Greg Heileman <gregheileman@gmail.com>", "Hayden Free <hayden.free@uky.edu>", "Orhan Abar <orhan.abar@uky.edu>", "Will Thompson <wgthompson@uky.edu>"]
-version = "0.5.2"
+version = "0.5.3"
 
 [deps]
 Blink = "ad839575-38b3-5650-b840-f874b8c74a25"
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@ CSV = "336ed68f-0bac-5ca0-87d4-7b16caf5d00b"
 DataFrames = "a93c6f00-e57d-5684-b7b6-d8193f3e46c0"
 DataStructures = "864edb3b-99cc-5e75-8d2d-829cb0a9cfe8"
 Documenter = "e30172f5-a6a5-5a46-863b-614d45cd2de4"
-Gurobi = "2e9cd046-0924-5485-92f1-d5272153d98b"
 HTTP = "cd3eb016-35fb-5094-929b-558a96fad6f3"
 JSON = "682c06a0-de6a-54ab-a142-c8b1cf79cde6"
 JuMP = "4076af6c-e467-56ae-b986-b466b2749572"
@@ -19,6 +18,8 @@ LinearAlgebra = "37e2e46d-f89d-539d-b4ee-838fcccc9c8e"
 Markdown = "d6f4376e-aef5-505a-96c1-9c027394607a"
 MultiJuMP = "f6097e2c-3ba3-5605-a9a8-3a277acb490f"
 Printf = "de0858da-6303-5e67-8744-51eddeeeb8d7"
+StatsPlots = "f3b207a7-027a-5e70-b257-86293d7955fd"
+Requires = "ae029012-a4dd-5104-9daa-d747884805df"
 Test = "8dfed614-e22c-5e08-85e1-65c5234f0b40"
 WebIO = "0f1e0344-ec1d-5b48-a673-e5cf874b6c29"
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2a778b5d..91773f99 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -11,22 +11,29 @@ Full documentation is available at [GitHub Pages](https://curricularanalytics.gi
 Documentation for functions in this toolbox is also available via the Julia REPL help system.
 Additional tutorials can be found at the [Curricular Analytics Notebooks](https://github.com/CurricularAnalytics/CA-Notebooks) site.
 
-## Installation
+# Installation
+
 Installation is straightforward.  First, install the Julia programming language on your computer.  To do this, download Julia here: https://julialang.org, and follow the instructions for your operating system.
 
-Next, open the Julia application that you just installed. It should look similar to the image below. 
+Next, open the Julia application that you just installed. It should look similar to the image below. This interface is referred to as the `Julia REPL`.
 
 ![Julia termain](https://s3.amazonaws.com/curricularanalytics.jl/julia-command-line.png)
 
-Then enter Pkg mode from within Julia by typing `]`, and then type:
+Next, enter Pkg mode from within Julia by hitting the `]` key, and then type:
 ```julia-repl
   pkg> add CurricularAnalytics
 ```
-This will install the toolbox, along with the other Julia packages needed to run it.
+This will install the toolbox, along with the other Julia packages needed to run it. To load and use the toolbox, hit the `backspace` key to return to the Julia REPL. Now type:
+```julia-repl
+  julia> using CurricularAnalytics
+```
+The toolbox must be loaded again via `using CurricularAnalytics` every time you restart Julia.
+
+For more information about installing the toolbox, including the steps neccessary to utilize degree plan optimization, please see the [INSTALLING.md](https://curricularanalytics.github.io/CurricularAnalytics.jl/latest/install.html)
 
 ## Supported Versions
 * CurricularAnalytics master will be maintained/enhanced to work with the latest stable version of Julia.
-* Julia 1.0 & 1.1: CurricularAnalytics v0.5.0 is the latest version guaranteed to work with Julia 1.0 and 1.1.
+* Julia 1.0 & 1.1: CurricularAnalytics v0.5.3 is the latest version guaranteed to work with Julia 1.0 and 1.1.
 * Later versions: Some functionality might not work with prerelease / unstable / nightly versions of Julia. If you run into a problem, please file an issue.
 
 # Contributing and Reporting Bugs
diff --git a/docs/src/install.md b/docs/src/install.md
index 60bfc6b2..17981e09 100644
--- a/docs/src/install.md
+++ b/docs/src/install.md
@@ -1,19 +1,38 @@
 # Installation
 
-Installation is straightforward.  Enter Pkg mode in the Julia REPL by typing `]`, and then type:
+Installation is straightforward.  First, install the Julia programming language on your computer.  To do this, download Julia here: https://julialang.org, and follow the instructions for your operating system.
+
+Next, open the Julia application that you just installed. It should look similar to the image below. This interface is referred to as the `Julia REPL`.
+
+![Julia termain](https://s3.amazonaws.com/curricularanalytics.jl/julia-command-line.png)
+
+Next, enter Pkg mode from within Julia by hitting the `]` key, and then type:
 ```julia-repl
-pkg> add CurricularAnalytics
+  pkg> add CurricularAnalytics
 ```
-
-The CurricularAnalytics.jl toolbox contains sophisticated visualization capabilities. In order to use them, you must first install the [Blink.jl](http://junolab.org/Blink.jl/latest/) package.  Blink.jl is a Julia wrapper that leverages the [Electron](https://electronjs.org) framework to perform the actual visualizations. Blink.jl should install automatically when you install the CurricularAnalytics.jl toolbox, and Electron will also install automatically upon first use of the visualization functions.
+This will install the toolbox, along with the other Julia packages needed to run it. To load and use the toolbox, hit the `backspace` key to return to the Julia REPL. Now type:
+```julia-repl
+  julia> using CurricularAnalytics
+```
+The toolbox must be loaded again via `using CurricularAnalytics` every time you restart Julia.
 
 ## Additional Requirements
 
 If you plan to use the optimization capabilities built into the degree plan creation functions, you must install the [Gurobi Optimizer](https://www.gurobi.com/downloads/gurobi-optimizer-eula/). Gurobi is a commercial product, and requires a license key. However, [academic licenses](https://www.gurobi.com/downloads/end-user-license-agreement-academic/) are available at no cost.
 
-After installing the Gurobi Solver you must run the following command in the Julia REPL by typing `]`, and then:
+After installing the Gurobi Solver you must run the following command in Pkg mode in the Julia REPL by hitting `]`, and then:
+```julia-repl
+  pkg> add Gurobi
+```
+Back in the normal Julia REPL, which can be returned to from Pkg mode by hitting `backspace`, you must know run the following:
+```julia-repl
+  julia> using Gurobi
+```
+This final command, `using Gurobi`, should be run every time you restart Julia. No further steps are necessary, and you may now utilize the optimization functionality of the toolbox.
+
+ To load the toolbox and Gurobi at the same time you can run: 
 ```julia-repl
-pkg> add Gurobi
+  julia> using CurricularAnalytics, Gurobi
 ```
 
 ## Windows Specific Steps
diff --git a/src/CurricularAnalytics.jl b/src/CurricularAnalytics.jl
index de437574..8a29a900 100644
--- a/src/CurricularAnalytics.jl
+++ b/src/CurricularAnalytics.jl
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ using DataStructures
 using Printf
 using Markdown
 using Documenter
+using Requires
 
 include("DataTypes.jl")
 include("DegreePlanCreation.jl")
@@ -27,15 +28,15 @@ export Degree, AA, AS, AAS, BA, BS, System, semester, quarter, Requisite, pre, c
         Course, add_requisite!, delete_requisite!, Curriculum, total_credits, requisite_type, Term, DegreePlan, find_term, 
         course_from_id, dfs, topological_sort, all_paths, longest_path, longest_paths, gad, reachable_from, 
         reachable_from_subgraph, reachable_to, reachable_to_subgraph, reach, reach_subgraph, isvalid_curriculum, 
-        extraneous_requisites, blocking_factor, delay_factor, centrality, complexity, courses_from_vertices,
-        compare_curricula, isvalid_degree_plan, print_plan, visualize, basic_metrics, read_csv, create_degree_plan, 
-        bin_packing, bin_packing2, find_min_terms, add_lo_requisite!, update_plan, write_csv, find_min_terms, 
-        balance_terms, requisite_distance, balance_terms_opt, find_min_terms_opt, read_Opt_Config, optimize_plan, 
-        json_to_julia, julia_to_json, init_opt
-
-function init_opt()
-    println("\n ************************************************************************\n In order to use the optimization functions in this toolbox you must first install the Gurobi Optimizer;\n please see: www.gurobi.com/downloads/gurobi-optimizer \n\n Note that free acacdemic licenses for the Gurobi Optimizer are available.\n ************************************************************************\n\n")
-    include(dirname(pathof(CurricularAnalytics)) * "/Optimization.jl")
+        extraneous_requisites, blocking_factor, delay_factor, centrality, complexity, courses_from_vertices, compare_curricula,
+        isvalid_degree_plan, print_plan, visualize, metric_histogram, metric_boxplot, basic_metrics, basic_statistics, read_csv, 
+        create_degree_plan, bin_packing, bin_packing2, find_min_terms, add_lo_requisite!, update_plan, write_csv, 
+        find_min_terms, balance_terms, requisite_distance, balance_terms_opt, find_min_terms_opt, read_Opt_Config, 
+        optimize_plan, json_to_julia, julia_to_json, init_opt
+
+function __init__()
+    @require Gurobi="2e9cd046-0924-5485-92f1-d5272153d98b" using .Gurobi
+    @require Gurobi="2e9cd046-0924-5485-92f1-d5272153d98b" include("Optimization.jl")
 end
 
 # Check if a curriculum graph has requisite cycles.
@@ -95,22 +96,26 @@ end
 #end
 
 """
-    function extraneous_requisites(c::Curriculum, error_msg::IOBuffer)
+    function extraneous_requisites(c::Curriculum; print=false)
        
 Determines whether or not a curriculum `c` contains extraneous requisites, and returns them.  Extraneous requisites
-are redundant requisites that may introduce spurious complexity.  For examokem, if a curriculum has the prerequisite 
+are redundant requisites that are unnecessary in a curriculum.  For example, if a curriculum has the prerequisite 
 relationships \$c_1 \\rightarrow c_2 \\rightarrow c_3\$ and \$c_1 \\rightarrow c_3\$, and \$c_1\$ and \$c_2\$ are 
 *not* co-requisites, then \$c_1 \\rightarrow c_3\$ is redundant and therefore extraneous.
 """
-function extraneous_requisites(c::Curriculum, error_msg::IOBuffer)
-    if is_cyclic(c.graph) # error condition should not occur, as cycles are checked in isvalid_curriculum()
-        error("\nExtraneous requisities are due to cycles in the curriculum graph")
+function extraneous_requisites(c::Curriculum; print=false)
+    if is_cyclic(c.graph) 
+        error("\nCurriculm graph has cycles, extraneous requisities cannot be determined.")
     end
+    if print == true
+        msg = IOBuffer()
+    end
+    redundant_reqs = Array{Array{Int,1},1}()
     g = c.graph
     que = Queue{Int}()
     components = weakly_connected_components(g)
     extraneous = false
-    str = "" # create an empty string to hold any error messages
+    str = "" # create an empty string to hold messages
     for wcc in components
         if length(wcc) > 1  # only consider components with more than one vertex
             for u in wcc
@@ -138,9 +143,11 @@ function extraneous_requisites(c::Curriculum, error_msg::IOBuffer)
                                 end
                             end
                             if remove == true
-                                temp_str = "-$(c.courses[v].name) has redundant requisite $(c.courses[u].name)\n"
-                                if !occursin(temp_str, str)
-                                    str = str * temp_str
+                                if findfirst(x -> x == [c.courses[u].id, c.courses[v].id], redundant_reqs) == nothing  # make sure redundant requisite wasn't previously found
+                                    push!(redundant_reqs, [c.courses[u].id, c.courses[v].id])
+                                    if print == true
+                                        str = str * "-$(c.courses[v].name) has redundant requisite $(c.courses[u].name)\n"
+                                    end
                                 end
                                 extraneous = true
                             end
@@ -150,12 +157,15 @@ function extraneous_requisites(c::Curriculum, error_msg::IOBuffer)
             end
         end
     end
-    if extraneous == true
-        c.institution != "" ? write(error_msg, "\n$(c.institution): ") : "\n"
-        write(error_msg, " curriculum \'$(c.name)\' has extraneous requisites:\n")
-        write(error_msg, str)
+    if (extraneous == true) && (print == true)
+        c.institution != "" ? write(msg, "\n$(c.institution): ") : "\n"
+        write(msg, "curriculum $(c.name) has extraneous requisites:\n")
+        write(msg, str)
+    end
+    if print == true
+        println(String(take!(msg)))
     end
-    return extraneous
+    return redundant_reqs
 end
 
 # Compute the blocking factor of a course
@@ -540,15 +550,59 @@ function basic_metrics(curric::Curriculum)
     write(buf, "for course(s): ")
     write_course_names(buf, max_cc_courses)
     write(buf, "\n  Longest Path(s) --\n")
-    write(buf, "    length = $(length(curric.metrics["longest paths"][1])), number of paths = $(length(curric.metrics["longest paths"])), path(s):\n")
-    for path in curric.metrics["longest paths"]
-        write(buf, "    ")
+    write(buf, "    length = $(length(curric.metrics["longest paths"][1])), number of paths = $(length(curric.metrics["longest paths"]))\n    path(s):\n")
+    for (i, path) in enumerate(curric.metrics["longest paths"])
+        write(buf, "    path $i = ")
         write_course_names(buf, path, separator=" -> ")
         write(buf, "\n")
     end
     return buf
 end
 
+function basic_statistics(curricula::Array{Curriculum,1}, metric_name::AbstractString)
+    buf = IOBuffer()
+    # set initial values used to find min and max metric values
+    total_metric = 0; STD_metric = 0
+    if haskey(curricula[1].metrics, metric_name)
+        if typeof(curricula[1].metrics[metric_name]) == Float64
+            max_metric = curricula[1].metrics[metric_name]; min_metric = curricula[1].metrics[metric_name];
+        elseif typeof(curricula[1].metrics[metric_name]) == Tuple{Float64,Array{Number,1}}  
+            max_metric = curricula[1].metrics[metric_name][1]; min_metric = curricula[1].metrics[metric_name][1];  # metric where total curricular metric as well as course-level metrics are stored in an array
+        end
+    end
+    for c in curricula
+        if !haskey(c.metrics, metric_name)
+            error("metric $metric_name does not exist in curriculum $(c.name)")
+        end
+        basic_metrics(c)
+        if typeof(c.metrics[metric_name]) == Float64
+            value = c.metrics[metric_name]
+        elseif typeof(c.metrics[metric_name]) == Tuple{Float64,Array{Number,1}}  
+            value = c.metrics[metric_name][1]  # metric where total curricular metric as well as course-level metrics are stored in an array
+        end
+        total_metric += value
+        value > max_metric ? max_metric = value : nothing 
+        value < min_metric ? min_metric = value : nothing 
+    end
+    avg_metric = total_metric / length(curricula)
+    for c in curricula
+        if typeof(c.metrics[metric_name]) == Float64
+            value = c.metrics[metric_name]
+        elseif typeof(c.metrics[metric_name]) == Tuple{Float64,Array{Number,1}}  
+            value = c.metrics[metric_name][1]  # metric where total curricular metric as well as course-level metrics are stored in an array
+        end
+        STD_metric = (value - avg_metric)^2
+    end
+    STD_metric = sqrt(STD_metric / length(curricula))
+    write(buf, "\n Metric -- $metric_name")
+    write(buf, "\n  Number of curricula = $(length(curricula))")
+    write(buf, "\n  Mean = $avg_metric")
+    write(buf, "\n  STD = $STD_metric")
+    write(buf, "\n  Max. = $max_metric")
+    write(buf, "\n  Min. = $min_metric")
+    return(buf)
+end
+
 function write_course_names(buf::IOBuffer, courses::Array{Course,1}; separator::String=", ")
     if length(courses) == 1
       write_course_name(buf, courses[1])
diff --git a/src/DataTypes.jl b/src/DataTypes.jl
index 8e4c2580..8f23ec94 100644
--- a/src/DataTypes.jl
+++ b/src/DataTypes.jl
@@ -272,9 +272,6 @@ mutable struct Curriculum
         if !(isvalid_curriculum(this, errors))
             printstyled("WARNING: Curriculum was created, but is invalid due to requisite cycle(s):", color = :yellow)
             println(String(take!(errors)))
-        elseif extraneous_requisites(this, errors)  # extraneous requisites only checked if the curriculum is valid
-            printstyled("WARNING: $(this.institution) Curriculum: $(this.name) contains extraneous requisite(s).\n You may list extraneous requisites using the extraneous_requisites() function.\n\n", color = :yellow)
-            take!(errors)  # flush the error buffer
         end
         return this
     end
diff --git a/src/Visualization.jl b/src/Visualization.jl
index 71236d05..21864e8a 100644
--- a/src/Visualization.jl
+++ b/src/Visualization.jl
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ using JSON
 using WebIO
 using HTTP
 using Blink
+using StatsPlots
 
 import HTTP.Messages
 
@@ -214,4 +215,69 @@ function viz_helper(plan::DegreePlan; changed, notebook, edit, hide_header=false
         )
         return w
     end
+end
+
+# Applies to scalar-valued metrics
+function metric_histogram(curricula::Array{Curriculum,1}, metric_name::AbstractString; nbins::Int=5, title::AbstractString="", 
+                           xlabel::AbstractString="", ylabel::AbstractString="", xlim::Tuple{Int64,Int64}=(0,0), ylim::Tuple{Int64,Int64}=(0,0),
+                           legend=false, alpha=0.7, color=:dodgerblue3)
+    metric_values = Array{Real,1}() 
+    if xlim == (0,0) 
+        xlower = 0
+        xupper = 0
+    end
+    for c in curricula
+        if haskey(c.metrics, metric_name)
+            if typeof(c.metrics[metric_name]) == Float64
+                value = c.metrics[metric_name]
+            elseif typeof(c.metrics[metric_name]) == Tuple{Float64,Array{Number,1}}  
+                value = c.metrics[metric_name][1]  # metric where total curricular metric as well as course-level metrics are stored in an array
+            end
+            push!(metric_values, value)
+            if (@isdefined xlower) == true
+                (value < xlower) ? xlower = value : nothing
+                (value > xupper) ? xupper = value : nothing
+            end
+        else
+            error("metric_histogram(): $(metric_name) does not exist in the metric dictionary of $(c.name)")
+        end
+    end
+    if xlim == (0,0) 
+        x_lim = (xlower, xupper)
+    else
+        x_lim = xlim
+    end
+    if ylim == (0,0)
+        y_lim = (0, length(curricula)/2)
+    else 
+        y_lim = ylim
+    end
+    StatsPlots.histogram(metric_values, nbins=nbins, title=title, xlabel=xlabel, ylabel=ylabel, xlim=x_lim, ylim=y_lim, legend=legend, 
+                     alpha=alpha, color=color)
+end
+
+# Applies to scalar-valued metrics
+function metric_boxplot(series_labels::Array{String,2}, curricula::Array{Array{Curriculum,1},1}, metric_name::AbstractString; title::AbstractString="", 
+                        xlabel::AbstractString="", ylabel::AbstractString="", legend=false, alpha=0.7, color=:dodgerblue3)
+    if length(series_labels) != length(curricula)
+        error("metric_boxplot(): the number of series_labels and the number of curricula series do not match")
+    end
+    series_ary = Array{Array{Real,1},1}()  # array of series arrays
+    for series in curricula
+        tmp_series = Array{Real,1}()
+        for c in series
+            if haskey(c.metrics, metric_name)
+                if typeof(c.metrics[metric_name]) == Float64
+                    value = c.metrics[metric_name]
+                elseif typeof(c.metrics[metric_name]) == Tuple{Float64,Array{Number,1}}  
+                    value = c.metrics[metric_name][1]  # metric where total curricular metric as well as course-level metrics are stored in an array
+                end
+                push!(tmp_series, value)
+            else
+                error("metric_boxplot(): $(metric_name) does not exist in the metric dictionary of $(c.name)")
+            end
+        end
+        append!(series_ary, [tmp_series])
+    end
+    StatsPlots.boxplot(series_labels, series_ary, title=title, xlabel=xlabel, ylabel=ylabel, legend=legend, alpha=alpha, color=color)
 end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/CurricularAnalytics.jl b/test/CurricularAnalytics.jl
index 187d2ea8..3a53440c 100644
--- a/test/CurricularAnalytics.jl
+++ b/test/CurricularAnalytics.jl
@@ -44,8 +44,8 @@ curric = Curriculum("Extraneous", [a, b, c, d], sortby_ID=false)
 
 # Test extraneous_requisites() 
 errors = IOBuffer()
-@test extraneous_requisites(curric, errors) == true
-#@test String(take!(errors)) == "\nCurriculum Extraneous contains the following extraneous requisites:\nCourse C has redundant requisite: A"
+@test length(extraneous_requisites(curric)) == 1
+
 
 # 8-vertex test curriculum - valid
 #
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ curric = Curriculum("Underwater Basket Weaving", [A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H], institution=
 # Test isvalid_curriculum() and extraneous_requisites()
 errors = IOBuffer()
 @test isvalid_curriculum(curric, errors) == true
-@test extraneous_requisites(curric, errors) == false
+@test length(extraneous_requisites(curric)) == 0
 
 # Test analytics 
 @test delay_factor(curric) == (19.0, [3.0, 3.0, 3.0, 3.0, 3.0, 2.0, 1.0, 1.0])
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ curric = Curriculum("Postmodern Basket Weaving", [A,B,C,D,E,F,G], sortby_ID=fals
 # Test isvalid_curriculum() and extraneous_requisites()
 errors = IOBuffer()
 @test isvalid_curriculum(curric, errors) == true
-@test extraneous_requisites(curric, errors) == false
+@test length(extraneous_requisites(curric)) == 0
 
 # Test analytics 
 @test delay_factor(curric) == (32.0, [5.0, 5.0, 4.0, 5.0, 3.0, 5.0, 5.0])
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ curric = Curriculum("Underwater Basket Weaving", [A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H], institution=
 # Test isvalid_curriculum() and extraneous_requisites()
 errors = IOBuffer()
 @test isvalid_curriculum(curric, errors) == true
-@test extraneous_requisites(curric, errors) == false
+@test length(extraneous_requisites(curric)) == 0
 
 # Test basic_metrics()
 basic_metrics(curric)