June 14 to June 25, 2021 | Rutgers University | Virtual event
Participation is restricted to doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers, and untenured faculty. We are especially interested in applicants whose research seeks to contribute to the study of social progress, broadly conceived. This includes research related to identity, inequality, conflict, and cooperation. We welcome applications from all fields of study and encourage those from individuals in groups currently under-represented in computational social science. There are no restrictions based on citizenship, country of study, or country of employment.
The Summer Institute aims to bring together computational social scientists across all levels of technical experience. Participants with less experience with social science research will be expected to complete additional readings in advance of the Institute. Coding experience is not required, although individuals with less experience coding will be expected to successfully complete a series of rigorous learning modules on the R programming language. Students doing this preparatory work will be supported by a teaching assistant who will hold online office hours during the two months before the Institute.
We evaluate applicants along a number of dimensions: 1) research in the area of computational social science 2) contributions to public goods, such as creating open source software, curating public datasets, and creating educational opportunities for others 3) likelihood to benefit from participation 4) likelihood to contribute to the educational experience of other participants 5) potential to spread computational social science to new intellectual communities and areas of research. Further, when making our evaluations, we attempt to account for an applicant’s career stage and previous educational opportunities.
Applicants must submit the following documents: (i) a curriculum vitae, (ii) a research statement (three pages, maximum) detailing your current position and research interests, experience and/or interest in computational social science, and reasons for applying to the institute with an eye toward addressing each element of how we indicate applications will be evaluated and (iii) one writing sample, not exceeding 35 pages. The writing sample can be published or unpublished working paper, seminar paper, or prospectus. It need not demonstrate knowledge of computational social science. A successful working paper will amplify the other parts of your application by showcasing substantive interests, computational interest or skill, and/or your general research skills.
In order to be guaranteed full consideration, all application materials must be submitted by March 22 through the Google form available here: https://forms.gle/b1EoxXHF9xYLypMV9. Applications that are not complete by the deadline may not receive full consideration. We will notify applicants solely through e-mail by April 15, and will ask participants to confirm their participation very soon thereafter.
Inquiries can be sent to sicssrutgers@gmail.com.
You can host a partner location of the Summer Institutes of Computational Social Science (SICSS) at your university, company, NGO, or government agency.