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Eligibility

Though participation in SICSS is typically restricted to graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and untenured faculty within 7 years of their Ph.D, we will be considering applications from advanced undergraduates as well. There are no restrictions based on citizenship, country of study, or country of employment. About 20-25 participants will be invited.

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, and participants with less experience coding will be expected to complete SICSS boot camp. 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 welcome applicants from all backgrounds and fields of study, especially applicants from groups currently under-represented in computational social science. We evaluate applicants along a number of dimensions: 1) research and teaching in the area of computational social science 2) contributions to public goods, such as creating open source software, curating public datasets, creating educational opportunities for others, and addressing social problems using empirical methods 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 and application. Further, when making our evaluations, we attempt to account for an applicant’s career stage and previous educational opportunities.

How To Apply

Applicants must submit the following documents: (i) a curriculum vitae, (ii) a statement (maximum three pages) describing both any current research and your interest in computational social science, (iii) one writing sample (no more than 35 pages). In addition, graduate students will be asked to provide the contact information for one faculty referee (who will be contacted only for short-listed applicants). Co-authored work is acceptable for the writing sample, but if you submit co-authored work, please include a few sentences describing the contributions of each individual author

All application materials must be submitted through our application portal beginning February 1. Applications submitted by March 13 will be ensured of full consideration. We will notify applicants solely through e-mail beginning March 15, and will ask participants to confirm their participation very soon thereafter.

Inquiries can be sent to sicss.southflorida@gmail.com.

Application Frequently Asked Questions

Can I apply to more than one Summer Institute location?

Yes, but not at the same time. For example, you can apply to SICSS-South Florida, and then if you are not accepted you can apply to one of the other locations if it has a later deadline. However, you cannot have an applications under review at two locations simultaneously.

Can I participate in SICSS-South Florida if I have already participated in SICSS at another location?

No. Every year we have more applicants than we can accept, and we would like everyone to have a chance to participate in SICSS once before we allow folks to participate twice.

What can I expect from SICSS-South Florida?

You can learn more about what to expect in SICSS-South Florida in this 8 min video.