Eligibility
We invite applications from PhD candidates and early career researchers (ECRs) / postdocs from any institution in Australia. However, we do not limit participation exclusively to academics and welcome applications from other relevant areas. All backgrounds and fields of study will be considered, as this interdisciplinary environment is a core component of the program. Approximately 20 participants will be invited.
Since it is, first and foremost, a learning opportunity, some materials will be provided in advance and remain available during and after the program. That is, participants with less experience in 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 the SICSS boot camp.
We evaluate applications along a number of dimensions:
- Likelihood to benefit from participation.
- Likelihood to contribute to the educational experience of other participants.
- Potential to promote computational social science to new communities and areas of research.
- Research and teaching in the area of computational social science and closely related fields.
- Creating open-source software, curating public datasets, and creating educational opportunities for others.
When making our evaluations, we carefully account for an applicant’s career stage and previous educational/professional opportunities.
How To Apply
To apply, please complete the form below. You will be asked to provide, in addition to some basic information, a cover letter with your current curriculum vitae in ONE document (PDF or Word). The cover letter should help us understand why you are interested in SICSS and how it aligns with your current research and career goals. It would also be helpful for us to learn more about your experience in computational social science or relevant fields, e.g., coding, collecting and analysing large amounts of data, performing statistical analysis, doing process tracing or causal inference, etc. Our goal is to build a cohort of people excelling in their own areas, and use it as a leverage and opportunity to learn more, bringing scholars from different areas of research together.
Note: If you are based outside of Melbourne, you will have the opportunity within the form to request a limited, needs-based travel bursary. In the corresponding field, please tell us what expenses you will require assistance with, estimated costs of your flights, and accomodation arrangements. Unfortunately, only a limited number of bursaries is available and while we will do our best to offer as much assistance as we can, the applicants are encouraged to use their own institutional funding where available.
All application materials must be submitted by 30 April 2026. Applications that are not complete by the deadline may not receive full consideration. We will notify applicants regarding the outcome of their application in early May 2026. Then, we will ask accepted participants to confirm their participation.
If the form below did not load, please reload the page or use this direct link instead: SICSS-Melbourne 2026 Application Form
Inquiries can be sent to …
Application Form
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-Melbourne, 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 application under review at two locations simultaneously.
Can I participate in SICSS-Melbourne if I have already participated in SICSS at another location?
Unfortunately, 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.
The Australian Internet Observatory received co-investment from the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) through the HASS and Indigenous Research Data Commons. The ARDC is enabled by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). Please share your feedback by emailing us at aio@rmit.edu.au.