From July 6 to July 17, 2026 the University of Washington will host a Summer Institute in Computational Social Science (SICSS-UW) in Seattle, WA. SICSS-UW will draw from the vibrant quantitative social science landscape at UW, with particular contributions from the eScience Institute, Center for Statistics & the Social Sciences, Center for the Studies of Demography and Ecology, Department of Sociology and Department of Statistics. We will bring together 25-30 graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, faculty, and data science practitioners for an intensive two-week program at the intersection of artificial intelligence and social science research.
Mission: Bridge the gap between AI innovation and social science applications through hands-on learning, collaborative research, and open science practices.
The instructional program will involve lectures, workshops, and participant-led research projects, with a special emphasis on AI-centered computational social science. Our curriculum addresses critical challenges in responsible AI development and social science methodology. Topics covered include reinforcement learning, natural language processing, machine learning bias, AI agents, federated learning, studying online communities with AI tools, data science with communities in the loop, and AI ethics and social good applications. There will also be outside speakers who conduct computational social science research in a variety of settings, such as academia, industry, and government—including experts from UW, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, and leading tech companies.
Participation is restricted to Ph.D. students, postdoctoral researchers, early junior faculty, and data journalists. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and fields of study, especially researchers with limited computational methods experience, promoting diversity in AI and social science. About 25-30 participants will be invited. Participants are expected to fully attend and participate in the entire two-week program, but we are open to alternative arrangements as requested.
Instructions on how to apply are available on the Apply page, and applications are due on May 22, 2026.