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Eligibility

SICSS-West/Central Africa is designed for and restricted to undergraduate students, Ph.D. students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty members that are within 3 years of receiving their Ph.D. or are untenured. However, there are no restrictions based on citizenship, country of study, or country of employment. About 20 participants will be invited (which could increase given successful fundraising efforts).

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, 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.

How To Apply

To apply, applicants must fill out the following form requesting the information listed below, or submit the following documents via email to benjaminfields@berkeley.edu or hugue@publicpolicyafrica.org with “SICSS West/Central Africa 2022 Application” as the subject.

SUBMISSION FORM

1. A curriculum vitae.
2. A 500 word statement describing both your current research projects and interest in computational social science
3. One writing sample of no more than 35 pages (co-authored work is acceptable for the writing sample, but if you submit co-authored work, we recommend that you include a few sentences in the email body describing the contributions of each individual author).
4. A research proposal of no more than 2,500 words outlining the following: a. Title b. Background of proposed research c. Identification of the academic subfield (for example development economics or agricultural economics) d. A short literature review (of about 10 sources) e. A summary of key debates and developments in the field f. Research questions g. Theoretical approach h. Research approach i. Methods approach j. A discussion of the advantages and limitations of proposed research

In order to be guaranteed full consideration, all application materials must be submitted by Friday, April 1, 2022 at 11:59PM West Africa Time (WAT). All application materials must be submitted through email. Applications that are not complete by the deadline may not receive full consideration. We will notify applicants solely through e-mail by April 15, 2022, and will ask participants to confirm their participation very soon thereafter.

SUBMISSION FORM

Inquiries can be sent to benjaminfields@berkeley.edu or hugue@publicpolicyafrica.org.

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-West/Central Africa, 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-West/Central Africa 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.