Graduate Workshop in Computational Social Science

Program Purpose and Value

Graduate-level research training is multifaceted, requiring both extensive disciplinary knowledge and exposure to novel approaches. Asking questions, looking at phenomena and data from new angles, and digging into the assumptions and caveats of methods provides new insights with which to approach one's work. For many Ph.D. students and other early-career scholars, the Graduate Workshop provides an ideal setting to critically engage with well-established and cutting-edge computational approaches to social science. With expert guidance and a small, supportive cohort, the Graduate Workshop complements and broadens the scope of each participant's academic training and their readiness to address important research questions.

                                                                                                 

Photos Credit: Doug Merriam

Program Design and Structure

Participants spend two weeks in Santa Fe, arriving Sunday for a welcome reception and introductions. Beginning Monday, participants engage in dynamic lectures and work in small groups to explore a social science research question, gaining hands-on experience with key concepts and techniques. Participants commonly identify areas for novel and effective approaches in their own work and spend the majority of the program pursuing these directions and pushing their individual research forward. 

The Schwartz House at the School for Advanced Research (SAR) is an ideal space for the unique structure of the Graduate Workshop, with private rooms and comfortable co-working spaces inside and outdoors. Participants support and collaborate with one another while gaining insights into their own work. All participants have opportunities to meet with the program directors for one-to-one advising on their current research, and all participants give a final presentation at the end of the program.

A detailed schedule is provided to admitted students in April/May, following online registration. While most activity is based at SAR, the Graduate Workshop brings all students to the Santa Fe Institute once per week for an all-day visit. 

Many participants also enjoy self-organized excursions around Santa Fe during free time, and across the Southwest after the program concludes — rounding out an experience that balances focused work with chances to connect, explore, and think together

Faculty

Program Directors John Miller and Scott Page have been leading Graduate Workshop since it began in 1993.

John Miller is SFI External Faculty and a member of SFI’s Science Steering Committee. He is a professor of economics and social science at Carnegie Mellon University. Miller's research focuses on complex adaptive social systems, behavioral economics, adaptive algorithms, and computational modeling. He was SFI's first postdoc in 1988 and he has been involved ever since, holding numerous appointments. Miller and Page are co-authors of the book Complex Adaptive Social Systems.

Scott Page is SFI External Faculty and a member of SFI’s Science Board. He holds several endowed professorships at the University of Michigan, and teaches in fields that include complexity science, social science, management, and economics. Page's research focuses on the role that diversity plays in complex systems. He's written a well-known book on the subject The Difference about the benefits of diverse groups in organizations.

Graduate Workshop faculty are experts in the field of computational social science and complexity who are passionate about training the next generation of scholars to effectively use complexity science techniques in their research.

Outcomes