I am the Faculty Director of the Master of Computational Social Science (MaCSS) program at Berkeley, which will welcome our first cohort of students in fall 2024.
MaCSS is intended for people with BAs in the social sciences who are in the early career stage (0-5 years post-BA). The program will train students in computational methods and applied statistical analysis, deepen their understanding of data-driven social-science research, and provide guidance about careers in data analytics.
The program is integrative: all courses (except career development) involve applied statistics, computing tools and techniques, social-science theory and evidence, albeit with different emphases, and ethics. For example, the applied statistics courses will emphasize statistics, but will require students to deploy computational tools to do data analysis, will focus on analyzing data that relate to social-science questions, and will engage with ethical issues. This integration will give students repeated hands-on experience with statistics and computing tools, guided by social-science theory and evidence.
The program’s heavy emphasis on social science will ensure a more ethically responsible implementation of data science and interpretation of data. Student teams will also collaborate on an applied capstone project. Finally, for students who have not taken advanced undergraduate statistics and/or have little experience with computing, we will offer a summer boot camp in applied statistics and computing before enrollment. Students can waive out of the boot camp through exams.
