About this program
MSc Computational Social Science
Use statistical and computational methods to understand society and human behaviour. The program prepares you to harness complex data and advanced computational tools to address these and other important social questions.
The increased integration of technology into our lives has created unprecedented volumes of data on everyday human behaviour. Troves of detailed social data related to choices, affiliations, preferences and interests are now digitally archived by internet service providers, media companies, other private-sector firms, and governments. New computational approaches based on predictive modeling, agent-based simulations, text analysis, and network science make it possible to analyse these data in insightful and novel ways.
This is a chance to develop skills in cutting edge computational techniques alongside a strong grounding in the principles and practice of contemporary social research. The program’s quantitative methods training will help you harness complex data and use them to explore social theories and fundamental questions about human societies. The program’s theoretical and substantive training will introduce you to the principles of social inquiry and theories of human behaviour, and help you apply your technical skills to pressing social issues such as ethnic segregation in schools, income inequality, entrepreneur- ship, political change, and cultural diffusion.
Admission requirements
- Bachelor's degree equivalent to a Swedish Kandidatexamen within one of the following subject areas:
- humanities
- cultural studies
- social sciences
- behavioural sciences
- natural sciences
- computer sciences
- engineering-sciences or equivalent
- English corresponding to the level of English in Swedish upper secondary education (English 6/B)
(Exemption from Swedish)
The deadline for submitting the online application is the 16th of January. The deadline for submitting all supporting documentation is the 1st of February. Documents that are submitted after the deadline will make the whole application late, and possibly not considered for most of the programmes.
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Learn moreProgram content
Semester 1
- Logic of Social Inquiry
- Statistics and Data Science I
- Behavioural Mechanisms in the Social Sciences
- Statistics and Data Science II
Semester 2
- Discrete Choice Modelling
- Social Network Analysis
- Agent-Based Modelling
- Digital Strategies for Social Science Research
Semester 3
- Inequality and Segregation: Theory and Measurement
- Big Data: Social Processes and Ethical Issues
- Computational Approaches to the Study of Cultural Markets and Social Dynamics
- Computational Approaches to the Study of Organizations
Semester 4
- Master’s Thesis in Computational Social Science
Scholarships & funding
Linköping University (LiU) offers a limited number of scholarships to outstanding international students. For some programs and nationalities, it is also possible to apply for a scholarship through the Swedish Institute. There are also other funding opportunities for studies in Sweden.
For more information, please visit the website.
Tuition
SEK 190000 - NB: Applies only to students from outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland.
Qualification
Degree of Master of Science (120 credits) with a major in Computational Social Science.
Career paths
The skills you develop in social theory and data analysis during the program are in high demand in the private sector and in government. Graduates will be qualified to pursue social science research in a number of roles: data analyst, marketing analyst, sales researcher, user experience researcher, policy analyst, etc. After graduation, you will also qualify for many PhD programs.
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About this institute
Linköping University
Linköping University (LiU) was granted university status in 1975 and today has 37,600 students (full-time equivalents 19,200), including 2,000 international students. In 2022, LiU landed on spot 38 of the Times Higher Education ranking of the world’s young universities. This is...
Why study at Linköping University
Linköping University welcomes students from all over the world, and English is widely spoken everywhere by its 2,000 international students, or about 6% of its student population. Many doctoral students and researchers are international.
We rank highly: LiU has been named as one of the world’s 200 best universities in education, materials science, sociology and electrical and electronic engineering, according to this year’s QS World University Rankings by Subject.
Good prospects: A degree from LiU makes you a highly sought after employee. An impressive 88% of our students are employed within 18 months of graduating.
Research that makes a difference: What makes Linköping University special is the lack of boundaries between different subjects and faculties, which has resulted in world-leading research environments and companies as well as a number of truly cross-disciplinary study programs.
Contact info
Linköping University
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