CSS Ph.D. Specialization

CSS Ph.D. Affiliates who are interested in getting official recognition of their CSS work may formally apply to join the CSS specialization, resulting in formal recognition of their CSS Specialization on their Ph.D. Diploma (e.g. 'Linguistics with Specialization in CSS'). This is open to any UCSD student (students applying from a department outside of the School of Social Sciences should contact the advising team first), although UCSD regulations prohibit students from having multiple specializations.

As you'll need to know your dissertation topic and committee members as a part of the application, students will formally apply to join the Specialization shortly before advancing to candidacy (e.g. form a dissertation committee and defend your prospectus/qualifying paper).

CSS Ph.D. Specialization Curriculum Requirements

Students in the graduate specialization in Computational Social Science are expected to complete all Ph.D. requirements of their home department.  

To satisfy the requirements of the specialization, students will also have to complete:

1. A total of three courses from the list below, with the following requirements:
   1. At least one of which must not count towards their home department Ph.D. requirements.
   2. At least one of the selected classes must be from the subset of “advanced data” courses.
   3. Only one total undergraduate upper division course from the list below is permitted towards satisfaction of the specialization.  
   4. All three elective courses must be taken for a letter grade. 
2. Three quarters of CSS 209. Computational Social Science Research Seminar, a weekly seminar series to be offered quarterly in fall, winter, and spring. These formal talks will provide one of several opportunities for serendipitous interaction and deeper discussion across the various sub-disciplines of computational social science.  
3. Appointment to the dissertation committee of at least one CSS affiliated faculty member not affiliated with the student’s home department.**
4. Satisfactory completion of a dissertation including a technical and/or computational social science component.

Electives

*Limited to students whose home department is Political Science

**If you have identified a faculty member from outside of your department who is not affiliated with CSS but whom you believe would be a valuable addition to your committee (even if just in using similar methodology regularly), please reach out to us to discuss the potential affiliation of this faculty member with the CSS program.

CSS Ph.D. Specialization Application Requirements

To apply for the specialization, you'll need to have all of the following information (which means you'll be completing this form around the same time as you form your dissertation committee and advance to candidacy).

• A list of relevant coursework taken including grades earned in those courses
• Any remaining planned coursework to complete the specialization
• Statement expressing how your dissertation research relates to CSS 
• CV
• Which CSS Faculty Affiliate from outside your department will serve on your dissertation committee (per the requirements of the specialization)
• The student’s primary research advisor and chair of their department must endorse the request via docusign 

If you are attempting to apply after you have already advanced to candidacy, applications will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and if your dissertation committee doesn't already include an external CSS affiliate member, you will be asked to re-constitute your committee to meet the requirements of the specialization.

If you have questions about this process, email css-advising-g@ucsd.edu.  

Steps to Apply: 

•     Complete the CSS Ph.D Specialization Admissions Form 
  • A copy of your responses will be sent to your email. Please save your copy since it is required for the second step.
•     Complete the CSS Specialization Acknowledgement Form  via docusign. 

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and students will be approved by the CSS Steering Committee at regular meetings. Don't worry about the precise timing relative to (e.g.) your advancement to candidacy, if you meet the criteria and complete the requirements, we'll make it work.