Computational Social and Political Science 24 months Postgraduate Programme By University of Milan |TopUniversities
Subject Ranking

# 201-250QS Subject Rankings

Programme Duration

24 monthsProgramme duration

Main Subject Area

Economics and EconometricsMain Subject Area

Programme overview

Main Subject

Economics and Econometrics

Degree

MA

Study Level

Masters

Study Mode

On Campus

The Master's Degree Programme in Computational Social and Political Science (CSPS) equips students with the knowledge and competences needed to provide empirically-grounded and theoretically-informed explanations of political and social phenomena applying computational and quantitative methods of analysis to quantitative and qualitative data. Entirely taught in English, the program combines the hypothesis-driven deductive approach typical of the social sciences with the inductive approach of data science, enabling students to develop a robust conceptual, methodological, and practical repertoire for empirically grounded analysis of social and political phenomena. Graduates are able to conduct projects in social and political research, with observational or experimental research designs, with the aim of testing theoretically-grounded hypotheses, exploring aggregate phenomena and trends, and developing evidence-based proposals for political and social interventions. Students work with primary survey data, digital data (including social media data), and secondary data, including numerical and textual data, to be collected, managed and analyzed using statistical or computational models, large language models, machine learning, and statistical learning techniques. By integrating attention to theory, qualitative data and factors, and advanced computational techniques, students are stimulated to develop a mindset for causal inference and fine-grained detection of generative, causal mechanisms driving complex socio-political outcomes, including collective opinions, social dynamics, and political trends.

Throughout the Programme, students receive extensive, integrated, and cutting-edge training in analytic methods, statistics, and computational science. Students are equipped with solid methodological foundations by means of a compact training on different designs for social research and policy analysis and evaluation. The focus is on survey, experimental, and computational approaches, and will be supported by appropriate foundations in computer programming and data management, including related ethical and legal issues. Course topics include state-of-the-art techniques in multivariate analysis, machine learning, text-as-data, social network analysis and network science, causal inference, and agent-based computer simulation models. Epistemological frameworks, disciplinary theories and qualitative insights and data from the field are incorporated as the context supporting an informed use of each modelling technique.

The courses include a substantial amount of practical training, as well as individual and group project activities, closely connected with real-world data and case studies. The teaching methods aim to foster the methodological posture of computational social and political scientists, enabling students to approach the analysis of political and social phenomena starting from the formulation of relevant, empirically testable hypotheses, linking phenomena to models, designing consistent procedures for data collection and evidence mapping, and evaluating the implications of results in terms of strategic political decisions, intervention and evaluation.

The Programme requires the attainment of 84 credits from compulsory exams, including 27 credits from courses on observational and experimental designs for computational political and social research, 6 credits in computer science methods for large language models, 6 credits on ethical and legal issues related to data and computational analyses, and 45 credits on computational and statistical models for survey, digital, network, and text data. In addition, students acquire 12 credits from other additional elective and optional activities, 9 credits from internships (6 for students who need to earn 3 ECTS for Italian language A2), and 15 credits for the final thesis are provided.

Programme overview

Main Subject

Economics and Econometrics

Degree

MA

Study Level

Masters

Study Mode

On Campus

The Master's Degree Programme in Computational Social and Political Science (CSPS) equips students with the knowledge and competences needed to provide empirically-grounded and theoretically-informed explanations of political and social phenomena applying computational and quantitative methods of analysis to quantitative and qualitative data. Entirely taught in English, the program combines the hypothesis-driven deductive approach typical of the social sciences with the inductive approach of data science, enabling students to develop a robust conceptual, methodological, and practical repertoire for empirically grounded analysis of social and political phenomena. Graduates are able to conduct projects in social and political research, with observational or experimental research designs, with the aim of testing theoretically-grounded hypotheses, exploring aggregate phenomena and trends, and developing evidence-based proposals for political and social interventions. Students work with primary survey data, digital data (including social media data), and secondary data, including numerical and textual data, to be collected, managed and analyzed using statistical or computational models, large language models, machine learning, and statistical learning techniques. By integrating attention to theory, qualitative data and factors, and advanced computational techniques, students are stimulated to develop a mindset for causal inference and fine-grained detection of generative, causal mechanisms driving complex socio-political outcomes, including collective opinions, social dynamics, and political trends.

Throughout the Programme, students receive extensive, integrated, and cutting-edge training in analytic methods, statistics, and computational science. Students are equipped with solid methodological foundations by means of a compact training on different designs for social research and policy analysis and evaluation. The focus is on survey, experimental, and computational approaches, and will be supported by appropriate foundations in computer programming and data management, including related ethical and legal issues. Course topics include state-of-the-art techniques in multivariate analysis, machine learning, text-as-data, social network analysis and network science, causal inference, and agent-based computer simulation models. Epistemological frameworks, disciplinary theories and qualitative insights and data from the field are incorporated as the context supporting an informed use of each modelling technique.

The courses include a substantial amount of practical training, as well as individual and group project activities, closely connected with real-world data and case studies. The teaching methods aim to foster the methodological posture of computational social and political scientists, enabling students to approach the analysis of political and social phenomena starting from the formulation of relevant, empirically testable hypotheses, linking phenomena to models, designing consistent procedures for data collection and evidence mapping, and evaluating the implications of results in terms of strategic political decisions, intervention and evaluation.

The Programme requires the attainment of 84 credits from compulsory exams, including 27 credits from courses on observational and experimental designs for computational political and social research, 6 credits in computer science methods for large language models, 6 credits on ethical and legal issues related to data and computational analyses, and 45 credits on computational and statistical models for survey, digital, network, and text data. In addition, students acquire 12 credits from other additional elective and optional activities, 9 credits from internships (6 for students who need to earn 3 ECTS for Italian language A2), and 15 credits for the final thesis are provided.

Admission Requirements

5.5+
72+

In order to ensure high quality education (in particular with respect to the capacity constraints necessary to run laboratories, and to hold individual and group presentations in some courses), the maximum number of students who can enroll in the Master's Degree programme in Computational Social and Political Science is set at 35, plus 10 places reserved for international non-EU candidates residing abroad. Applicants will be selected on the basis of an entrance test, according to the procedures defined in the admission notice.


1. Curricular requirements

Candidates for admission to the Programme may have different Bachelor's degrees, but they must have obtained at least 30 ECTS in computer science, mathematics, applied physics, statistics or econometrics (scientific disciplinary sectors: from MAT-01 to MAT-09, INF-01, ING-INF/05; from SECS-S/01 to SECS-S/06; SECS-P/05) and/or in the area of political science and sociology (scientific disciplinary sectors: SPS/04 and from SPS/07 to SPS/12), with a minimum requirements of 12 credits in the area of political science and sociology (scientific disciplinary sectors: SPS/04 and from SPS/07 to SPS/12) and at least 9 in the area of statistics (scientific disciplinary sectors: from SECS-S/01 to SECS-S/06; SECS-P/05).

Students who do not meet the requirement of 12 credits in the area of political science and sociology will be offered 4 online MOOCs (3 credits each one) in the area of political science and sociology available at the University's Digital Education Hub with a compulsory online exam to be taken online in front of a committee appointed by the Degree Program before enrolment.


2. Proficiency in English

Proficiency in English at a B2 level or higher per the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is required for admission.

2 Years

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