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2009-2010 University Catalog
Computational Social Science, MS (pending SCHEV approval)
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Banner Code: KR-MS-CSS
The CSS MS program will prepare students to be members of project teams working at government agencies, think tanks, and contractors, contributing to background research and to project design, execution, and communication. CSS MS graduates following the thesis option will also be prepared to enter research-oriented PhD programs in both computational and social science.
Upon completion of the program, students will: understand the complex systems foundations of CSS; gain exposure to the most current and significant ongoing work in CSS; understand the structure and design of CSS models; be able to design and execute basic CSS models; and understand the technical foundations and current work in at least two CSS subfields (such as but not limited to social network analysis, computational economics, finance, or game theory, the emergence of social complexity, and spatial agent-based modeling).
Admissions Requirements
The Fall semester is the normal time of entry into the program, with February 15th of each year as the deadline for receiving applications. Prior background should include a Bachelor’s degree in either one of the social sciences, in computer science, engineering, or in a relevant discipline, as well as undergraduate courses in these and related areas. Bachelor’s degrees in other areas are also eligible, but the student may be required to take additional courses in social science, mathematics or computer science as prerequisites to admission.
Application materials should be submitted to the CSS Graduate Admissions Processing Center and must include the following:
1) Completed application form;
2) Official transcripts for all undergraduate (minimum overall 3.0 GPA) and previous graduate courses, minimally including pre-calculus and one course in statistics;
3) An updated curriculum vitae;
4) Three letters of recommendation by faculty members or individuals with direct knowledge of the student’s academic or professional capabilities;
5) A statement of purpose (maximum 2000 words) outlining the student’s interest in and preparation for the program;
6) The names of two faculty members who may be suitable as advisors;
7) Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores taken within the past five years prior to the date of application submission;
8) Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) as per GMU policies.
No specific set of qualifications guarantees admission to the program.
CSS Graduate Admissions Processing Center
Rm 382 Research I Bldg
4400 University Drive, MS 6B2
Fairfax, VA 22030
Students should also review the university-wide graduate admissions standards and procedures discussed in the Admission section of this catalog. |
Degree Requirements
The program requires a total of 36 credit hours, distributed among the following categories of courses: a required core (18 credits); electives (9 credits); a research course (3 credits); and either a comprehensive exam, a project, or a thesis option (6 credits). Core Courses (18 credits):
9 credit hours of required CSS Courses
to provide understanding of the conceptual, technical, and practical foundations of computational social science: 9 credit hours of core electives chosen from the following list
to provide understanding of the technical foundations and current work in at least two CSS subfields: Electives (9-15 credits):
9-15 credit hours of master’s-level courses in computational social science, social science, computer science, statistics, and other quantitative methods such as data visualization, information technology, and geographic information science. These courses should be selected in conjunction with, and approved by, the student’s advisor and the director of the MS program. If the student does not have prior coursework in multivariate statistical analysis, at least one such course relevant for the student’s chosen specialization should be included in these credits. Research Course (3 credits) chosen from the following:
Note:
The purpose of non-core courses is to allow students to acquire a substantive specialization in a given area and acquire additional training in social and computational science. Note that in some instances the specialization may also have a strong methodological component, as is the case for GIS-supported agent-based social simulation modeling and other CSS specializations with strong methodological content. Comprehensive exam, project, or thesis options (6 credits):
Students following the comprehensive exam option must complete an additional 6 credits of elective courses. These students will then take a standardized, written comprehensive exam at the end of the final academic year of their program. The exam will be designed and graded by a comprehensive exam committee of at least three faculty members, including the director of the CSS MS program and two additional appointed faculty members. The exam will include questions based on the content of the three CSS core courses and a choice of field questions based on the core electives completed by the students taking the exam in that year. Exams will be graded fail, conditional pass (conditions can include a requirement for a written or oral follow-up to examiner’s comments), pass, and high pass.
Students following the project option must complete an additional 3 credits of elective courses, form a three-person faculty committee to review their project and complete 3 credits of CSS 798 (Research Project). A CSS project is an original technical exercise, such as design and execution of an original experimental using an existing model, a model-to-model comparison, empirical analysis of data generated by a computational model, or implementation and documentation of a simple model in a package such as Netlogo or Mason. The project should be documented through a technical report, which is approved by the student’s three-person committee. The student will also be required to hold a public presentation of their project (such as through the CSS brown bag seminar series or an external conference).
Students following the thesis option must form a three-person thesis committee, complete 6 units of CSS 799 (Master’s Thesis), and complete and defend a thesis. The thesis should involve independent, original research suitable for submission to a peer-reviewed conference or journal. |
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