Department of Computational Social Science

Computational Social Science is the interdisciplinary science of complex social systems and their investigation through computational modeling and related techniques. The field is at the intersection of social science and computer science and spans anthropology, economics, political science, sociology, and social psychology - as well as allied disciplines such as geography, history, organization theory, regional science, communication, and linguistics. We additionally utilize developments in psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, and related branches of behavioral science for understanding social phenomena.

Computational approaches utilized and taught within the department include agent-based social simulation models (multi-agent systems), social network analysis, mathematical analysis based on complexity theory, social geospatial modeling methods (GIS), and automated information and content analysis methods. Through such computational methods we provide our students with a unique toolset to investigate social phenomena.