The LUMACSS study plan at a glance

Modules

The four LUMACSS modules combine various disciplines such as economics, political science, sociology, law, history and the computational sciences. The broad-based programme also develops statistical and computational methods and thus builds the key skills for the future job market. Coursework comprises a total of 120 ECTS and includes a final master’s thesis and its defence.

1. Social Sciences

This module (20 ECTS) combines courses from political science, history, sociology, economics and law. Coursework covers topics such as the digital economy, big data, comparative media systems, public opinion and Internet law. This module teaches computational scientists the fundamentals of the social sciences while social scientists learn about the manifold aspects and effects of the digitization of modern societies, economies and polities. Students benefit from small-group interactions with experienced faculty and academic peers beyond the confines of their own discipline.

Courses include:

• Foundations of Political Behaviour and Communication
• Big Data – Challenges and opportunities from a sociological perspective
• Internet Law
• Frontiers of Public Opinion
• Comparative Media Systems
• Digital Economy, Data and Online Journalism
• …

2.  Statistics and Quantitative Methods

This module (21 ECTS) comprises courses aimed at building students’ scientific literacy. Coursework teaches how to develop rigorous research designs, how to apply appropriate statistical techniques and to master statistical programming, how to replicate real scientific papers and how to find, describe, analyze and visualize social science data. The philosophy driving this module is that “hands-on” applications are part of the learning process.

Courses include:

• Research Design and Quantitative Methods
• Replication of Published Scientific Studies
• Introduction to R
• Data Access, Management and Visualization in R
• Statistical Programming
• …

3. Computational Sciences and Digital Skills

This module (22 ECTS) develops multiple key skill sets: data literacy and management skills for dealing with increasingly complex data systems, including data access, handling and storage; computational skills for navigating the Big Data world, including Cloud Computing, Text Analytics, Python programming, Data visualization, Network Analysis, Social Media APIs. This module provides first-class expertise and training to meet the challenges of the datafication era and to seize its opportunities.

Courses include:

• Data Management and computation science skills
• Network analysis with big data
• Python programming
• Data Visualization
• Scraping and Data Mining
• …

This module is supported by swissuniversities and offered in association with the European University Institute in Florence. In the field of computational social sciences we are also actively connected to our international research collaborator, the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.

4. Practical Skills

This module (22 ECTS) offers students three pathways towards acquiring practical skills and towards preparing for future job markets:

1. Internships. The LUMACSS internship programme provides initial professional experience in innovative firms (established companies or young fast-growing start-ups in the field of digitization).
2. Capstone projects. These enable students to breathe life into their ideas and to carry these into actual practice. Examples include building a digital application or a Big Data tool, or devising an analytical solution for social media marketing. Capstone projects promote gaining hands-on experience with the tools and skills learned in theory, and thus enable students to  experience digital challenges close-up (e.g. from data acquisition to analysis and reporting, or from application development to deployment and reporting). Further information below
3. Electives. The Practical Skills module enables students to specialize in particular areas through attending further LUMACSS courses.