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MSc Social Data Science

MSc (NFQ Level 9)
Internships Available

This course is available through the following application route(s)

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The MSc in Social Data Science is a one year taught programme with strong interdisciplinary features and components across social and computational sciences. It equips students with a range of social scientific, computational, informational, statistical, and visualisation skills, for curation and analysis of large or complex data that arise from human activities and interactions in the digital world.

Students will receive training in sociological analysis, as well as core coding and programming skills, allowing them to avail of emergent computational methods and technologies to tackle real-world societal challenges, and inform decision making processes. Students may opt to complete an internship as part of their studies. The MSc in Social Data Science is suitable for graduates of social science or computer science programmes.

 

UCD School of Sociology is the leading centre for sociological research and the largest teaching centre for sociology in Ireland. The School has played and continues to play a key role in the development of sociology in Ireland.

About This Course

Nearly every aspect of our lives today leave digital traces. Leveraging this massive sea of information, requires both a judicious understanding of how substantive and social scientific questions drive the data analysis and the skill and training to use scalable data science tools. 

On successful completion, the student should be able to:

● Demonstrate a core knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of social data science, data requirements and techniques

● Construct, synthesize, evaluate, interpret, and report theories and evidence in an open, analytical and critical manner.

● Apply problem solving skills in a variety of different contexts.

● Apply appropriate data science techniques to address domain specific research problems, 

● Discuss, present and communicate their research ideas, data and results within a group setting and in one-to-one communication. 

A wide range of different organizations including government departments, semi-state bodies, private companies in IT, finance and consultancy, as well as sectors such as education, health and social welfare are now exploring the benefits of combining large and complex data resources, including administrative data, for decision making and resource use. The MSc in Social Data Science at the UCD is ideal for graduates who want to upskill and avail of these excellent employment opportunities. It is designed to enable individuals to combine their social science and/or cognate training with strong technical and analytical skills, and to exploit the wide range of digitised and digital data now accessible by public and private sector organisations.

 

Graduate students are offered the opportunity to either complete a Thesis /dissertaion (30 credits)



OR undertake an Internship and Project (30 Credits). 



***Internship placements are secured through a competitive process and are not guaranteed.



Please contact the school directly for more information on these opportunities: sociology@ucd.ie 


Below is a list of all modules offered for this degree in the current academic year. Click on the module to discover what you will learn in the module, how you will learn and assessment feedback profile amongst other information.

Incoming Stage 1 undergraduates can usually select an Elective in the Spring Trimester. Most continuing undergraduate students can select up to two Elective modules (10 Credits) per stage. There is also the possibility to take up to 10 extra Elective credits.

Module Type Module   Trimester Credits
Stage 1 Core Modules
 SOC40640 Social Simulation: Methods and Models Autumn  10
Stage 1 Core Modules
 SOC41200 Research Design Autumn  10
Stage 1 Core Modules
 SOC41130 AI and Society Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 COMP10010 Introduction to Programming I Autumn  5
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 COMP10030 Algorithmic Problem Solving Autumn  5
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 COMP40610 Information Visualisation Autumn  5
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 COMP47340 Computational Thinking (Conversion) Autumn  5
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 COMP47460 Machine Learning (Blended Delivery) Autumn  5
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 GEOG40770 GIS for Environmental Assessment Autumn  5
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 POL40950 Introduction to Statistics Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 SOC30710 Historical Sociology Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 SOC30740 Sociology of climate change Autumn  5
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 SOC40330 Workshop in Qualitative Research Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 SOC40720 Organised Violence and Society Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 SOC41160 Global Solutions and Applied Social Change Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 SPOL40470 Comparing Healthcare Systems Autumn  10
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 STAT30340 Data Programming with R Autumn  5
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 STAT40400 Monte Carlo Inference Autumn  5
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 COMP47670 Data Science in Python (MD) Autumn and Spring (separate)  5
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 COMP47750 Machine Learning with Python Autumn and Spring (separate)  5
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 COMP10020 Introduction to Programming II Spring  5
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 COMP30110 Spatial Information Systems Spring  5
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 COMP47580 Recommender Systems & Collective Intelligence Spring  5
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 CSOC30030 Advanced Computational Social Science Spring  5
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 ECON42720 Causal Inference & Policy Evaluation Spring  5
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 POL42050 Quantitative Text Analysis Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 POL42340 Programming for Soc Scientists Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 SOC40620 Nationalism and Social Change Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 SOC40790 Art, Knowledge & Social Change Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 SOC41060 Religion in Compar Perspective Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 SOC41120 Human Development Challenges in the Global South Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 SOC41150 Queering Global Challenges Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - A)30CR:
Students must choose a maximum of 30 credits of which 10 credits must be at level 4 from the list of options. Students must select 10 credits in the Autumn and 20 credits in the Spring Trimester from the list of Options. The maximum amount of credits allowed per one trimester is 30.
 SOC41170 Conflict, justice and the industries of peace Spring  10
Stage 1 Options - B) Min 1 of:
Students must either take SOC40140 OR, alternatively both SOC41010 AND SOC41020. A maximum of 30 credits in total must be chosen from this section.
 SOC40140 Dissertation Summer  30
Stage 1 Options - B) Min 1 of:
Students must either take SOC40140 OR, alternatively both SOC41010 AND SOC41020. A maximum of 30 credits in total must be chosen from this section.
 SOC41010 Capstone Research Project Summer  15
Stage 1 Options - B) Min 1 of:
Students must either take SOC40140 OR, alternatively both SOC41010 AND SOC41020. A maximum of 30 credits in total must be chosen from this section.
 SOC41020 Internship Summer  15

Zachary Porter 
Graduate, MSc Social Data Science

As a student entering the MSc in Social Data Science with a background in Sociology, I had little experience in professional or
academic coding environments. However, I was compelled to enter the program as it offered the opportunity for me to study and
apply the tools of Data Science to the social issues linked to the development of AI through different quantitative and qualitative methods.
Throughout the year, I was able to learn coding languages such as Python and R, how and when to use Large Language Models and other Generative AI scientifically and ethically, as well as how to develop and conduct my own research.

Although the program was intense and at points challenging, the professors demonstrated a strong interest in both the education and the well-being of my class. Thanks to their supervision and guidance, I was able to acquire theoretical and practical skills through the MSc in Social Data Science that are directly applicable to both a career in the business and the academic world.

MSc Social Data Science (W559) Full Time
EU          fee per year - € 9100
nonEU    fee per year - € 22600

MSc Social Data Science (W560) Part Time
EU          fee per year - € 5460
nonEU    fee per year - € 11300

***Fees are subject to change


Fee information is available at www.ucd.ie/fees

Please note that UCD offers a number of graduate scholarships for full-time, self-funding international students, holding an offer of a place on a UCD graduate degree programme. For more information see http://www.ucd.ie/international

Applicants will be required to hold a 2.1 Honours degree or equivalent in a computational science discipline, and to show evidence for strong interest in social science research; Or to hold a 2.1 Honours degree or equivalent in a social science disciplines and to show evidence for strong interest in obtaining, or existing computational skills. Additionally, excellent academic references are required.
This degree programme includes modules from Computer Science, which involves logical understanding and reasoning and therefore applicants must be able to demonstrate good evidence of algorithmic thinking.
All applicants will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and relevant work experience will be taken into account, so that in certain cases an award at a 2.2 classification may be considered.
Students whose first language is not English will need a recognised English language qualification. On the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) students will need to achieve an average score of 6.5 over all components and a minimum of 6.0 in each band on the Academic Version. More details are available through the UCD International Office at http://www.ucd.ie/international/study-at-ucd-global/ucdenglishlanguagerequirements/
These are the minimum entry requirements – additional criteria may be requested for some programmes
 

Full Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. Yes

Part Time option suitable for:

Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes
International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. Yes


Applicants will be required to hold a 2.1 Honours degree or equivalent in a computational science discipline, and to show evidence for strong interest in social science research; Or to hold a 2.1 Honours degree or equivalent in social science disciplines and to show evidence for strong interest in obtaining, or existing computational skills. Additionally, excellent academic references are required.



This degree programme includes modules from Computer Science, which involves logical understanding and reasoning and therefore applicants must be able to demonstrate good evidence of algorithmic thinking.


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General application route(s) for Irish/UK/EU applicants* for International (non-EU) applicants* to MSc Social Data Science:

ROWCLASS Apply to   Application Type  
showAudience-audienceEU showAudience-audienceInt W559
MSc Social Data Science
Master of Science		 Full-Time
Commencing 2024/2025 September		 Graduate Taught Apply
showAudience-audienceEU showAudience-audienceInt W560
MSc Social Data Science
Master of Science		 Part-Time
Commencing 2024/2025 September		 Graduate Taught Apply
* you can change options at the top of the page
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