Our students come from a wide variety of academic backgrounds. Our Facebook page offers profiles of a few of our previous students (Cheng, Elida and Esam). They all share a keen interest in the social world, and are using our training to set themselves up for success as social researchers, whether they expect to follow a path into the public sector, private industry, or academia.
In addition to motivated students, we also have young, enthusiastic faculty who are eager to help you become a capable social analyst and engage you in cutting edge social research. As part of the Institute for Analytical Sociology, you will sit at an important crossroads between the social and computational sciences. In classes and formal seminars, as well as in informal settings, you will have a chance to learn from and interact with scholars from within and outside of LiU using innovative approaches to social science research. We are also excited to incorporate you into a vibrant, international student body at LiU seeking to make a positive social impact in the world. We look forward to greeting you at Campus Norrköping in August as you begin your educational journey.
Prior to your arrival, there are a few important points, activities and dates to keep in mind:
Roll-call and programme start
A mandatory roll-call will take place at 13:15 on Tuesday, 20 August in Norrköping, Kopparhammaren 2, room KO12. You must attend in person - on campus - to confirm your place in the programme. If failing to attend, you will lose your place. Find out more about mandatory roll calls here.
During this first day, we will introduce you to the programme and our faculty. In subsequent days, we will organize social events to help you develop relationships with your fellow students. We will provide more information about these events in future communications.
Conditionally admitted students
If you are conditionally admitted you must upload your degree certificate and transcript of your last semester(s) both in original language and with an English translation to your Universityadmissions account as soon as possible.
Preparing for your first semester
We take education very seriously and want your time with us to be as useful as possible. Because our programme sits at the intersection of the computational and social sciences, you will be expected to become adept at both performing computational analyses and thinking through and writing compelling social scientific arguments. In other words, verbal and quantitative skills will be equally important to your success in the programme. Our programme is thus demanding and will require focused, full-time work and dedication by our students.
To that end, you will want to arrive with some background in math, programming, and social science basics. For those new to computational methods, we will pull together an intensive self-study programme related to the use of the R-programming environment. For those of you who are new to the social sciences, we will send along a reading list that will provide a broad introduction to key theoretical and substantive issues. We will also assemble self-study materials related to key topics in mathematics, for those who feel they need a refresher course. More information about these facilitated self-study programmes will be provided at the end of the spring. We recommend to take such preparations seriously. From previous cohorts, we have noted that students that are prepared for both the computational/statistical and social-scientific aspects of this program are more likely to successfully master the courses and the programme as a whole. It would also be best to come to campus with a computational social scientist’s most important tool: a personal computer, preferably a laptop.
If you want to decline your offer
While we really want all of our admitted students to choose Linköping University, it can happen that you decide to attend elsewhere. If this is the case it is very important that you let us know you won’t be attending the programme as soon as possible, by declining your offer at universityadmissions.se. You do this by logging into your account and following the instructions under the 'Applications' tab. This might free up your place to someone on the waiting list.
Residing in Sweden
Students who are not citizens from Sweden or the EU/EEA are required to pay their tuition fees by 15 May 2024 to commence studies at LiU. This is also the recommended deadline for applying for a resident permit from the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket). Until you are sure you can reside and study in Sweden, we advise students not to book any non-refundable travel.
Questions?
LiU will be sending out an email series to all students admitted to an international programme at LiU in the lead up to the autumn semester with details about accommodation, tuition fees, scholarships, residence permits and other important steps to consider if you are an international student. The Admitted students page is also a hub of information. Swedish students may find Antagen more relevant.
As programme director, I welcome you to an exciting intellectual environment and challenging programme. Do not hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have about the contents of the programme. For concerns related to practical programme matters, please contact our programme administrator, Madelene Töpfer. For more general questions about the welcome period, accommodation, visa and insurance issues, please contact LiU’s International Office.
Again, congratulations and welcome!
Sincerely,
Erik Rosenqvist, Programme Director
