Essex Summer School in Social Science Data Analysis 2021

The Essex Summer School in Social Science Data Analysis provides intensive social science methods training with instruction from an internationally renowned faculty. Operating since 1967, the Summer School has served as a connection between social science communities throughout the world. Each year, we receive over 500 students from all social science disciplines from over 50 countries.

Further queries should be directed to essexsummerschoolssda@essex.ac.uk

ESS 2021: Online programme
After careful consideration, we have transferred our 2021 programme to an entirely online format. This is due to the ongoing uncertainty caused by COVID-19 in relation to travel restrictions, the rate of implementation of the vaccination programme and the prospect of quarantine periods for many of our students and instructors alike prior to commencing ESS activities. We hope that our decision to transfer our programme online at this stage will enable students to plan their social science research methods training for this summer with confidence and look forward to holding an in-person event at our Colchester campus next year.

To view our full programme for 2021, please see here.

Along with our courses, we will be offering opportunities to enhance students’ ESS experience outside of the virtual classroom. These will include presentations from internationally renowned experts in social science methodology as part of our Speaker Series, as well as opportunities to network with fellow ESS participants. Please keep checking our website and the ESS social media channels for updates over the coming months.

Before submitting an application for ESS 2021, we ask all students to note the following:

Scheduled class times: Please be advised that all scheduled class times are in BST.

Class recordings: Unless otherwise noted, live online class meetings will be recorded and available to enrolled students during and for a limited period after the course concludes. If instructors are not allowing recording, this will be indicated on the course page on the website. Please check individual course pages for details and take this into consideration when applying.

IT requirements: We will conduct all sessions in a live, interactive format via the cloud based video conferencing software Zoom. Participants therefore must have access to their own computing facilities in the form of a laptop or desktop PC. This should include adequate audio and visual equipment in the form of a webcam (built in or detachable), as well as a reliable internet connection to enable full participation in the online sessions. For the minimum bandwidth and operating systems required to use Zoom, please read the following information before committing to undertaking the course. All participants will be provided with an Essex IT account to login to their Zoom sessions in the weeks prior to their courses commencing. Further details will be distributed closer to the start of your session.

Access to software: ESS will ensure that each participant has access to the necessary software to participate in their course, along with other materials, and the costs of this will be covered as part of your course fees. However, participants will need to ensure their local computing resources are sufficient for the software used in their specific course.

Course credits: Please be assured that it will still be possible to undertake ESS courses for credit this summer and the individual course exams will be offered for the standard fee of £100. For further information about our exam procedures whilst running in an online format, please contact essexsummerschoolssda@essex.ac.uk