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PARISS

One of Duke's greatest strengths in the social sciences is methodology, and while each social science has its own unique approaches, there is a large overlap in the techniques used by the social science disciplines in the development of formal models, in data collection, in model estimation, and in hypothesis testing. PARISS provides Duke graduate students with an interdisciplinary context in which to develop and apply their methodological skills.

PARISS is home to a graduate certificate in Advanced Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences, and hosts a regular Monday afternoon speaker series presenting innovative social science research during the academic year that all members of the Duke community are invited to attend. The seminar begins at Noon and meets in the Erwin Mill building in room A103. Lunch is served before the seminar. The full schedule of talks is available on our events calendar.

PARISS also offers four graduate Fellowships to advanced Duke graduate students pursuing interdisciplinary methodological training. Fellows are nominated each spring from within their schools or departments and selected by the PARISS advisory board.

Certificate Program

Overview: PARISS offers a Certificate in Advanced Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences, providing interested doctoral students with a coherent and integrated understanding of mathematical methods in the social sciences. While each social science may have unique disciplinary techniques, the social sciences as a whole have much to teach each other in cross-disciplinary development of formal models, in data collection, in model estimation, and in hypothesis testing. Additionally, the best testing of hypotheses comes in integration with the theory from which the hypotheses are derived. One of the special emphases of this certificate is deriving testable hypotheses from theory.

Ph.D. students in participating social science departments will normally apply to the certificate program in the spring of their first or early in their second year. More information about the requirements of the PARISS certificate and the application process is available through the links below.

Core Requirements:  Most candidates for the certificate will have constructed a unique combination of courses; that combination needs to achieve the basic skills and methodological training.  To ensure that individual curricular programs meet these needs, candidates for the certificate must submit a detailed course plan to the PARISS Board of Advisors for its approval.  Any changes to that plan need advance approval of the Board.  The Board will confirm achievement of the certificate only if it is satisfied that the criteria fulfilling the core requirements have been met.

Application schedule:  Ph.D. students in participating social science departments will normally apply to the certificate program in the spring of their first or early in their second year.  All applications will be carefully scrutinized in consultation with the home department to ensure feasibility of achieving both the certificate and the Ph.D. in a timely (i.e., not excessively lengthened) fashion.

Core Requirements
Example Programs for the Advanced Training Requirement
Certificate Application
Grad School Application

Fellowships

The PARISS Fellowship program offers Duke graduate students a year-long residency in the Social Science Research Institute. The PARISS Program provides each Fellow with an annual stipend and provides office space, computing, and other research and administrative support.

Fellows must be advanced graduate students working toward their dissertation, with interest and achievement in quantitative social science, and are selected via a competitive application from nominees from the various social science departments and units across Duke University.
We anticipate at least four stipends annually, and we anticipate that Fellows will be working toward the certificate program. Fellows will be expected to participate in SSRI activities, including taking the capstone course and participating in the Research Seminar offered weekly throughout the year of their residence. Nomination of candidates for the Fellows Program will be solicited each spring from all Ph.D.-granting graduate programs in social science and related disciplines at Duke University.

Current Fellows

TBA

Board Members

John Aldrich (co-director)
Scott de Marchi (co-director)
Rick Hoyle
Ken Land
Michael Munger
Jerry Reiter
Scott Rockart
Bob Winkler
Robert Wolpert
V. Joseph Hotz