Social Sciences

The HSS PhD program in the Social Sciences offers the opportunity for highly motivated and quantitatively oriented students to pursue interdisciplinary research in areas common to economics, political science, political economy,history, psychology, anthropology, law, and public policy.

A foundational belief of the program is that a wide variety of social phenomena are best understood as the consequence of intelligent decisions by individuals pursuing their own ends. Caltech social scientists have established that such decisions can be modeled and that conclusions concerning social events should be based on observable and measurable parameters of those theories.  

Caltech was one of the pioneering research institutions to first use laboratory experimentation in the study of economics and political science, and HSS remains one of the top departments—if not the top—in the world in this field. Under faculty supervision, graduate students are major users of HSS research centers, including the Social Science Experimental Laboratory (SSEL) and the Caltech Brain Imaging Center (CBIC). 

Graduate students in the social sciences PhD program are encouraged to begin largely independent research early in their graduate career. Many of the research projects involve direct collaboration between members of the faculty and graduate students. And graduate students are expected to participate actively in the intellectual life of the division, including attendance and participation in seminars and workshops. Seminars occur at least weekly and usually feature a colleague from another university who has been invited to formally present his or her work. Workshops are more informal gatherings where students, faculty, and visitors present their work in progress.

Expected learning outcomes for a graduate student completing the social sciences PhD program include:

• a strong background in economics, political science, and econometrics;
• a solid understanding of the technical tools, which themselves require an understanding of different theoretical and empirical approaches, needed to carry out research at the frontier of the social sciences
• a demonstrated record of independent and high quality research; and
• an ability to collaborate and communicate across different fields in the social sciences.

The first-year curriculum consists of courses in modern statistical and econometric methods; game theory, social choice, and decision theory; microeconomics; and American political institutions. These required courses give Caltech students the unique perspective and background that faculty believe yields special insights into economic and political interactions. This rigorous first-year training also provides students with the foundation and skills needed to conduct independent research early in their careers at Caltech.

The second-year curriculum is built around a series of workshops that are used to start students on the road to active, independent research. Emphasis in these second-year seminars is on areas of the faculty's current research interest, offering students a unique opportunity to work closely with individual faculty members in identifying and tackling research problems.

During their third year, social science graduate students are expected to complete the transition from coursework to independent research.

Requirements

• Master's degree in the related area
• Statement of Purpose
• Include payment of the application fee or submit a fee waiver request. 
• Three letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with your academic and/or work performance are required for all applicants. 
• Transcripts from all colleges or universities attended are required. Transcripts may be sent directly from the Registrar of the institution you attended or transcripts issued directly to the applicant, and so marked, are acceptable, and can be submitted online following the electronic submission process. If you attended Caltech as an undergraduate, you must request an official transcript from the Office of the Registrar. We cannot obtain one on your behalf. 
• Attach a CV or resume
• TOEFL

Scholarships

• Teaching Assistantships
• Global Education