Research Intern – Computational Social Science

Research Internships at Microsoft provide a dynamic environment for research careers with a network of world-class research labs led by globally-recognized scientists and engineers. Our researchers and engineers pursue innovation in a range of scientific and technical disciplines to help solve complex challenges in diverse fields, including computing, healthcare, economics, and the environment.

The Microsoft Research Computational Social Science (CSS) group is widely recognized as a leading center of computational social science research, lying at the intersection of computer science, statistics, and the social sciences. Our current main areas of interest are: innovating ways to make data, models, and algorithms easier for people to understand; polling and forecasting; advancing crowdsourcing methods; and understanding the market (and impact) for news and advertisement. Our approach is motivated by two longstanding difficulties for traditional social science: first, that simply gathering observational data on human activity is extremely difficult at scale and over time; and second, that running experiments to manipulate the conditions under which these measurements are made (e.g., randomly assigning large sets of interacting people to treatment and control groups) is even more challenging and often impossible.

In the first category, we exploit digital data that is generated by existing platforms (e.g., email, web browsers, search, social media) to generate novel insights into individual and collective human behavior. In the second category, we design novel “virtual lab” experiments that allow for larger scale, longer time horizons, and greater complexity and realism than is possible in physical labs.

Other internships at MSR NE and MSR NYC can be found on the labs’ listing of opportunities or in the job search tool. Microsoft Research New England and Microsoft Research New York City are comprised of approximately fifty full-time researchers and postdocs working in AI for systems, computational biology, computational social science, economics and computation, FATE, machine learning and AI, machine learning and statistics, reinforcement learning, social media studies, theoretical computer science. The labs are highly collaborative and interdisciplinary and are actively engaged with the local academic and tech communities.

Responsibilities

Interns put inquiry and theory into practice. Alongside fellow doctoral candidates and some of the world’s best researchers, interns learn, collaborate, and network for life. Interns not only advance their own careers, but they also contribute to exciting research and development strides. During the 12-week internship, students are paired with mentors and expected to collaborate with other interns and researchers, present findings, and contribute to the vibrant life of the community. Research internships are available in all areas of research, and are offered year-round, though they typically begin in the summer.

Please note that we are also open to internships that start in the spring.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

In addition to the qualifications below, you’ll need to submit a minimum of two reference letters for this position. After you submit your application, a request for letters may be sent to your list of references on your behalf. Note that reference letters cannot be requested until after you have submitted your application, and furthermore, that they might not be automatically requested for all candidates. You may wish to alert your letter writers in advance, so they will be ready to submit your letter.

• Must be currently enrolled in a PhD program in a computational social science field.
• Must have at least 1 year of experience designing, building, and analyzing online experiments and/or large observational data studies.
• Must have 2 or more years of experience with relevant programming languages such as R and Python for data analysis or modern web development tools (e.g., JavaScript) for online experiments.

Interns are expected to be physically located in their manager’s Microsoft worksite location for the duration of their internship.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated ability to develop original research agendas.
• Track record of cross-group and cross-culture collaboration.
• Ability to think unconventionally to derive creative and innovative solutions.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.