[Air-L] Funded PhDs on Social Research in "Just" (as in justice) Technology with ESC at the University of Michigan

[Christian Sandvig]

Dear AoIR colleagues,

I decided to go to grad school when one of my profs suggested it. I was not
very clear about what a PhD was. That conversation changed my life. I'm
writing to ask you to consider having this conversation with your promising
students right now. It's that time of year.

It's a little personally embarrassing, but in order to improve our outreach
to prospective students I've been experimenting with video. My video is a
little bit like a late-night TV ad for a used-car lot, except I'm
advertising getting a PhD in Information OR Communication & Media with my
lab group. Here it is:

https://lab.csandvig.people.si.umich.edu/join/


Some additional details:

Infra.Lab is a multi-disciplinary research group at the University of
Michigan dedicated to “just” technology (as in justice) at the ESC Center.
We investigate the intermingled social and technical aspects of computing
and digital media technologies and their implications for society. Our
approaches include human-computer interaction; science and technology
studies; policy research on politics, laws, and institutions; design;
software development; artistic practice; and more. Our recent work has
focused on racial and gender discrimination by algorithmic systems,
negative consequences of targeted advertising, inequality and social media
use, and the future of technology policy. We are recruiting prospective
Ph.D. students with interests in tech and human rights, civil rights,
social justice, racial justice, and inequality.

We are building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community. We
particularly want applications from people who are interested in addressing
the perspectives or needs of groups that have been historically underserved
by academic research, computing, and digital media.

   - The deadline is usually December 1 every year.
   - The GRE exam isn’t required.
   - If the application fee (US$70-90) is a barrier to your application, we
   will waive the fee. Write to the relevant graduate program’s email address
   (see link above) for help with this.
   - The Ph.D. is full-time. Part-time degrees are not possible.
   - The Ph.D. takes about 4 years to complete. Usually the first 2 years
   involve mostly coursework, the last 2 years involve mostly research.
   - You do not have to pay tuition to get a Ph.D. Successful applicants
   are paid for 4 years as apprentice teachers and/or researchers. During this
   time you will make about US$45,000 per year for about 8 months of work each
   year. Summer funding is also possible. You also receive health, life, and
   dental insurance.
   - You don’t need a master’s degree to apply, but it may help you stand
   out from other applicants.
   - You DO need a bachelor’s degree to apply, but it does not have to be
   in these particular fields. You can apply with any bachelor’s degree if you
   make the case that you have some relevant background or experience.
   - We offer additional funding and incentives to those students whose
   admission will reduce disparities in graduate education. You do not need to
   apply separately for this funding, you will automatically be considered.
   - You do not need to be a US Citizen to be admitted, or to receive the
   funding described here. International students are common.
   - Either qualitative or quantitative skills/interests are relevant to us.
   - You do not need to be a computer programmer.
   - You do not need to have gone to a fancy school for your undergraduate
   degree.

There is more information at the URL above.  Please feel free to forward
this email.

Sincerely,
Christian

--
Christian Sandvig
Director, Center for Ethics, Society, and Computing (ESC)
H. Marshall McLuhan Collegiate Professor
Information, Communication & Media
University of Michigan
http://esc.umich.edu/ -- http://umich.edu/~csandvig/