University of Chicago, MA in Computational Social Science (MACSS)
1 required essay, 1 optional for the 2026-27 cycle.
Deadlines
| Round | Date |
|---|---|
| Round 1 | November 2, 2026 |
| Round 2 | January 7, 2027 |
| Round 3 | March 25, 2027 |
| Round 4 | June 1, 2027 |
Essays
Statement of purpose · 2-4 page candidate statement · required
Please provide a 2-4 page candidate statement, outlining your research interest, your relevant training, your prior academic accomplishments, as well as your career plans and why you think MACSS is the program that will best help you advance those plans.
Statement of purpose · 2-3 page candidate statement · optional
Computational Social Science (Economics): Please provide a 2-3 page candidate statement that discusses your post-graduation plans and how the resources that MACSS-Econ will make available to you will help you achieve them. Your statement should also discuss the research plan you wish to develop while a student in the MACSS-Econ program: provide a description of 1 or 2 research topics that you would like to pursue and explain how your prior research background supports them; place the research questions in context of the coursework that you plan to complete during your MAPSS-Econ year; provide the name of a member of the research faculty who you believe will be the ideal advisor and explain why.
Two tracks with different statements: the general MACSS statement and the MACSS-Economics one, which asks for a named faculty advisor. The Economics prompt switches from MACSS-Econ to MAPSS-Econ midway through the division's own text; kept as written. Deadlines are the division's four master's rounds, from its Deadlines and Decisions page labelled Autumn 2027 enrollment, 11:59 p.m. U.S. Central Time; that page prints month and day only, so the years here are inferred from the label. Decisions come about four to six weeks after each round. The page bans generative AI in the candidate statement outright.
Checked against socialsciences.uchicago.edu/admissions/application-materials/candidate-statement on September 11, 2026. Programs change their prompts between cycles; confirm on the program’s own page before you submit.
Paste your essay
Pick which of UChicago MACSS’s prompts it answers. The first look is free.
Applying to college instead?
Prompt
Your essay
Common questions
- How many essays does University of Chicago, MA in Computational Social Science (MACSS) require for 2026-27?
- 1 required and 1 optional, 2 in total. Every prompt is listed on this page word for word, with the length each one states.
- How long should the UChicago MACSS statement of purpose be?
- 2-4 page candidate statement. That is the length the program states on its own page, which this record was read from on September 11, 2026.
- When is the UChicago MACSS 2026-27 deadline?
- Round 1: November 2, 2026. 3 other rounds are listed on this page.