Admission Requirements and Application Procedure
Admission Requirements
- Admission to the Postgraduate Applied Social Data Science programme is competitive. Applicants should have an upper second class honor degree or higher undergraduate degree from an established college or university. GPA scores of at least 3.3 out of 4, or equivalent, will be expected from international applicants.
- A background in a social science discipline or computer science, statistics, or other related discipline will be an advantage but is not required. Applications are expected from candidates who wish to acquire practical knowledge in using cutting-edge statistical methods to answer social scientific questions.
- Candidates are not expected to have significant quantitative research methods training, although some prior basic knowledge of statistics will be required. Admitted students will have taken at least an Introduction to Statistics module (or equivalent, e.g., a research methods module which covers applied statistics) in their undergraduate training. Other applicants may be considered in exceptional circumstances, based on academic or workplace experience.
- Students are expected to bring their own laptop (Mac/Windows/Linux) for use in seminars and tutorials throughout the course; note - tablets are not suitable.
- All applicants must fulfil the College entry requirements
- International applicants must fulfil the international student entry requirements
- Applicants whose first language is not English and who have not been educated through the medium of English must fulfil the College Postgraduate English language requirements
- In case of heavy competition for places or concerns regarding a particular candidate’s suitability, the candidate may be interviewed or asked to submit a further written sample for assessment.
Application Procedure
Applicants can apply for the MSc in Applied Social Data Science or the Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Social Data Science programme. Students who successfully complete the Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Social Data Science programme can opt to proceed with the MSc in Applied Social Data Science programme.
Applicants applying for the MSc in Applied Social Data Science course can do so via the link provided below.
Trinity Direct Application - MSc in Applied Social Data Science
Applicants applying for the Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Social Data Science course can do via the link provided below.
Trinity Direct Application - Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Social Data Science
Applicants must upload the following documentation via the relevant online application portal . All documents must be supplied in English, or the original document plus official translation submitted):
- Official transcript(s)
- (Or unofficial/partial transcript(s) if you have not yet completed your undergraduate course. The final transcript must be submitted before an unconditional offer can be made). A transcript is a full list of all course components taken, along with grades/marks achieved in each.
- Copy of degree certificate(s)
- Two letters of recommendation
- Once an application is submitted, automatic emails are sent from the Academic Registry department to the nominated referees with a request to complete and upload their reference letters to the application portal.
- Academic references are preferable, but where these are not available professional references are acceptable also.
- Curriculum Vitae
- Writing sample
- The writing sample can be a paper written for a previous course, or a chapter from an undergraduate thesis if you are writing one. It is expected to be somewhere between 12 and 20 pages long. A sample of academic or research-related writing - an essay or term paper, for example - is much preferred, but where the applicant cannot provide a sample of academic writing, other writing samples (e.g. a technical or business report) will be accepted.
- Motivation letter/personal statement
- Please provide a motivation letter which discusses your purpose for applying to Applied Social Data Science programme. Be sure to include an overview of previous training in statistics and/or computer programming, as well as discussion of your plans following graduation. There is no required length for the motivation letter, a single page would suffice.
- Valid English language test result (if applicable - see above)
Once all application documentation is in place, the application will be assessed in the meeting of the Course Admissions Sub-Committee which will make a recommendation. This recommendation will then be reviewed by the Academic Registry department and a course offer made via the relevant application portal, where applicable. If a place on the course is offered, the applicant will have three weeks to accept the place and make their deposit payment. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis during the admissions process (February to June) until the course is full. The closing date for TCD Direct applications for the 2025-26 course is 1st August 2025, you are encouraged to apply early.
Enquiries
- Enquiries regarding the Trinity Direct Application portal functionality should be directed to Academic Registry.
Enquiries can be made to the HCI and Postgraduate Programmes Coordinator (pgdip-asds@tcd.ie for postgraduate diploma enquiries and msc.asds@tcd.ie for MSc enquiries) or the Course Directors of the Applied Social Data Science programme, Dr Jeffrey Ziegler & Dr Tom Paskhalis. Please make sure to read the Frequently Asked Questions before emailing.