Spring School on Quantitative Methods May 2016 | MPI Science of Human History, Germany

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Research in cultural and linguistic evolution is growing rapidly. New scholars need to quickly grasp a range of computational and quantitative methods from across different disciplines, to learn to organise and present data, and to critically evaluate the right approaches for their research. Recognising a need for interdisciplinary training from within the field, the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History will be holding its first Spring School on Quantitative Methods from May 13th-18th 2016. Applications are due March 1st.


This five-day residential intensive course will be open to postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers in anthropology, linguistics, psychology, history, and other relevant disciplines. Attendees will be tutored by researchers who are expert users of a range of relevant methods and skills, including:

  • Databases and software pipelines
  • Phylogenetic inference and phylogenetic comparative methods
  • Simulation techniques
  • A range of statistics relevant for linguistic and cultural data
  • Visualisation
  • Asking good research questions

Attendees will benefit from a highly interactive mixture of theoretical and conceptual material, practical hands-on exercises, and the chance to workshop their own research project and data with a varied group of experts.

Only 14 places are available as the Spring School is residential at the MPI-SHH in Jena, Germany, and all on-site accommodation and economy travel will be fully-funded. Places are therefore competitive by application and we particularly encourage applications from qualified students at institutions in low- and middle-income countries. Attendees will benefit from both the skills of tutors and their wide range of collaborative ties across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. The Spring School will also feature guest plenary lectures, tailored micro-sessions, and numerous opportunities to socialise and network with fellow attendees, tutors, and researchers at the MPI-SHH.

Please circulate this notice to your networks and to any PhD students, postdoctoral or early-career researchers you think might benefit. Further information will be available on the MPI-SHH website in early February: https://www.shh.mpg.de/qmss16. Applications are due March 1st. Finally, informal enquiries to the Spring School Directors should be sent via Kerstin Schück-Tittmann (schueck@shh.mpg.de).