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/