Bits & Bytes

A Letter from the Director

Greetings CCSS Affiliates,

As we start the new year, I’m excited to share information on upcoming CCSS grant and fellowship opportunities, CCSS workshops, past grant awardees, and more. We also invite you to review our 2025-26 Report — a few highlights include:

the Federal Statistical Research Data Center, led by Zhuan Pei (Economics and Public Policy)
the Qualitative and Interpretive Research Institute, led by Jenny Goldstein (Global Development)
partnerships with Weill Cornell Medicine, the Cornell Center for Data Science for Enterprise and Society, and Cornell Information Technology
grant funding, faculty fellows, advanced computing, and Cornell research positively impacting society

Many of our programs and services developed in response to feedback we have received. Please share any suggestions or feedback you have: peterenns@cornell.edu.

Peter Enns

Robert S. Harrison Director

Cornell Center for Social Sciences

Spring Funding Opportunities

CCSS offers a variety of programs to promote innovative social science research at Cornell and support teams in obtaining external funding.

Seed Grants — Up to $12K, March 6 deadline

Accelerated Research Grant — Up to $35K, April 15 deadline

Grant Preparation Funds — Up to $115K, April 15 deadline

Hire a Grant Writer — Up to $3K, apply anytime

Data Processing and Qualitative Analysis Workshops

Boost your social science research this spring with hands-on workshops designed by CCSS.

Upcoming Sessions

Research Opportunities at the Cornell FSRDC

Jan. 27 | 3:30-4:45pm | 291 Clark Hall

Introduction to APIs

Jan. 29 | 1:00-2:30pm | 102 Mann Library

Coding and Summarizing Qualitative Data with MaxQDA

Feb. 3 | 12:00-1:30pm | 291 Clark Hall

Explore the full schedule and register using the button below.

View Workshops & Register

Faculty Fellow Nominations

Due Jan. 14

Contact Heather Furnas, CCSS Program Coordinator, with any questions.

"The fellowship let me focus on successfully launching a large public safety field experiment, while also inviting me to be part of a supportive community of social scientists doing varied and interesting work."

Max Kapustin

Assistant Professor

Economics and Public Policy

2024-25 Fellow

Faculty: CCSS Hiring Student Data Analysts (Spring 2026)

CCSS is seeking undergraduate and graduate students with:

At least two completed courses in statistics
Experience with R and other statistical software packages

Student Data Analysts support cutting-edge research by social science researchers, applying data and statistical software skills to ensure research is reproducible, accessible, and well-documented, including for external clients and internal researchers.

Eligible students are encouraged to apply for Spring 2026 positions at the link below.

👉 Apply Now - Student Data Analyst ($22 per hour)

Check Out New AI Resources

QuIRI has launched a repository of AI resources, featuring:

Recorded sessions on AI and qualitative research
Ongoing tutorials exploring AI tools

Stay tuned for additional resources coming soon.

Opportunities at the 2026

ICPSR Summer Program

Course schedules for the 2026 ICPSR Summer Program in Quantitative Methods are now available, with registration opening in early February. Through CCSS's institutional membership with ICPSR, Cornell researchers receive reduced registration rates.

Scholarship applications open January 26, offering additional financial support for student participants.

The long-running summer program provides an excellent opportunity for social scientists to deepen their expertise in statistical methods and data analysis.

❄️ CCSS Holiday Happenings ❄️

This holiday season, CCSS donated warm winter clothing, everyday essentials, toys, and food to the Cornell Elves Program, the Cornell Food Pantry, and Loaves & Fishes, supporting local families and community members.

To keep the holiday spirit going, CCSS designed a Winter Wonderland-themed gingerbread house for the Research & Innovation Winter Celebration's gingerbread house competition.

2025-26 Faculty Fellows Spotlight

Casey Schmitt

Assistant Professor

History

Schmitt studies the histories of colonialism, slavery, and human trafficking in the sixteenth- and seventeenth- century Caribbean and Atlantic world. Check out her recently published book The Predatory Sea, which looks at how early modern racialized slavery emerged through practices of captive-taking and human trafficking in the sixteenth- and seventeenth- century Carribean.

In the News

"A lifetime of social ties adds up to healthy aging," The Cornell Chronicle — featuring research by CCSS Grantee Anthony Ong (2021).

"Map Shows States With the Highest--and Lowest--Child Care Costs," Newsweek — featuring CCSS Grantee Mildred Warner (2021).

"What's driving the rise in U.S. death row executions in 2025?" CBS News — featuring CCSS Grantee John Blume (2022).

"Life Is Too Short to Fight With Your Family," The New York Times — co-authored by CCSS Grantee Karl Pillemer (2021). Listen to the supporting podcast here.

Additional Events & Opportunities

January 13 @ 12pm | Webinar | Legalized Inequalities: Immigration and Race in the Low-Wage Workplace | Join Kate Griffith (CCSS Grantee, 2021), Patricia Campos-Medina (CCSS Grantee, 2022), and Shannon Gleeson (CCSS Faculty Fellow, 2018-19) for a webinar on how U.S. labor and immigration laws create inequalities for low-wage immigrant workers and how these workers push back through individual and collective resistance.

January 19 Deadline | Assistant Research Professors | The Center for Data Science for Enterprise and Society is recruiting Assistant Research Professors for three-year appointments through the Provost’s radical collaborations initiative, advancing campus wide data science connections and strengthening the university’s leadership in this rapidly evolving field.

January 27 @ 12pm | Webinar | Lab to Impact: Social Science at the Frontiers of Innovation | This session is designed for researchers and inventors working in the social sciences at Cornell. Panelists will discuss how to translate behavioral science and human-centered research into impactful products, services, and ventures. Hosted by the Center for Technology Licensing.

February 5 Deadline | NextGenPop Undergraduate Program in Population Research | NextGenPop is an undergraduate program in population research that trains and nurtures the next generation of population scientists. Students from underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. The program provides a stipend, room, board, and travel support.

March 13 Deadline | Roper Center Scholar Program | The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research is accepting applications from Cornell graduate students and undergraduate students for the W.E.B. Du Bois Scholar Program and the Andrew Kohut Research Scholar Program.

Search our database of nearly 1000 researchers, graduate students, and staff in the social sciences across Cornell.

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