Microsoft Research New England is looking for advanced Ph.D. students interested in bringing sociotechnical perspectives to analyze critical issues of our time. They will join a team of social scientists who use qualitative or quantitative, empirical or critical methods to study the social, political, and cultural dynamics that shape technologies and their consequences. Our work draws on and spans several disciplines, including anthropology, communication, gender and sexuality studies, history, information studies, law, media studies, organizational and management sciences, science & technology studies, and sociology. Applications are due December 15, 2023.
To apply, fill out the online application form here: APPLY. But read on! Lots of useful info below.
Our 2024 internships will be in-person, based in our Cambridge, MA lab.
We are especially interested in candidates bringing sociotechnical approaches to the study of such topics as:
- the intersectional dimensions of identity as they entangle sociotechnical systems, including: race, caste, and indigeneity; genders and sexualities; socioeconomic status and class;
- how institutions, organizations, networks, and infrastructures (across sectors and domains) configure and are configured by sociotechnical systems;
- the cultural, political, and ethical implications of digital systems as semi-automated, globally distributed sites of identities, work, and human rights;
- emerging uses and media representations of generative AI, particularly in relation to new forms of work, personal relationships, and the creator economy;
- cooperation, mutual aid, and community engagement, and their relationships to the design and governance of responsible technologies;
- political economies and emerging organizational forms in digital labor, community, government, non-profit, creator economy, and private-sector contexts;
- the politics of and public responsibilities around algorithms, generative AI, machine learning, platforms, metrics, and other manifestations of computational cultures.
Questions our researchers are currently focused on include:
- How are cultural norms emerging around generative AI? (Nancy Baym)
- What is necessary for data to be seen as legitimate in contexts as varied as government, civil society, and industry? (danah boyd)
- How do platforms, algorithmic intermediaries, and generative AI, through their design and policies, shape public discourse? (Tarleton Gillespie)
- How will community health work change as foundation models enter the healthcare ecosystem? (Mary L. Gray)
For more information about us, and a list of past interns, visit the About page of our blog. For a complete list of all permanent researchers and current postdocs based at the New England lab, see the MSRNE lab webpage.
RESPONSIBILITIES
The ideal candidate may be trained in any number of disciplines (including but not limited to anthropology, communication, gender and sexuality studies, history, information studies, law, media studies, science and technology studies, sociology, or a related field), but should have a strong social scientific, empirical, or critical methodological, analytical, and theoretical foundation, be interested in questions related to algorithmic, computational, or data-driven technologies and societies or cultures, and be interested in working in a highly interdisciplinary environment with computer scientists, biologists, mathematicians, and economists.
Interns are also expected to give short presentations on their project, attend the weekly lab colloquia, and contribute to the life of the lab through weekly lunches with fellow PhD interns and the broader lab community. There are also natural opportunities for collaboration within our group, and with others currently working at MSRNE.
Some of the compensation and benefits of this position include:
- highly competitive salary
- internship events and activities
- housing stipends
- eligibility to enroll in a Microsoft sponsored medical plan (though most interns stay covered under their university insurance)
HOW TO APPLY
Applicants must have advanced to candidacy (or the equivalent) in their PhD program by the time they start their internship (approximately May 2024). Unfortunately, there are no opportunities for Master’s students or early PhD students at this time.
Applicants from historically marginalized communities and those underrepresented in higher education are encouraged to apply. We also welcome applicants from outside North America.
To apply for this PhD internship, fill out the online application form here: APPLY …the application portal may prompt you to set up an account first; thanks for your patience.
Your application must include:
1. A short description (no more than 2 pages, single-spaced…yes, you may use a separate sheet for citations, that won’t count against you) of 1 project (please, no more than 2 projects) that you propose to do while interning at MSRNE, independently and/or in collaboration with current SMC researchers. Project proposals can be related to, but should be distinct from, your dissertation research. Be specific and tell us:
- What is the research question animating your proposed project?
- What methods would you use to address your question?
- How does your research question complement and enhance the themes listed above?
- Who do you hope to reach (who are you engaging) with this proposed research?
Don’t forget that this is a 12-week internship. We are looking for projects that can realistically be completed during the internship with an eye towards a single publication.
2. A brief description of your dissertation project (no more than 1 page, single spaced; feel free to attach a separate citations page—we will not include that in the page count).
3. One academic article-length manuscript (~7,000 words or more) that you have authored or co-authored (published or unpublished) that demonstrates your writing skills. Again, we won’t count citations in this word count.
4. A copy of your CV.
5. If available, pointers to your website or other online presence (this is not required).
6. You will be asked to submit the names and email contact information for two potential academic letters of reference (one contact must be your dissertation advisor). Note that candidates should tell their recommenders that despite the auto-request for a letter of recommendation, they do not need to submit letters unless they are contacted and asked to do so by a member of the search committee, after our initial review of applications.
Some system debugging advice: If you find that the system gets logged as “submitted” before you finish uploading your materials, login to the system and upload the files under your Profile. Likewise, if you’re running into problems with your references, login to the system and go to Action Center, where you should be able to edit your references. If you face other struggles with the system, you can write to askgta@microsoft.com (Sorry from all of us for how frustrating the system is.)
If you have any questions about or problems with the application process, you can email tarleton AT microsoft DOT com – please use “2024 Sociotechnical PhD Internship” for the subject line.
TIMELINE
Applications are due December 15, 2023. Due to the volume of applications, late submissions (including submissions missing elements of the application package other than letters of recommendation) will not be considered. We will not be able to provide specific feedback on individual applications before or after submission. Finalists will be contacted in early 2024 to arrange an online interview. Applicants chosen for an internship will be informed in February.
Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal records, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance and/or reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request via the Accommodation request form.
Benefits/perks may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.
PREVIOUS INTERN TESTIMONIALS
“The summer internship at the SMC provides an unparalleled opportunity to engage in social science research in an industry setting. This was the most generative summer of my Ph.D. program; the ability to focus on a research project of my choosing and receive mentorship from researchers at the top of their fields made me a more critical and rigorous scholar. This summer undoubtedly played an essential role in shaping my dissertation. The most special part of the SMC, and the larger MSRNE lab, is the community you become part of. I developed friendships with people whom I may not have otherwise encountered, and I will forever be grateful to the SMC for providing an environment in which coworkers can become not only future co-authors but also dear friends.” — Samantha Dalal, Information Science, University of Colorado
“My internship at Microsoft Research was such a rewarding, fulfilling, and transformative experience. As a member of the Social Media Collective, I had the privilege of engaging in thought-provoking discussions and further developing my ideas alongside brilliant scholars and fellow interns, with diverse and complementary backgrounds. Its collaborative and friendly environment also provided a unique opportunity for me to gain insights into the approaches and methods applied in fields different from my own. The chance to collaborate with and be mentored by a renowned scholar in my field was also invaluable. Advancing a research project together not only enhanced my knowledge and skills as a researcher, but also opened doors for ongoing collaborations. The experience as a whole truly inspired me and allowed me to reimagine the scholar I wish to become.” — Maria Angel, S&TS and Law, University of Washington
“The SMC internship gives PhD students an opportunity rarely presented to them: what if your only job for the summer was to work on a research project of your choosing, with ample support from expert colleagues? I left my internship with many answers, yet this internship was perhaps most useful in generating many new questions for my work. This is a special group of generous and brilliant people who love talking about big ideas while still making the time to get “in the weeds” about your individual project. I learned to think in community, develop a voice and perspective in larger group discussions, and met many dear friends tackling similar research problems as I was. I can say without any hesitation that this experience was the most important experience I had in graduate school.” — Colten Meisner, Communication, Cornell University
“I am very grateful for the summer I got to spend at the SMC and Microsoft Research. It was honestly the most fulfilling time of my PhD, and I built professional and personal relationships that I am excited to continue in the future. It is a place where you can get feedback in your research ideas, while feeling like a valuable contributor to the conversation. You will get exposed to different perspectives in different fields, and I know it helped me a lot to rethink my approach to sociotechnical systems. I am also sure that the friends I made in the internship will continue to be by my side in the years to come. Anybody who is in the position to apply: do it, you won’t regret it!” — Aurélie Petit, Film, Concordia University
“Most productive summer of my graduate school experience. The SMC internship was all that I expected and then some. To be able to collaborate with a leader in my discipline, receive hands-on mentorship in pursuing a new project and to be given the space think things through among others brimming with a diversity of expertise was invaluable. The office in Cambridge is really an intellectual candy store. Having so many informal (and formal) conversations about my current and future work has given me a better ability to articulate my identity as a scholar as well as the spark to fine-tune my research agenda. Besides having the opportunity to network with so many well-established scholars, I’ve now developed a diverse peer network that I am sure will be helpful to my professional development in the future. Besides that, this is a group that actually has fun doing the work that they do. There was a magnetic energy that flowed through the office throughout the summer. I left really inspired and renewed to write my dissertation.” — Jabari Evans, Communication, Northwestern University
“My time at the SMC was unlike any other I’ve had academically or professionally. Intellectually rigorous yet remarkably collaborative, warm, and fun-loving, the SMC pushed me to do my best work while supporting me to experiment with new ways of conducting, conceptualizing, and communicating my research.” — Anna Banchik, Sociology, UT Austin
“The summer I spent interning at the SMC was one of the most productive and fulfilling in my graduate career. I was closely mentored, supported, and pushed by the SMC researchers, postdocs, research assistants, and my fellow interns. The SMC creates a community where you can sit down for a deep chat on methods, hold a writing group, meet with a nationally renowned scholar, and do your fieldwork all in the same day (or spend your day reading and puzzling over an idea if that’s more your speed). The MSRNE lab gives you the chance to learn alongside with scholars from a huge range of fields. If you’re looking for a place to drill down on your work with smart and caring people, the SMC internship is for you.” — Nina Medvedeva, Gender Women and Sexuality Studies, University of Minnesota
“My summer at MSR was among the most stimulating and productive 12 weeks I’ve had while in grad school. The SMC team as a whole provided such a great environment to embark on a completely new research project and truly push myself to try new things, while still offering a lot of guidance and support to think through some puzzles I was working through in my dissertation and offer professional advice. Belonging to a cohort of other graduate students interns at similar stages to my own also provided a remarkable community of support and advice that pushed me to get things done during the summer, which can be an otherwise quite a solitary period during the academic year. I felt welcomed and supported from day one, and very fortunate to still maintain these ties.” — Gili Vidan, History of Science, Harvard University
“My summer at Microsoft Research with the Social Media Collective was nothing short of transformative. My theoretical and methodological horizons broadened, and the relationships I forged continue to shape my development as a scholar.” — Shannon MacGregor, Communication, University of North Carolina
“It might be hard to believe that a twelve-week internship could be so integral to your professional and personal growth, but that’s exactly how I felt at that end of my time at MSRNE. I learned more about writing, critical thinking, public speaking, collegiality, and self-belief than I thought possible within such a short space of time, and I gained a group of forever friends and mentors in the process. The internship also provides you with a rare opportunity to work in a truly interdisciplinary environment and allows you to take your research proposal in a direction you might not have planned for. MSRNE was, and will continue to be, the perfect intellectual home for me.” — Ysabel Gerrard, Digital Media and Society, University of Sheffield, UK
“The internship at Microsoft Research was all of the things I wanted it to be – personally productive, intellectually rich, quiet enough to focus, noisy enough to avoid complete hermit-like cave dwelling behavior, and full of opportunities to begin ongoing professional relationships with other scholars who I might not have run into elsewhere.” — Laura Noren, Center for Data Science, New York University
“If I could design my own graduate school experience, it would feel a lot like my summer at Microsoft Research. I had the chance to undertake a project that I’d wanted to do for a long time, surrounded by really supportive and engaging thinkers who could provide guidance on things to read and concepts to consider, but who could also provoke interesting questions on the ethics of ethnographic work or the complexities of building an identity as a social sciences researcher. Overall, it was a terrific experience for me as a researcher as well as a thinker.” — Jessica Lingel, Communication, University of Pennsylvania
“My internship experience at MSRNE was eye-opening, mind-expanding and happy-making. If you are looking to level up as a scholar – reach new depth in your focus area, while broadening your scope in directions you would never dream up on your own; and you’d like to do that with the brightest, most inspiring and supportive group of scholars and humans – then you definitely want to apply.” — Kat Tiidenberg, Communication and Culture, Aarhus University, Denmark
“The Social Media Collective was instrumental throughout the process in giving me timely, sharp, and helpful feedback for my research project. These conversations further inspired new thinking that has shaped for my overall research agenda. I also felt supported by the process at Microsoft Research, to take on what may seem intimidating, especially for social science and humanities students: tackling a research project in 12 short weeks. Socially, the Social Media Collective and other interns at Microsoft Research New England were all amazingly nice and fun people, with whom I made great memories. Overall, the internship was an invaluable experience for my intellectual and professional development.”— Penny Trieu, Information, University of Michigan
“The Microsoft Internship is a life-changing experience. The program offers structure and space for emerging scholars to find their own voice while also engaging in interdisciplinary conversations. For social scientists especially the exposure to various forms of thinking, measuring, and problem-solving is unparalleled. I continue to call on the relationships I made at MSRE and always make space to talk to a former or current intern. Those kinds of relationships have a long tail.” — Tressie McMillan Cottom, Sociology, University of North Carolina
“Coming right after the exhausting, enriching ordeal of general/qualifying exams, it was exactly what I needed to step back, plunge my hands into a research project, and set the stage for my dissertation… PhD interns are given substantial intellectual freedom to pursue the questions they care about. As a consequence, the onus is mostly on the intern to develop their research project, justify it to their mentors, and do the work. While my mentors asked me good, supportive, and often helpfully hard, critical questions, but my relationship with them was not the relationship of an RA to a PI– instead it was the relationship of a junior colleague to senior ones.” — J. Nathan Matias, Psychology, Princeton University (read more here)
Social Media Collective 