Newsletter: December 2025
It’s been an eventful year at the Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences (CSSS). The photo above captures a highlight — social science graduate students smiling on the last day of Math Camp, a week-long intensive instruction in mathematics and basic statistical programming offered annually. Instructors Ethan Ancell (PhD Candidate, Statistics) and Todd Noble (PhD Candidate, Sociology) brought great energy to the classroom throughout the week. Learn more about this year’s camp.
In Winter 2025, CSSS underwent its first external review since 2002. An interdisciplinary committee of experts from NYU, Stanford, and Penn State joined UW faculty to evaluate CSSS’ strengths and opportunities for improvement. Thank you to everyone who met with the committee during the two-day review!
The review committee praised CSSS’s strong contributions to research, training, and collaboration, noting that, “in the face of demographic and financial challenges, CSSS would help with the financial viability of providing crucial methodological research education across the university.” Their findings and recommendations — including increased investment in CSSS — are being considered by the College of Arts & Sciences and are guiding our strategy in the years ahead.
This Fall, we welcomed three new Blalock Fellows, joining UW PhD programs in Communication, Political Science, and Sociology. We are proud to contribute to recruiting students with a passion for cutting-edge quantitative social science research to UW’s graduate programs.
Please stay connected in the year ahead — join us at our interdisciplinary seminars (in person or online), subscribe to the seminar mailing list, and visit our website for more CSSS updates.
Elena A. Erosheva (she/her)
Professor of Statistics and Social Work
Director, Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences
University of Washington
Alumni Spotlights: Where are they now?
CSSS PhD tracks offer advanced training for doctoral students to prepare them for independent research and teaching careers at the intersection of statistics and social science. Three CSSS alumni share about their research journeys, reflecting on their time at the UW, and offering advice for current graduate students.
David Hsu: Applying statistics to advance policymaking
As an Associate Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning at MIT and a Strategic Planner at the U.S. Department of Energy, learn what David gained from CSSS and how he’s worked both within and outside of academia.
CSSS Urban Design & Planning PhD Track, 2010.
Carolina Johnson: Contending with the complexity of real-world data
Now a Senior Data Scientist with King County's Department of Community and Human Services, hear why Carolina pursued doctoral quantitative training in Political Science and what she took away from her time with CSSS.
CSSS Political Science PhD Track, 2013.
Yu-Ling Chang: Leveraging research to strengthen social safety nets
Now an assistant professor in UC Berkeley’s School of Social Welfare, Yu-Ling’s early experiences as a social worker in Taiwan sparked her commitment to connect research and policy to strengthen social safety nets.
CSSS Social Work PhD Track, 2014.
Faculty news
Prof Christopher Adolph Ranked First for Impact During 2018-2022
Adolph was ranked first globally for recent impact, third globally for overall impact, and fifth globally for recent citations, largely due to his recent research on COVID-19 policies.
CSSS Welcomed 21 New Affiliate Faculty Members
The affiliate faculty who joined CSSS in 2024-2025 represent a diverse range of research interests and UW departments, including anthropology, biostatistics, communication, economics, and psychology.
KEEP IN TOUCH!
- If you have news about an alumni or friend of the Center that you would like to share, reach out to us at csss@uw.edu.
- Gifts to the CSSS discretionary fund provide unrestricted support that can be directed where it’s needed more.
- For more frequent updates on events, news, and opportunities through CSSS, sign up for our weekly seminar mailing list.
