Summer Seminars in Humanistic Cognitive Science
SSHooCS
Inaugural Cohort · August 11–18, 2026
| Format | Six-day summer seminar |
|---|---|
| Participants | 10–20 students (5–10 humanist/scientist teams) |
| Who | PhD students, advanced undergrads & postdocs (interdisciplinary teams encouraged) |
| When | August 11–18, 2026 |
| Deadline | Proposals due May 31, 2026 |
About the Seminars
The inaugural Summer Seminar in Humanistic Cognitive Science (SSHooCS) will bring together a small cohort of humanist and scientist students for six intensive days of cross-disciplinary training, collaboration, and research development. Our approach is modeled on the Duke Summer Seminars in Neuroscience and Philosophy — arguably the world's most successful mechanism for training humanistic cognitive scientists. Participants will leave with a fully developed interdisciplinary research project that they will complete in Academic Year 2026/2027, a network of collaborators across UVA, and the concrete skills to pursue interdisciplinary research and funding in HooCS and beyond. SSHooCS will take place over six days between August 11–18 (with two days off for the weekend).
Who Should Apply
Graduate Students
Humanists and scientists will be given equal consideration.
Select Undergraduates
Advanced undergraduates with research experience, plans for grad school, and a grad partner.
Postdocs
Postdoctoral Fellows.
Team applications — one humanist and one scientist — will be given preference in selection, but solo applications also considered.
SSHooCS is designed to build bridges, not filter for those who already speak multiple disciplinary languages. If you are a philosopher curious about psychology, a psychologist drawn to ethics, or a social scientist interested in contemplative traditions, this is for you.
Seminar Structure
| Mornings | Cross-training seminars: humanist faculty train scientist participants and vice versa, building a shared vocabulary. |
|---|---|
| Afternoons | Project development: humanist–scientist teams develop interdisciplinary research projects. By the end of SSHooCS, participants will design projects and translate them into short, fundable interdisciplinary grant proposals with mentorship from HooCS faculty and Arts & Sciences Research Development staff. |
What Participants Receive
| Stipend | Each HooCS participant receives a $1,000 stipend. |
|---|---|
| Seed funding | Teams receive up to $1,500 in research funds to complete their projects throughout 2026/2027. |
| Research mentorship | Sustained engagement with HooCS faculty across Philosophy, Psychology, Data Science, and the Contemplative Sciences. |
| Grant development | Mentorship on applying for external funding for interdisciplinary research (Templeton, Tiny Blue Dot, NEH, NSF, and others). |
| HooCS community | Ongoing affiliation with the HooCS Hub, including biweekly lab meetings, data science support, and the broader research network. |
| SSNAP support | Outstanding teams will receive mentorship from UVA to develop their projects into an application for SSNAP at Duke. |
How to Apply
Applications must be submitted by May 31, 2026 to hoocs@virginia.edu. Applications should be formatted as a single .pdf with:
- A brief statement of interest (750 words max) describing your research background(s), what you hope to work on, and why SSHooCS is the right environment for this project.
- If applying as a team, a joint statement (250 words max) explaining how your backgrounds complement each other.
- Current CVs for each team member.
- A list of potential faculty mentors (or, even better, a faculty member who has agreed to mentor the project).
To find an interdisciplinary partner, you can fill out our Team Finding Form and/or attend our team-finding mixer on May 6, 11:00am–12:30pm in Cocke Hall's Baltz Library.
- Application Deadline
- May 31, 2026
- Questions & Submissions
- hoocs@virginia.edu