Chair of Political Science, Social Data Science

Portraitfoto von Prof. Marc Ratkovic

Professor Marc Ratkovic, Ph.D.

Welcome to our website!  Here at the Chair of Social Data Science, we are working to integrate machine learning and deep learning methods into practical social science methodology.  The research and teaching at the chair focuses on utilizing Large Language Models (LLMs) for statistical inference and causal inference.  Our work has appeared in top journals across political science, statistics, and computer science.

We are building a team of top researchers, an integrated server system, a Masters level curriculum, and a series of events all focused on pushing quanti­tative and computational social science forwards. 

You can find more information throughout this site.
Thank you for your interest!

Profile Join Our Team!

Highlights in Research & Teaching

Logo of the GRTL Lab, two children in front of a background that combines a gingerbread house and a platine
The Global Responsible Technology Lab

Interdisciplinary research lab studying AI and data‑driven technologies with a focus on governance, ethics, and public policy to assess their impact on power, inequality, and public institutions

Logo of the TRAPP project - a curved orange arrow pointing to the upper right before a dark blue shield with a constellation-like pattern next to the letters "TRAPP TRafficing Risks: AI for Proactive Protection"
Trafficking Risks: AI for Proactive Protection (TRAPP)

Developing AI‑driven decision support for law enforcement to combat child trafficking and strengthen child protection in India

Group of sudents attending a lecture
Speeding Up Social Science

Exploring AI for scientific writing through international, workshop‑driven research (collaboration with Prof. Gschwend and Springer Nature)

Marc Ratkovic giving a talk to students in a lecture hall at the Schloss
Master Programs and Doctoral Classes

Teaching in MMSDS, MMDS and CDSS programs with courses, workshops, and seminars across all levels.

News

Das Mannheimer Barockschloss und der Ehrenhof.
„Foreign Interference in Germany: Lessons from Ukraine, US, and Russia“ – Panel discussion at the Schloss on Monday, November 2nd
With increasing fears of an impending European military conflict, Germany is looking to prepare against Russian aggression. The threat is not just external: Russia also targets the stability of German democracy and society. Collecting military experts on foreign interference, Col. Adam Bryson (ret) ...
Talk in the MZES Social Data Science Lab
Prof. Ratkovic was invited to give a talk in the MZES Social Science Data Lab event series. The hybrid input talk entitled “Harnessing GPT for Enhanced Academic Writing: Evidence from a Field Experiment with Early-Career Researchers in the Social Sciences” will take place on Wednesday, September 16 ...
The picture shows the profile photos of two researchers, side by side, Sophia Moskalenko on the left and Sammy Schmidt on the right.
Sophia Moskalenko and Sammy Schmidt join the group
With the start of fall term we welcome two new researchers to the group! Sophia Moskalenko is a psychologist with a PhD in Social and Clinical Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. Her research examines radicalization, terrorism, dis­information, and conspiracy theories, with a focus on ...
Street View of Big Ben
Keynote Lecture at ICSTA 2026 in London
Prof. Ratkovic was invited to give the Keynote Lecture at the 8th International Conference on Statistics: Theory and Applications (ICSTA 2026) in London / United Kingdom. Hi talk was titled „Large Language Models for Statistical Inference: Context Augmentation with Applications to the Two-Sample ...

Contact

Portraitfoto von Dr. Birgitta Schirmer.

Dr. Birgitta Schirmer

Fremdsprach­ensekretärin
Das Sekretariat ist am besten per E–Mail oder über MS Teams erreichbar – Mo-Fr vormittags.
Universität Mannheim
Fakultät für Sozial­wissenschaften
Professur für Politik­wissenschaft, Social Data Science
A 5, 6
Bauteil B – Raum B129
68159 Mannheim