Summer Boot Camps & Placement Exams

Summer Boot Camps

All incoming students are required to attend in-person computing and math camps before beginning the program. Computing Fundamentals and Computational Social Science Math are required for all incoming students; Economics Math Camp is required for MACSS-Economics students the September before their second year.

Computing Fundamentals Boot Camp

August 24 - September 11, 2026
This boot camp focuses on introducing fundamental open-source tools for producing reproducible, computational research. Topics include the basics of Python programming, working on the Linux command line, as well as using Git/GitHub for version control. The course assumes no prior exposure to these topics and serves as preparation for the first course in the MACSS computing sequences in the Fall (MACS 30111 or MACS 30121). This camp can be taken
concurrently with the Computational Social Science Math Camp. Students anticipating completing the Computational Social Science certificate during their time at UChicago are strongly encouraged, but not required, to complete this camp.

Computational Social Science Math Camp

August 24 - September 11, 2026
Topics include mathematical notation and functions, linear algebra, calculus, probability theory, statistical inference, and linear regression. The course assumes that students have encountered most of these topics previously. Students anticipating completing the Computational Social Science certificate during their time at UChicago are strongly encouraged, but not required, to complete this camp.

Economics Math Camp (MACSS-Economics 2nd Years Only)
Please contact Emma Rubenstein, Student Affairs Administrator for MAPSS-Econ, with questions regarding the camp content: emrubenstein@uchicago.edu.

Placement Exams

MACSS students starting one of the program’s computing sequences in the Autumn (MACS 30111 or MACS 30121) are automatically registered based on their results on the Computing Fundamentals Boot Camp placement exam. Students who earn a “Fail” or “Low Pass” will be registered for MACS 30111. Students who earn a “Pass” will be registered for MACS 30121. Students who earn a “High Pass” will waive MACS 30121 and are eligible to take additional placement exams, held the week after the boot camps, to place out of further MACSS computing courses, including MACS 30100 and MACS 30122-30123.

Although not required, students who earn a “High Pass” and wish to take a Master’s Program in Computer Science (MPCS) course in the Autumn in place of MACS 30121 may enroll in either MPCS 51042, Python Programming, or MPCS 51036, Java Programming. “High Pass” students who wish to enroll in more advanced MPCS courses in the Autumn may take the MPCS Programming Placement Exam II to qualify. This exam is typically held in late September, though the date varies (“High Pass” students interested in taking the exam should consult with MACSS leadership for more details).

MACSS-Econ: Students who earn placement credit on their computational statistics exam (held at the end of the Computational Social Science Math Camp) will be exempt from the Foundations in Quantitative analysis requirement. To be well-prepared for this exam, we recommend participating in the Computational Social Science Math Camp.