School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

Students shake hands during the MIT Prison Education Program. A documentary film about the program has won a New England Emmy Award.

MIT prison education program documentary wins New England Emmy Award

Film portrays groundbreaking initiative’s impact on MIT undergraduates and incarcerated students.

June 30, 2020

Top row (l-r): Daron Acemoglu, Kristin Bergmann, Gigliola Staffilani, Catherine Drennan. Middle row (l-r): Anna Mikusheva, Kerri Cahoy, Larry Susskind, Gene-wei Li. Bottom row (l-r): Jesse Kroll, Caroline Jones, Alfredo Alexander-Katz, Colette Heald.

Twelve MIT faculty honored as “Committed to Caring” for 2020-2021

Honor recognizes faculty mentors who devote true attention to students’ well-being.

June 30, 2020

A new edition of MIT's Starr Forum, hosted by the Center for International Studies on Tuesday, June 23, examined national cultures and the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The panel featured, clockwise from top left: Suzanne Berger, MIT’s inaugural John M. Deutch Institute Professor; Peter Krause PhD '11, an associate professor of political science at Boston College; Yasheng Huang, the Epoch F...

When culture clashes with Covid-19

MIT panelists examine the roles of social norms in countries’ differing responses to the coronavirus pandemic.

June 25, 2020

“As a MechE student, I think about technical solutions to our world’s biggest problems," says Claudia Chen '20. "As a CMS student, I think about the effects and implications these technical solutions have on our society and our media ecosystems.”

Meet the MIT bilinguals: Claudia Chen '20 combines creative, humanistic, and technical fields

Recent MIT graduate will apply her dual comparative media studies and mechanical engineering degree to work in the technology industry.

June 18, 2020

Overhead photo of MIT buildings and campus

Team 2020 charts a course for MIT

Report outlines the thinking behind five proposed options for the 2020-2021 academic year.

June 12, 2020

MIT’s 2020 Hertz Fellows are (clockwise from top left): Alexander Alabugin, Alyssa Dayan, Marisa Gaetz, Isaac Metcalf, Nolan Peard, Maya Sankar, and Constantine Tzouanas.

Seven from MIT win 2020 Hertz Fellowships

Award recognizes scholars who pursue graduate studies focusing on “bold, risk-taking research.”

June 11, 2020

QS ranks MIT the world’s No. 1 university for 2020-21

Ranked at the top for the ninth straight year, the Institute also places first in 12 subject areas.

June 9, 2020

Left to right: MIT associate professors Eden Medina of science, technology, and society and Sarah Williams of technology and urban planning. Medina is particularly well-versed in the social, historical, and ethical aspects of computing, and Williams brings expertise as a practicing data scientist. Their multi-layered course, Data and Society, is designed to train practitioners who know how to use ...

The social life of data

New Data and Society course engages students in the ethics and societal implications of data.

June 8, 2020

Left to right: Michelle Bai '20 (economics and political science), Frances Parker-Hale '20 (political science), and Nwanacho Nwana '20 (political science and management science.)

Recent political science graduates see brighter days ahead

Leveraging unique undergraduate opportunities, new MIT political science alumni pursue bright prospects.

June 4, 2020

MIT’s first online Commencement, as seen through social media

Though the MIT community was spread around the world due to Covid-19, graduates and their families celebrated magic moments through social posts.

June 3, 2020

“Learning is not just about having a professor transfer knowledge but also about the life-long lessons that you pick up from teachers in the process," one nominator wrote in support of Amah Edoh's receipt of the Everett Moore Baker Award.

Assistant Professor Amah Edoh receives Baker Award for undergraduate teaching

Anthropologist honored by MIT students as "a mentor, a role model, and someone who is truly making a difference."

June 3, 2020

"The World Wide Web is famously said to have been inspired by Arthur C. Clarke's short story 'Dial F For Frankenstein," says Professor Alexandre. "Whatever the truth is, I'm not surprised that a writer's process of meticulously crafting creative ways of communicating with readers would lead to imaginary inventions that foresee entirely new forms of communication. Literature, its readers, and the i...

3 Questions: Sandy Alexandre on the literary roots of technological innovations

“Our speculative fiction writers are the unsung prophets among us.”

June 1, 2020

Robert Art is stepping down as director of the Seminar XXI Program, a post-graduate education program in the national security arena.

Robert Art retires as director of the Seminar XXI Program

Seminar XXI links policymaking and academia by bringing together military and civilian executives with scholars from MIT and beyond.

May 28, 2020

The MIT Class of 2020 can look forward to an online celebration that Professor Eric Grimson, chair of the Commencement Committee, calls, "a joyful day that will honor our graduates."

Hacking Commencement

Marshalling forces from across the Institute, MIT will deliver an online celebration worthy of the Class of 2020.

May 26, 2020

“When I was looking for a university," says MIT senior Talia Khan, "I wanted one with access to top-quality music teachers and top-quality science. Here, we have the same quality of music education as conservatories, and you also have the rest of the MIT education.”

Meet the MIT bilinguals: Dual materials science and music major Talia Khan

Fulbright Fellowship recipient encourages more musicologists and scientists to do interdisciplinary work with one another.