The MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (SHASS) is one of the five schools of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
, located in
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
,
,
US. The school has over 20 departments, department-level programs, and faculties granting
SB,
SM, and
PhD degrees. Major fields of study include anthropology, comparative media studies, economics, history, linguistics, literature, music, philosophy, political science, and theater arts.
Other programs include the
Center for International Studies;
Knight Science Journalism;
Science, Technology, and Society
Science and technology studies (STS) is an interdisciplinary field that examines the creation, development, and consequences of science and technology in their historical, cultural, and social contexts.
History
Like most interdisciplinary fie ...
;
Security Studies
__NOTOC__
Security studies, also known as international security studies, is an academic sub-field within the wider discipline of international relations that studies organized violence, military conflict, national security, and international s ...
; and HyperStudio (
digital humanities
Digital humanities (DH) is an area of scholarly activity at the intersection of computing or Information technology, digital technologies and the disciplines of the humanities. It includes the systematic use of digital resources in the humanitie ...
).
In 2018, the
Times Higher Education World University Rankings
The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'' (often referred to as the THE Rankings) is an annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' (THE) magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarelli ...
rated MIT the #2 university for arts and humanities.
, the Dean of the School is Professor
Agustin Rayo. With over 200 faculty members, 330 graduate students, and 109 undergraduate majors and 161 minors, the school is the fourth largest at MIT. All MIT undergraduates must take at least 8 semesters of courses (approximately 25% of total classroom time) in SHASS as part of the General Institute Requirements for a diploma, and those minoring or majoring within the School undertake additional studies and projects.
, 4
Nobel Laureates
In English, the word laureate has come to signify eminence or association with literary awards or military glory. It is also used for recipients of the Nobel Prize, the Gandhi Peace Award, the Student Peace Prize, and for former music dir ...
, 7
MacArthur Fellows
The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 ind ...
, and 4
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
winners were members of the SHASS faculty.
Additionally, 2
National Medal of Science
The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social scienc ...
awardees,
11
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
Fellows, 57
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
Fellows, 40
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...
s, and 5
John Bates Clark Medal
The John Bates Clark Medal is awarded by the American Economic Association to "that American economist under the age of forty who is adjudged to have made a significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge." The award is named after the ...
ists are associated with SHASS.
In March 2017, MIT announced the new Theater Arts Building (Building W97) located at 345 Vassar Street at the far western end of campus. Constructed in a completely renovated former warehouse, the facility consolidates the performance and design spaces of a new academic major in Theater Arts, which was established in 2015. The building's includes a two-story, 180-seat, multimedia-equipped performance space which can be reconfigured for each use; as well as a rehearsal studio, dressing rooms, and set and costume
makerspace
A hackerspace (also referred to as a hacklab, hackspace, or makerspace) is a community-operated, often "not for profit" (501(c)(3) in the United States), workspace where people with common interests, such as computers, machining, technology, sc ...
s.
References
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
University subdivisions in Massachusetts