WPI is internationally renowned as a distinguished engineering school, but we know the world needs professionals who understand the social impacts of technology while remaining literate in both approaches. Our strong social science department prepares students to be social scientists who understand the wide-ranging influence technology has on an incredibly diverse and always changing human world that is full of social challenges.

Renowned faculty in the Social Science & Policy Studies (SSPS) Department offer students chances to make connections between society and technology through research and project work. Many students double major in a technical field and a social science field, finding each complementary to the other.

Our faculty encourages students to pursue the direction that appeals to them most. In our research-intensive environment, we teach students how to design and implement public policies, the reasons why economic policies are not a one-size-fits-all solution, or how and why human beings interact with technology in varied ways.

society

Contact

Location: 
Salisbury Laboratories
Phone: 
508-831-5296
Fax: 
508-831-5896
ssps@wpi.edu

Admissions and Course Information

Undergraduate Admissions Information
Graduate Admissions Information

Degrees & Certificates

Area of Study Bachelor Minor Certificate Master PhD
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Transfer Credit Policy at: https://www.wpi.edu/academics/study/programs/social-science-policy-studies/resou...

Launching the Conversation: The 1st Summit on Social Justice in STEM at WPI

Join us for WPI’s first campus-wide summit on social justice! Hear from faculty, staff, and students who work in areas related to social justice. Join the conversation to explore the meaning behind social justice and to learn how it relates to WPI majors and specializations. Listen to our keynote speaker over lunch: Asima Silva -- a WPI alum, IBM software engineer, and social activist. Finally, help shape the future of social justice at WPI. Join our brainstorming discussion about what comes next for our community! Stop by for any part of the day. Listen. Learn. Discuss. Contribute. Everyone is welcome!

Event Information

Keeping Ahead of Cybersecurity

As cybersecurity threats increase, social scientists need to stay one step ahead. At WPI, our technical and social fluency merge for a world-class education with faculty who are internationally respected for their cybersecurity expertise. Students learn the technical savvy to protect against threats and study the human behavior that makes cybersecurity such a complex issue.

Cybersecurity at WPI

BS/MS Option

The Social Science & Policy Studies Department offers outstanding students the opportunity to earn a BS/MS degree in an accelerated time. The undergraduate degree is in any major and then is combined with a System Dynamics MS or SDIM MS degree program. Interested students are encouraged to apply during junior year.

Learn More about BS/MS Option

Life of a Scientist

Psychology double major Rebecca Burns '17 and economics professor Michael Radzicki and are among more than a dozen members of the WPI scientific community who shared what being a scientist means to them. 

Meet some of WPI's #ActualLivingScientists

Career Outlook

Graduates of the department leave with the broad range of technical, scientific, and social science skills that lead to careers in many industries including business, psychology, industry, environmental, law, education, policy, or cybersecurity.

Career Development Center Profiles
75%

of graduating students completed at least one off-campus project

2017-18
68

countries are represented by undergraduate population 

(2017)
93%

of full-time faculty have a PhD or terminal degree (2017-18)

Calendar

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News

Professor Erin Ottmar Studies the Process of How People Learn, Problem Solve
July 26, 2018
Struggling with Algebra? There’s an App – and Game – for That
July 26, 2018
See More News

Announcements

June 20, 2018
Grants of up to $1 million will be awarded in support of intellectually ambitious, large-scale education research projects.
February 13, 2018
Northeast Big Data for Education Spoke Meeting
September 25, 2017
Professor Ivon Arroyo Receives NSF CAREER Award
April 28, 2017
2017 A&S Summer Undergraduate Research Award Recipients
October 19, 2016
Faces and Gestures of Human Learning (FGHL)
SEE MORE ANNOUNCEMENTS

In the News

WPI professor and associates get $3.3M grant to test new algebra learning game

Assistant Professor Erin Ottmar, psychology and learning sciences, was highlighted in this Telegram & Gazette article. “We have very strong evidence that it’s useful,” she said of the game called “From Here to There!.”  

telegram.com logo
The age of the Worcester skyscraper has been replaced by street-level interactions

The Worcester Business Journal interviewed Rob Krueger, associate professor of social science & policy studies, about why the city of Worcester seems to no longer construct skyscrapers. Towers are often built for two main reasons, Krueger noted: land values are high, or a builder or owner wants to spend the money. 

Worcester Business Journal
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Related Links

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