Division of Social Science
Wide-ranging expertise
The faculty of the FAS Social Science division are experts in politics, economics, society, and the human mind. Their methods are cutting edge, ranging from data-driven statistical analysis to ethnography and fieldwork; from polling and surveys to neuroimaging. Their work leads to new understandings of social and political systems and the nature of human interaction and thought.
The divisional dean of Social Science is Tony Smith.
Social Science departments and programs
The FAS is home to seven social science departments: Anthropology, Economics, Linguistics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and Statistics and Data Science. In addition, several programs are cross-divisional, bridging Social Science and Humanities.
News
TEMPEST collaboration will take on turbulence
Yale is part of a new, multi-institution research center focused on understanding and controlling turbulence — one of the oldest unsolved problems in physics. TEMPEST, which will be based at Michigan State University, brings together physicists, mathematicians, engineers, and AI researchers — including Yale’s Anna Gilbert, the John C. Malone Professor of Statistics and Data Science.
Study links soaring health care spending to higher insurance premiums
Since 2011, health insurance premiums in the United States have increased at twice the rate of inflation. A new study co-authored by Zack Cooper, Associate Professor of Economics, shows that rising health care spending is to blame.
FAS New Faculty Spotlight: Gloria Mellesmoen
For our new faculty spotlight series, we asked incoming FAS faculty member Gloria Mellesmoen, Lecturer in Linguistics, about their teaching, field of research, and thoughts on joining Yale!
What’s that smell? Researchers use AI to map the elusive sense
A Yale-led study, co-authored by Sterling Professor of Sociology and Natural Science and Director of the Human Nature Lab Nicholas Christakis, shows that machine learning can accurately predict how people perceive complex mixtures of odors, laying the groundwork to create a digital framework for understanding the sense of smell.
At the forefront of economics
Can the field of economics help to achieve greater equality? Rohini Pande, economist and Director of the Yale Economic Growth Center, believes economists should consider notions of justice, not just efficiency. As part of a large study, she and her colleagues, along with researchers from the Inclusion Economics initiative, are currently surveying over 5,000 Indian women to better understand a major gender disparity in mobile phone use in the country and whether government policies might be needed to correct the imbalance.
FAS Social Science contacts
- FAS Dean of Social Science; William K. Lanman, Jr. Professor of Economics and Professor of Management
- FAS Dean's Office
- Economics
- Senior Associate Dean
- FAS Dean's Office
- Associate Dean
- FAS Dean's Office