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
Genomes from Oceania offer new clues to human evolution
A study led by Serena Tucci, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, conducts research on genomes from Near Oceania that reveal a complex population history and evidence that DNA inherited from extinct hominins continues to influence human biology today.
Luciano Flordi Awarded 2026 Strega International Non-Fiction Prize
Luciano Floridi, John K. Castle Professor in the Practice of Cognitive Science and Director of the Digital Ethics Center, has been awarded the 2026 Strega International Non-Fiction Prize for his recent work on AI and information ethics.
Lu Lu named to 2025 MIT Innovators Under 35 list for the Asia Pacific region
Lu, Assistant Professor of Statistics and Data Science, was named to the list for his work "pioneer[ing] a paradigm shift in Scientific Machine Learning (SciML)."
Yale researchers propose ‘copyleft’ rules for generative AI
A study co-led by Luciano Floridi, John K. Castle Professor in the Practice of Cognitive Science, and other researchers from the Digital Ethics Center propose a potential solution to the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on the free and open-source software (FOSS) community.
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