Social and Decision Sciences
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Social and Decision Sciences, informally known as SDS, is an academic department within the Carnegie Mellon College of Humanities and Social Sciences headquartered in Porter Hall.
Contents |
[edit] Education
The department runs highly regarded undergraduate bachelor of science programs in political science, decision science, and policy and management. The graduate PhD program allows doctoral students options in behavioral decision research, organizational theory, political psychology and political economy, technological change and industrial evolution. All students are trained in policy analysis and research methods.
[edit] Research
The department's primary strength lies in interdisciplinary research, particularly in the intersection of politics and sociology with economics, psychology and human decision making. Statistics, microeconomics, rational decision theory and game theory are among the many areas of specialization. SDS faculty are very involved in interdisciplinary research throughout the university, and are drawn from fields as diverse as economics, psychology, sociology, history and political science. SDS is affiliated with several research centers:
- Center for Risk Perception and Communication
- Dynamic Decision Making Laboratory
- Emotion and Decision Making Lab
- The Center for Behavioral Decision Research
[edit] Rankings
In 2004, the Decision Analysis Society gave four of five stars to the graduate program in prescriptive decision making and five stars in descriptive decision making. These two ratings tied the department for first place among decision science programs in the United States with Duke University and the University of Pennsylvania.
[edit] Faculty
SDS is home to some of the world's top faculty in the fields of decision science, decision support systems, behavioral economics, organizational behavior, and risk analysis. Some notable faculty members include Baruch Fischhoff, Paul Fischbeck, Robyn Dawes, George Loewenstein, Jennifer Lerner, and Otto Davis. In addition the department works closely with the Departments of Engineering and Public Policy, Tepper School of Business, Economics, Psychology, Heinz School, Statistics, and the Information Systems program.
