Master of Science in Technology and Policy

专业详情

The Technology and Policy Program (TPP) educates students seeking leadership roles in the constructive development and use of technology—an area that is not well served by the traditional education of technical or social science specialists. TPP focuses on meeting the need for leaders who are engineers and scientists—people with not only strong technical foundations but also the skills and abilities to deal cogently and effectively with the economic, political, and administrative dimensions of the technological challenges of the 21st century.

The Master of Science in Technology and Policy is an engineering research degree with a focus on the increasingly central role of technology in the framing, formulation, and resolution of policy problems. Many students combine TPP’s curriculum with complementary subjects to obtain dual degrees in TPP and either a specialized branch of engineering or an applied social science, such as political science or urban studies and planning.

TPP’s coursework provides a solid grounding in technology and policy by combining advanced subjects in the student’s chosen technical field with courses in economics, politics, modern quantitative methods, and social science. All students must complete a satisfactory research thesis that has a substantial technology and policy component. In order to prepare students for effective professional practice, TPP stresses leadership and communication. It also encourages students to participate in TPP’s summer internship program, which places students in government and industry in the US and around the world.

The TPP curriculum consists of three blocks of subjects and a research thesis. The first block is a required integrative subject in technology and policy and a subject in applied quantitative methods. The second block focuses on training in formal frameworks for policy development and consists of subjects in microeconomics, political economy, and one core restricted elective that treats problems of technology and policy from a domain that is outside that of the students’ area of research concentration and deepens the students’ understanding of framings and rationales for governance in this area. The third block comprises a minimum of three coherent electives that fulfill professional and research objectives. The research thesis is the culmination of scholarship integrating technology and policy.

Completion of the academic and research requirements of the TPP SM typically takes four terms.

The TPP curriculum normally begins in September; applications are due by December 15. All applicants should have a strong basis in engineering or science, and must take the GRE. Strong candidates for the program typically score in the top 10 percent of all three GRE areas: verbal, quantitative, and analytic writing. TPP seeks applicants having relevant work or research experience as well as the ability to demonstrate evidence of leadership and initiative in their professional or other activities.

Contact the TPP program office, Room E17-373, 617-258-7295, for additional information.