Hundreds of MIT students explore fields at the TOUR de SHASS
Academic expo connects students with MIT-SHASS faculty, courses
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“The world needs graduates with an MIT education—one that combines the rigor of the discipline of your choice with a broad understanding of the society that you will go on to be part of and to serve.”
— MIT President L. Rafael Reif, 2015 Convocation address
On September 10, 2015, several hundred MIT undergraduates attended the annual TOUR de SHASS, an academic expo that gives students a chance to discover the range and depth of MIT courses in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (MIT-SHASS).
Kendrick Manyueles, Environmental Engineering ’17, said the TOUR made him feel especially fortunate to be a student at MIT today: “There are so many opportunities in addition to the sciences. I’m very grateful for the breadth of the fields available to me here at the Institute.”
An MIT education combines the STEM and SHASS fields — not least because generating solutions for the world's great challenges requires both technical/scientific creativity and an understanding of the world’s human complexities in the political, cultural, and economic realms. Alongside their STEM classes, all MIT undergraduates take a minimum of eight SHASS classes (nearly 25% of total class time). Many students go deeper to major or minor in one of the MIT-SHASS fields.
At the TOUR this year some four hundred students visited information stations staffed by faculty and undergraduate academic administrators from all 13 MIT-SHASS fields: anthropology; economics; political science; global studies and languages; history; linguistics; literature; comparative media studies/writing; music; theater arts; philosophy; science, technology, and society; and women’s and gender studies.
With all the MIT-SHASS fields represented, at one time, in one room, the event is a convenient and efficient way for students to gather information, talk informally with faculty, and explore possibilities.
“It’s great to have all the SHASS areas here in one place, especially for a freshman like myself, so I can ask questions about the courses," said Matias Hanco ’19. “I’m really interested in video game development and in Comparative Media Studies. The two should complement each other really well.”
Exploring fields
Students at the event were pleased to discover the wide range of fields in MIT-SHASS, and many were glad for a chance to get input and guidance directly from the faculty.
“It was great to get recommendations by talking to the faculty,” said Lily Jordan ’19. “I’m enrolled in an intro linguistics class right now. After taking the TOUR, I’m also going to look into classes in literature and writing.”
“I just think it’s so important to get perspectives from both STEM and HASS,” said Nick Pape ’19. “I’m interested in philosophy and linguistics, and I might like to major in one.”
Meeting global challenges
Luisa Kenausis, Nuclear Science & Engineering and Political Science ’17, explained that her interest in HASS courses is related both to her work in the sciences, and her desire to help solve the world's biggest challenges.
“There’s lots of overlap between my nuclear coursework and political science, in terms of nuclear energy policy, the climate, and nuclear weapons," she says. "But I’m also really interested in issues related to race and social justice, so I’m glad to have the opportunity to study those issues independent of my science field.”
That observation was a common refrain among students at the TOUR de SHASS, and it is a view that echoes the perspective of the Institute's leadership. As Presdent Reif said recently, “To tackle our global challenges — from water and food scarcity and climate change to digital learning, innovation, and human health — we need ambitious new answers from science and engineering. But because these challenges are rooted in culture, economics, and politics, meaningful solutions must reflect the wisdom of these domains too.”
Suggested Links
Take the TOUR online
MIT-SHASS classes empower students for success, and for a lifetime of creativity and growth.
Mission | MIT Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
The Power of STEM + SHASS at MIT
Story by MIT SHASS Communications
Editorial and Design Director: Emily Hiestand
Staff Writer: Daniel Evans Pritchard
Photography: Jon Sachs