Be Your Whole Self At MIT
Many MIT students focus on deeply both humanistic and sci/tech fields, often earning dual degrees. Here are a few of their stories.
"Dual competence is a good model for undergraduates at MIT: Master two fundamental ways of thinking about the world, one technical and one humanistic. Sometimes these two modes will be at odds with each other, which raises critical questions. Other times they will be synergistic and energizing."
— Interview with Professor David Mindell
Historian, Engineer, Co-founder and CEO of Humatics Corporation
SALUTE TO SENIORS, CLASS OF 2022
Profiles | Meet the MIT Bilinguals
Meet 38 of the many graduating seniors who focused deeply on both the Liberal Arts and STEM fields at MIT. In their own words, these "bilingual" students reflect on the value of their multi-dimensional, dual-competence MIT education — and their visions for the future!
MEET THE MIT BILINGUALS
Approaching human cognition from many angles
Senior Keith Murray combines his interests in neuroscience, computation, and philosophy to better understand human behavior.
INNOVATION | DIGITAL HUMANITIES
The Sound of a Sunset
The MIT Digital Humanities Lab unveils its Sonification Toolkit. Created by MIT students in the Digital Humanities Lab, the Toolkit is a set of digital tools that enable conversion of almost anything — from data to drawings — into sound that is aesthetically satisfying and analytically illuminating.
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Max Williamson '22 | Computer Science + Political Science
Max Williamson '22 uses his background in computer science to tackle public policy issues in his home state and on a global scale.
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Adedolapo "Dolapo" Adedokun '22 | EECS + Music
EECS student, Mitchell Scholar, and musician aims to use tech to democratize access to creativity and the arts.
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David Darrow '22 | Languages + Math
Darrow's languages (to-date) are German, French, Spanish — and Math, which he sees as "the language that the universe operates within." And by learning several human languages Darrow says he can connect to more experts — in math and many other topics.
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Ryan Conti '23 | Math/CS + Philosophy of Language
Preparing for a career advancing the science and policy of climate issues, Ryan Conti '23 focuses on math, computer science, and the philosophy of language.
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Rujul Gandhi ’22 | Linguistics + Computer Science
With her double major Gandhi works to surmount language and cultural barriers, globally and on campus.
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Madeline Wong ’21 | Music + EECS
Wong, a double major in music and EECS, boosts signal processing of ConcertCue, an app that infuses concerts with performance insights.
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Ana Reyes Sanchez '22 | Mathematics + Philosophy
An aspiring human rights lawyer, Ana Reyes Sanchez is drawn to issues involving ethics, decision-making, and rationality.
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Brian Williams ’22 | Biological Engineering + Black Studies
Williams is using bioengineering and black studies as a launchpad to combat racism in public health, to use "the toolbox of social justice, pulling the levers of activism, advocacy, democracy, and legislation to improve our social institutions at the root.”
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Lia Hsu-Rodriguez '21 | Anthropology + Biology
Health Care Equity
Hsu-Rodriguez's vision is to use her dual expertise in Anthropology and Biology in the public health and public policy sector to reduce healthcare inequality.
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Salute to Bilingual Students | Class of 2021
Profiles of 31 of the outstanding MIT 2021 graduates who focused deeply on both humanistic and sci/tech fields reflect on their MIT education — and their visions for the future.
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Kiara Wahnschafft '22 | Economics + MechE
Whether improving sanitation or addressing climate change, Wahnschafft is drawn to evidence-based methods for tackling social challenges.
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Anjali Nambrath '21 | Physics/Math + French & Theater
Nambrath says learning to see the world through a wide variety of lenses is crucial to success in her field. In physics, she explains, “the whole point is to find new ways of looking at the world. I think it’s super important as a human being to push the boundaries of knowledge, to find out more.”
MEET THE MIT BILINGUALS
Darya Guettler ’21 | MechE + Political Science
Combining degrees in mechanical engineering and political science, MIT senior Darya Guettler '21 advocates for climate policy, sustainable technologies, and equitable, inclusive processes.
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Kathryn Tso ’22 | History + Materials Science
Tso, who is earning a double major in history and in materials science, finds that materials science enables her to explore environmental chemistry and issues related to waste and pollution, while history provides her with context — revealing the interplay of technology with society and illuminating the key roles that government often plays.
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Salute to Seniors | Class of 2020
35 of the many outstanding MIT 2020 students who have focused on both humanistic and scientific/technical fields reflect on their MIT education — and their visions for the future.
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Voices from Global Languages
Members of the Class of 2020 on their language studies
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Salute to the 2020 Literature graduates
This year’s Literature majors received degrees from two MIT Schools.
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Salute to the 2020 MIT Political Science graduates
Leveraging unique undergraduate opportunities, MIT political science majors pursue bright post-graduation prospects.
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Kathryn Jiang ’20 | Literature + Mathematics
“Literature and math both try to explain how the world works; literature through stories and math through patterns," and these different perspectives are needed to solve today’s complex problems. “So much of this world is messy," Jiang says, "and MIT’s humanistic subjects give you a way to think about messy data, qualitative data. That’s really valuable.”
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Emily Soice ’20 | Environmental Engineering + Music
"I came to MIT to be an environmental engineer. I've always loved the environment and wanted to protect it. We also need leadership, which is what I've learned the most in music."
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Claudia Chen ’20 | Comparative Media Studies + MechE
“As a MechE student, I think about technical solutions to our world’s biggest problems. As a CMS student, I think about the effects and implications these technical solutions have on our society and our media ecosystems."
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Talia Khan '20 | Materials Science + Music
“When I was looking for a university, I wanted one with access to top-quality music teachers and top-quality science. MIT really fit the bill. At MIT, we have the same quality of music education as conservatories, and you also have the rest of the MIT education.”
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Charlotte Minsky '20 | History/CS + Planetary Science
Studying science has made her a better historian, Minsky says. And studying history has made her a better scientist.
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Christine Soh '20 | CS/Engineering + Linguistics
With her dual degrees, Soh is prepared to make new tools in computational linguistics. Potential applications include improving speech recognition software and making machine-produced speech sound more natural.
SOCIAL INNOVATION: RESEARCH TO POLICY
Samuel Rodarte '13 | Aero-Astro + Latinx Studies + PoliSci
Shaping Public Policy in the Nation's Capital
With dual MIT degrees in engineering and humanities fields, and a social science minor, Samuel Rodarte '13 could have found a top job in almost any enterprise from startup to multinational corporation. Instead, he chose to join generations of alumni who have put their MIT skills to work shaping public policy in Washington, D.C.
HEALTH AND MEDICINE | PUBLIC HEALTH
Ankita Reddy '19 | Anthropology + Biology
Improving public health
Culturally aware approaches lead to more effective medical interventions.
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Cara Lai '16 cites MIT Literature as key to her preparation for medical practice.
Lai, who graduates with degrees in both Literature and Mechanical Engineering, is en route to Stanford University's School of Medicine. In this story she explains how MIT Literature provided her with tools critical to the practice of medicine.
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Laura Meeker '14 | Engineering + Humanities
Le Morte d'Arthur and the Engineer
In the fall of 2013, after having taught "Medieval Literature: Legends of Arthur" at MIT for six years, Arthur Bahr took a leap of faith. Instead of a final paper, he gave his students the option to turn in a creative project about Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur. “These are MIT students," says Bahr, Associate Professor of Literature."They’re makers. Mens et manus, right?”