Principal Investigator Dava Newman
Co-investigator Barbara S DeLaBarre
Project Website http://tppserver.mit.edu/53/54.htm
The Master's Program in Technology and Policy (TPP) represents MIT's commitment to fostering the wise use of innovations in engineering and science. The curriculum of the Program is designed to develop a cadre of professionals who, by incorporating skills and knowledge in both technology and policy, would substantially improve the quality of policy development and implementation in technical arenas.
The Technology and Policy Program educates men and women for leadership in important technological issues confronting society. Graduate students prepare to excel in technical fields and to develop and implement effective strategies for dealing with the risks and opportunities relevant to business and government. In addition to providing analytic skills, the Program promotes the capacity to understand conflicting values, to develop constituencies, and to negotiate solutions -- in short, to implement policy.
The Technology and Policy Program curriculum is founded on the premise of dual competency: strength both in a technical field and in the policy process. It combines a core in engineering or the natural sciences with studies in applied social sciences including required courses in economics, politics, management, and law. Through case studies involving both governmental agencies and corporations, the Program emphasizes both public and private policy analysis.
The core curriculum forms a common foundation on which students build a program focusing on specialized technical issues through elective courses, summer and research internships, and a master's thesis. Current clusters of research and study include the International Motor Vehicle Program, Lean Aerospace Initiative, Fast and Flexible Manufacturing, Research Program for Communications Policy, MIT Communications Forum, Materials Systems Laboratory, and Technology and Law. Recent thesis topics focused on such issues as the use of "lean" manufacturing techniques for the aircraft industry, the use of cable vs. telephone lines in community-based telecommunications, and the environmental impact of electric vehicle programs. Such issues present themselves in many areas of business, and recent graduates have been successfully employed in government, consulting, international organizations, and technology-driven corporations.
The program promotes team-centered learning among a culturally and internationally diverse group of students. Broadly speaking, the Technology and Policy Program educates people to develop effective strategies for major policy issues from a firm base of technical capability.