Department of Social Sciences and Humanities

The department has four core divisions: (i) Cognitive Science, (ii) Economics, (iii) Liberal Arts, Communication and Humanities (LACH), and (iv) Sociology and Anthropology. It delivers core courses and elective modules for undergraduate and Ph.D. students in each of these divisions. The department runs an innovative degree program, B.Tech. in Computer Science and Social Sciences (CSSS) launched in 2017. We are excited to announce the launch of a new B.Tech. program in Computer Science and Economics (CSEcon) from Academic Year 2025-2026. The first batch will begin from August 2025. These programs have multi-disciplinary curricula that are integrated with Computer Science. We also offer courses in Entrepreneurship.

We are uniquely placed to make significant contributions to teaching and research, with faculty expertise in a wide range of disciplines including cognitive science, communication, economics, politics and governance, philosophy, sociology and anthropology. The diversity in intellectual orientation, combined with shared interests on human and social challenges of the 21st century, fosters a dynamic space of collaboration both within the department and with colleagues in the sciences, engineering and design. Our faculty and students pursue research that is at the frontiers of their disciplines.

The department offers Ph.D. admissions on a range of topics in Cognitive Science, Economics, Philosophy, Communication, Governance and Politics and Sociology/Social Anthropology. We house several laboratories including the Cognitive Science Lab, Econometrics Lab, Ethnography Lab, Game Theory and Market Design Lab, and Urban Research lab.

Vision

The SSH Department aims to lead in innovative and cross-disciplinary research and education by integrating social and cognitive sciences, humanities and information technology with an objective of engaging in and resolving societal concerns.

Mission

• To address societal concerns by building a cross-disciplinary research ecosystem to enable quality theoretical and applied research.
• To foster learning among undergraduate and postgraduate students (including PhD) across disciplines to anticipate, analyse and research socially relevant issues.