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Qualified graduates can continue to Ph.D. programs in Decision Science or related fields (e.g., psychology, business), pursue professional degrees (e.g., MBA, MD, JD, MPH), or take professional positions in business, government, consulting, or the non-profit sector. Students work with faculty and the Academic Advisor to tailor their education to their personal needs and interest.

Carnegie Mellon is one of the leading centers for the study of Decision Science - and offers the only undergraduate major that integrates analytical and behavioral approaches to decision making. Our faculty are involved in applying Decision Science in a wide variety of areas, allowing them to share practical experiences with students. These applications include medical decision making (e.g., conveying the costs and benefits of treatment options), legal decision making (e.g., reducing the effects of hindsight bias on attributions of responsibility for accidents), risk management (e.g., assessing and communicating the risks of climate change), marketing (e.g., understanding the effects of inter-temporal choice on purchasing decisions), and business (e.g., identifying unrecognized conflicts of interest).

Decision Science is grounded in theories and methods drawn from psychology, economics, philosophy, statistics, and management science. Courses in the major cover the three aspects of decision science: (a) normative analysis, creating formal models of choice; (b) descriptive research, studying how cognitive, emotional, social, and institutional factors affect judgment and choice, and (c) prescriptive interventions, seeking to improve judgment and decision making. In addition to gaining a broad education in the principles of judgment and decision making, Decision Science majors gain broadly applicable skills in research design and analysis. They also have the chance to think about and discuss decision making in many different areas.

The core courses present fundamental theories and results from the study of decision making, along with their application to real-world problems. They introduce students to methods for collecting and analyzing behavioral data. For example, students learn to conduct surveys (e.g., uncovering consumer or managerial preferences), design experiments (e.g., evaluating theories, comparing ways of presenting information), and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions.

The elective courses provide students with additional knowledge in areas of decision making that meet their personal, intellectual, and career goals. These courses are organized into six clusters: biological and behavioral aspects of decision making, managerial and organizational aspects, philosophical and ethical perspectives, economic and statistical methods, public policy, and research methods. Students can concentrate in one area or spread their studies across them. In addition to coursework, the department offers research opportunities for interested and qualified students. Participating in research helps students to extend their mastery of decision science, discover whether a research career is right for them, and get to know faculty and graduate students better.

For specific curriculum requirements, please see the .

Learning outcomes for Decision Science

• Explain normative and descriptive theories from economics, psychology, and decision science
• Apply concepts and phenomena from decision science to policy decisions and real world problems
• Explain, defend, and critique the empirical research methods used in decision science
• Structure complex and amorphous problems for quantitative analysis
• Display effective written and spoken communication about decision science ideas, theories, and phenomena