College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, UMass Amherst
@sbs-umass.bsky.social
160 followers 81 following 120 posts
Dedicated to world-class social science education and research. SBS is home to 10 academic departments offering BA, BS, MA, MS, MLA, MRP, MPP, MPPA and PhD programs: www.umass.edu/social-sciences
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
sbs-umass.bsky.social
The keynote event for a new series on AI & the social sciences is just around the corner! Join us on Wed. Oct. 8, at 12pm to hear from Alexander "Amac" Macgillivray, who will share his experiences developing AI policy during his time with the Biden administration. sites.google.com/umass.edu/ai...
The Past & Future of AI & Regulation: A Practitioner's View, Oct. 8, 12pm, ZOOM. Keynote event introducing the AI & US: Rethinking Research, Work, and Society Series. UMassAmherst College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
sbs-umass.bsky.social
A lunchtime talk with WSIP/Mellon Visiting Fellow & alumna Aurora Vergara-Figueroa (sociology '13PhD), whose work bridges higher education, public policy, and critical studies on race, gender, class, and land dispossession. 10/9, 1pm, South College E370. RSVP by 10/3: www.umass.edu/social-scien...
Mining for Justice: a lunchtime talk by Aurora Vergara-Figueroa, October 9, 2025, 1-2:30pm, South College E370
Reposted by College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, UMass Amherst
umassjournalism.bsky.social
When Christmaelle Vernet enrolled in Professor Kathy Roberts Forde’s class, she didn’t expect to co-author a TIME Magazine piece — but that’s exactly what happened. Click the link below to read more about the power of faculty-student relationships.

www.umass.edu/journalism/n...

#UmassJournalism
sbs-umass.bsky.social
Starting Thursday, 9/25! A monthly series of Community Talks sponsored by the Center for Justice, Law, and Societies 🏛️ Faculty will offer insights on current events related to federal law and politics. 4-5 pm in the ILC Comm Hub: www.umass.edu/justice-law/...
Center for Justice, Law, and Societies Community Talks starting Thursday, 9/25, 4-5 pm, ILC Comm Hub
sbs-umass.bsky.social
As PIT Fellows, Doug Rice (legal studies, political science and DACSS) and Omer Yalcin (DACSS) will be integrating key practical and ethical considerations of the use of AI tools in the DACSS curriculum and introducing a new graduate course on responsible AI for social scientists.
Public Interest Technology Initiative Announces 2025-26 PIT Faculty Fellows in Responsible AI | UMass Amherst
PIT Fellows will receive seed funding to support research, scholarly writing or curriculum development on the theme of Responsible AI – how we create, use and manage AI responsibly to promote the…
www.umass.edu
sbs-umass.bsky.social
Ray La Raja, Professor of Political Science & Director, UMass Faculty for Open Inquiry and Civil Dialogue, offers tips for bridging ideological divides "to cultivate a campus culture where disagreement is not feared but embraced as a path to deeper understanding":
Letter: Violence over politics has no place on campus or in our country
“In a democratic society, even the most polarizing ideas must be met with words, not weapons,” LaRaja writes.
dailycollegian.com
sbs-umass.bsky.social
The Law and Policy Justice Program is a residential program at the UMass Amherst Mt. Ida campus designed for undergraduate students (from any major!) interested in law, government, and/or social justice-related careers. Now accepting applications for Spring 2026! bit.ly/LPJLEAD
The Law and Policy Justice Program is now accepting applications for spring 2026
sbs-umass.bsky.social
Viviana Wu, public policy, and Anthony Paik, sociology, have been awarded a U.S. National Science Foundation grant to build a first-of-its-kind database tracking trends in foundations' nonprofit grantmaking: www.umass.edu/news/article... - with @sppumass.bsky.social
Wu, Paik win NSF grant to study philanthropic giving trends
sbs-umass.bsky.social
We are celebrating Constitution Day this Wednesday! September 17th commemorates the signing of the U.S. Constitution in 1787. Stop by the UMass Amherst Student Union between 11 am - 2 pm to learn more about the Constitution, get your own free copy, share what it means to you, and play trivia!
sbs-umass.bsky.social
The study, published in the November edition of Land Use Policy, examines a proposed 9.35-megawatt solar project in Amherst, MA, to weigh the trade-offs of replacing more than 40 acres of forest with photovoltaic panels. doi.org/10.1016/j.la... (full text requires access)
sbs-umass.bsky.social
Clearing forests to build large-scale solar farms can deliver climate benefits, but what about costs to nearby homeowners and ecosystems? A new study from a UMass research team including Christine L. Crago, resource economics, and Maryam Feyzollahi, PhD student in resource economics, investigates:
Replacing Forests With Solar a Net Positive, But Neighbors Bear an Outsized Burden, New UMass Amherst Study Finds | UMass Amherst
Clearing forests to build large-scale solar farms can deliver climate benefits, but those gains often come at a cost to nearby homeowners and ecosystems. Concerns of host communities must be…
www.umass.edu
sbs-umass.bsky.social
The Funding Fridays series from @umassissr.bsky.social supports faculty members in the grant writing & proposal process. Here's the twist: this semester, the series is moving to Thursdays! Different day, same opportunity for practical strategies. www.umass.edu/social-scien...
Reposted by College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, UMass Amherst
sbs-umass.bsky.social
Happy first day of classes at UMass Amherst & the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences! #Fall2025 #newsemester
Welcome Back & Happy Fall 2025 semester! 
- From SBS at UMass Amherst
sbs-umass.bsky.social
Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics, has been invited by President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa to join the Extraordinary Committee of Experts on Income and Wealth Inequality. The committee will deliver the first-ever report on global inequality to world leaders at the G20 Summit in November.
Jayati Ghosh, economics: "Policymakers the world over are asking for evidence-based, practicable strategies to reduce inequality – and a new playbook to deal with the fractured and financialised 21st century political economy."
sbs-umass.bsky.social
Considering a career in public policy? Join @sppumass.bsky.social on Wednesday, Sept. 3 at noon ET for a virtual information session on public policy and administration master's programs. Register now at umass.tfaforms.net/327?campaign...
#umass #publicpolicy #graduateschool #publicpolicycareers
MPP/MPPA Virtual Information Session on Weds., September 3, 2025, at 12 noon ET.
Reposted by College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, UMass Amherst
annanagurney.bsky.social
Virtual Conference on Ukraine starts tomorrow. Registration is free. Thanks to KTH & the organizers + speakers. Tomorrow I'll give the 1st keynote talk & on Saturday my @isenbergumass.bsky.social PhD student @ismaelpour.bsky.social will present. Our talks are ready. Info: www.kth.se/en/itm/kalen...
sbs-umass.bsky.social
When it comes to selecting a major at SBS (the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, @umassamherst.bsky.social), you have a lot of options! Plus, advisors in the SBS Pathways Center can offer guidance on courses, programs, and career development. www.umass.edu/social-scien...
sbs-umass.bsky.social
Elizabeth Schmidt, professor of practice in the School of Public Policy(@sppumass.bsky.social), has a new book that translates convoluted #nonprofit legal frameworks into terms that nonprofit leaders without a law degree can understand. www.umass.edu/news/article...
Cover of "Rules of the Road for Nonprofit Leaders" by Betsy Schmidt