Student Outcomes

Customized learning and possible career trajectories based on an individual's interests are key benefits of interdisciplinary study.  Given that breadth and depth, MACSS graduates accept positions across a diversity of positions, organizations, and industries.

MACSS places more graduates in data and research, in both for-profit and not-for-profit sectors, than any other field. In a survey of the Class of 2023, with 84% responding, 98% of those graduates accepted full or part-time employment or were accepted into doctoral programs within 9 months of graduation. 

MACSS was launched in 2016, and we first began placing our graduates for the PhD in 2017.

Overall, 48 of 52 (92.3%) MACSS applicants have been accepted for the PhD with full funding. On average, our students received 3 PhD offers each. 9 students were accepted at the University of Chicago for PhD study.

• In Economics, 10 of 17 applicants were accepted for the PhD, at University of Texas (Austin), University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), University of Illinois (Chicago), HEC Paris, University of California (Los Angeles), University of Michigan, University of California (Santa Barbara), University of Pittsburgh, University of Washington (Seattle), University of Notre Dame, Boston College, University of Chicago, Harvard University, Northwestern University, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin (Madison), University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), University of Rochester, University of Pennsylvania, University of California (San Diego), Cornell University, Brown University, Johns Hopkins University, Penn State, CEMFI, Columbia University, Princeton University, Boston University, and University of Toronto.
• In Political Science, 4 of 4 applicants were accepted for the PhD, at Penn State, Princeton University, Stanford University, Yale University, University of California (San Diego), University of Pennsylvania, Emory University, University of Rochester, Washington University in St. Louis, Rice University, University of Toronto, and University of Iowa.
• In Psychology, 5 of 5 applicants were accepted for the PhD, at Duke University, University of Chicago, Vanderbilt University, Yale University, University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Johns Hopkins University, and University of Western Ontario.
• In Sociology, 8 of 12 applicants were accepted for the PhD, at University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, SUNY Albany, University of New Mexico, Rutgers University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), University of Washington (Seattle), University of Oregon, Cornell University, Duke University, Emory University.
• In Business, 17 of 20 applicants were accepted for the PhD, at New York University, University of Chicago, Northwestern University, University of California (Los Angeles), University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), MIT, University of Michigan, Cornell University, University of California (Berkeley), University of Minnesota, University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), University of Utah, University of Notre Dame, Arizona State University, University of Western Ontario, Washington University in St. Louis, Boston University, Stanford University, Harvard University, University College London, Imperial Business School, University of California (San Diego), INSEAD, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne, Columbia University, University of Texas (Austin), University of Washington (Seattle), and London Business School.
• In Other disciplines, 15 MACSS graduates were accepted for the PhD in Communication (University of Pennsylvania), Technology and Social Behavior (Northwestern University), Computer Science (University of Toronto, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne, University College London, Northwestern University, Boston University), Criminology (University of Pennsylvania, University of California (Irvine), University of Maryland, University of Illinois (Chicago)), Information Science (Cornell University, University of Washington (Seattle), Indiana University (Bloomington)), Network Science (Northeastern University), Education Policy (University of Wisconsin), Media Technology and Society (Northwestern University), Sustainable Development (Columbia University), and Public Policy (Cornell University).

This list is a comprehensive look at all the organizations that hired MACSS graduates for roles upon graduation from 2018-2021. It is organized by most common industries, and the “Other” categorization captures companies that do not fall into one of the other fields.

Students seeking employment are always encouraged to visit the SSD MA Career Resources Website, where you can find various Career Guides and Employers by Industry lists that compile top employers from a variety of fields.

Applied Research
Becker Friedman Institute, Columbia University, Duke University, George Washington University, International Innovation Corps, Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation, MIT, New York University Stern School of Business, Northwestern University, Princeton University, Sciences Po, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, University of California- Los Angeles, University of Chicago, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, University of Chicago Harris School for Public Policy, Urban Labs, Yale University.

Data Science / Analytics
Accenture, Amazon, Apple, BDA, Boston Consulting Group, Cockroach Labs, Comscore, Crowe, Decode_M, Holistic Index, Intelligent Automation Corp, IRI, Microsoft, Oracle, Stax, Walmart, Women in Machine Learning and Data Science

Finance / Banking
AIG, CITIC Capital, Goldman Sachs, Huaxia Bank, Ovata Capital

Start ups / Tech
AbbVie, Alibaba Group, ByteDance, China Telecom Corp., Chowbus, Epic Systems, Etsy, Facebook, LeaseLock, MultiMediaLLC, Pactiv Evergreen, PayPal, Pinecone Tech Solutions, Wayfair, Wish