Research Departments

When researchers join RAND, they also join one of our four research departments, which are organized into groups of disciplines.

• Behavioral and Policy Sciences

  Behavioral and Policy Sciences is home to a range of researchers from disciplines as varying as psychology, medicine, public health, anthropology, criminology, education policy, law, sociology, and health policy. Researchers in this department tackle diverse policy questions from military manpower issues to challenges confronting the health, education, and justice systems, physical infrastructure, and the environment.

  Jennifer Sloan McCombsDirector

• Defense and Political Sciences

  Defense and Political Sciences is home to researchers with backgrounds in political science, international relations, public policy, security studies, history, law, and related fields. Many researchers in this department also have regional and language expertise. Our researchers tackle the full range of policy questions related to defense and intelligence strategy and planning, as well as civil justice and other research areas.

  Thomas S. SzaynaDirector

• Economics, Sociology, and Statistics

  Economics, Sociology, and Statistics is home to researchers with expertise in economics, sociology, statistics, cost analysis, and related fields. They conduct research on a wide range of topics, including health, education, national security, labor, and population research.

  Jennie W. WengerDirector

• Engineering and Applied Sciences

  The backgrounds of our Engineering and Applied Sciences researchers span the STEM disciplines and include applied mathematics, physical sciences, information science, operations research, management science, and all types of engineering. EAS researchers use their technical and analytic skills to tackle problems across the full spectrum of national security and social policy areas at RAND.

  Christopher G. PerninDirector