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Research Departments

When researchers join RAND, they also join one of our four research departments, which are organized into groups of disciplines. Our research departments also house RAND's Methods Centers. These six interdisciplinary centers of knowledge-sharing and innovation are home to researchers who share methodological expertise that crosses both subject matter and 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 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.

Tom 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.

Carole GresenzDirector
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.

Bill WelserDirector

Methods Centers at RAND

Center for Causal Inference

CCI is devoted to improving the use of state-of-the-art causal inference methods for RAND research projects on important public policy issues by developing new methods in areas where there is a need and by making the application of such methods easily available and understood by all audiences.
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Center for Decision Making Under Uncertainty

The RAND Center for Decision Making under Uncertainty assesses the depth and breadth of uncertainty and risk levers in policy domains and research pathways. DMU researchers develop and apply RAND's collective expertise to serve projects, which require analytical methods, tools and processes to manage decision-making under uncertainty.
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RAND Center for Scalable Computing and Analysis

The RAND Center for Scalable Computing and Analysis engages in and supports the transformation of data science within RAND by fostering a community of expertise on best practices for use of large-scale data.
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Center for Gaming

As a methods center, the Center for Gaming works to grow the organization's methodological expertise, and to use gaming to improve decision-making across a wide range of policy areas.
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RAND Center for Qualitative and Mixed Methods

The Center for Qualitative and Mixed Methods (C-QAMM) develops and promotes tools for generating empirically based insights through exploratory data collection and analysis.
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RAND Center for Applied Network Analysis and System Science

The RAND Center for Applied Network Analysis and System Science applies rigorous network research methods to pressing policy challenges, providing objective solutions based on analytic results.
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