Center for Constructive Communication

MIT’s Center for Constructive Communication (CCC) develops methods for understanding current social and mass media ecosystems, and designs and deploys new communications tools and social networks aimed at helping to preserve our democracy by bridging societal divides that are contributing to deepening social fragmentation. Working closely with the non-profit Cortico, the center, based at the Media Lab, brings together researchers in AI, computational social science, digital interactive design, and learning technologies with software engineers, journalists, political scientists, designers, and community organizations. An important aspect of the center is its commitment to reach beyond academia to work closely with experienced, locally based organizations across the country to launch pilot programs.

Professor Deb Roy (director) leads a team of more than 40. While most graduate students are enrolled in the Program in Media Arts and Sciences, students in any MIT department may request to conduct master’s and doctoral thesis research at CCC under the supervision of Professor Roy or another CCC-affiliated faculty member. If accepted, they may be eligible for support as research assistants. Every semester, CCC will host undergraduate students through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP). Opportunities for undergraduate students will be posted through the MIT UROP office.