In the Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences (MBDS) program, you join a vibrant intellectual community with access to a wide range of academic and cultural resources.
Virtual information session
Get an overview of Penn's Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences from Assistant Director Jenny Weyant and the MBDS program team. Learn about our curriculum, University resources, students and alumni, and the application process.
If you have a problem viewing this video, you can watch this on YouTube.
Student handbook
For guidelines on MBDS degree requirements, structuring your individualized curriculum, and program policies, please contact your program director or advisor. Note that our student handbook is currently being revised for the next academic year.
Academic resources
Find the various ways to get involved at MBDS and take advantage of all that the University of Pennsylvania has to offer. Academic resources include:
- Penn Libraries Reference Services
- The Kelly Writers House
- Marks Family Writing Center
- Weingarten Learning Resources Center
- International Student and Scholar Services
- Penn Career Services
- The Graduate Student Center at Penn
Research resources
The Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences program collaborates with many schools, centers, and institutions across Penn. At MBDS, students are welcome to explore independent research opportunities and attend seminars with:
- Center for Social Norms and Behavioral Dynamics
- The Wharton School
- Perelman School of Medicine
- The Annenberg School for Communication
Student representatives
Join and lead student groups by becoming a student representative. A Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences student representative is a program student elected to serve as a liaison between the student body and the school administration. MBDS student representatives are tasked with being the voice of the MBDS program in the LPS student government and with working hand in hand with program faculty to bridge the gap between students and the administration. This includes:
- Being a sounding board for students
- Relaying the wants and needs of your peers
- Working with the program director to find ways to build positive student interactions and experiences
Meet our current student representatives:
Yining Luan is a full-time student in the Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences program at the University of Pennsylvania. She previously studied psychology at the University of Edinburgh and is interested in understanding how behavioral and psychological research can be used to address real-world social questions.
Her interests include gender equality, close relationships, social norms, and moral emotions. She is particularly interested in how social expectations and relationship dynamics shape people’s experiences and decisions, and she hopes to continue pursuing research in these areas in the future.
Outside of academics, Yining enjoys journaling, design, and exploring cafés and new places around Philly. As an MBDS Program Representative, she is excited to meet more people across the program and help build a welcoming and connected MBDS community.
Contact: luanyi@sas.upenn.edu
Deassy Rizky Syahputri (Dea) is a Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences candidate at the University of Pennsylvania. Coming from Indonesia, she brings 10 years of professional experience to the program. Having worked at multiple technology startups serving users in Indonesia's third-tier cities, and having grown up in a small, grassroots community herself, Dea came to realize that the key to innovation isn't the idea; it's understanding human behavior.
She founded her own consulting firm, Thrive in Indonesia (www.thriveinindonesia.com). She and her team have partnered with global companies from Singapore, Japan, and Germany (with more on the way), helping them understand Indonesian people, from conducting research to facilitating field observations. Her passion for uncovering why people do what they do, combined with a love for data-driven experimentation, brought her to MBDS. Becoming a student representative is her way to better understand fellow students and to contribute to growing the behavioral science community.
Dea loves traveling and solo motorbike loop riding: she has completed the Ha Giang Loop in Vietnam and the Mae Hong Son Loop in Thailand on her own, and is looking forward to trekking national parks and mountains across the US. As an extrovert, meeting new people is how she recharges and builds her network. She has also mentored more than 100 professionals and is always happy to help others navigate their careers.
Contact: dearizky@sas.upenn.edu
