Curious about taking Compass in a future year? Want to hear more from Compass faculty and students? Check out some of Compass’ recent content and features below!
MIT’s Compass to life
An exciting initiative from across SHASS explores the persistent moral and social questions central to the human experience: what is value, merit, truth, a good society?
“Through seminars, debates, and simulations, students will engage in how to think about what kinds of humans they want to be, what kind of society they want to help create, and how we live together when we have different values and beliefs.“
SHASS feature on 21.01
Night at da Opera
Kayode Dada, an MIT sophomore and 21.01 student, wrote an MIT Admissions blog about his experience with the class, and in particular, the arts experience component! Through 21.01, he and his classmates were able to go to the opera Lysistrata, which he connected to the class’s lesson on value and his own life experiences.
Clockwise from left: visiting student Pierre Coupry, TA Gabbie Girard (’25), student Jessie Lin (’28), and student Kayode Dada (’27)
“This semester, I’m taking a class called 21.01, “Love, Death, and Taxes”. It’s a CI-H01 philosophy class, and it’s a grand old time! The class looks at moral and social questions concerning the human experience, and is set up in a discussion-focused style with debates and discourse. One of my big pulls for the class, though, were the field trips. That’s right. Field trips. In 2025. In College. Yep.”
21.01 student and MIT ’27 Kayode Dada
The Test of Democracy
In an interview for MIT Spectrum, Compass lead and professor Lily Tsai explains how Compass connects to broader initiatives to promote effective democracy. Like her research, she explains, Compass seeks to empower informed and invested citizens.
“MIT students see themselves as makers, and we want them to think of themselves as makers of democracy too. We want to enable our students to go out into the world and have a positive impact there.”
Professor Lily Tsai on Compass
MIT Compass at CPW
Part of the Compass team, including faculty and students, presented to nearly 1000 MIT admits at CPW 2025.
The presentation included lightning talk versions of 21.01 lessons from Professors Haslanger, Scheffler, and Tsai; an interactive audience poll; and a student panel to answer questions about the class. The presentation highlighted the presence and importance of HASS at MIT, emphasizing the role of a liberal arts education at a primarily STEM institution.
Back row, left to right: Robin Scheffler (Compass faculty in STS), Mercedes Randhahn (Compass student, ’27), Stu Schmill (MIT Admissions), Sally Kornbluth (MIT President), Cathy Wu (LIDS faculty), Sally Haslanger (Compass faculty in Philosophy), Lily Tsai (Compass faculty in Political Science)
Front row, left to right: Mary Feliz (Compass student, ’28), Sam Salwan (Compass TA, ’25), Leela Fredlund (Compass staff, ’24), Emily Richmond Pollock (Compass faculty in Music)
When asked, “What do you think we owe to each other most out of these three things?”, 254 students said “respect,” 239 said “empathy,” and 66 said “love.”
Poll of admitted students as part of Compass’s 2025 CPW presentation
Thought Ones: What do we value?
Is there one ultimate good? Who are we without the ability to act? Are shared values important? And can our contestants handle their hot sauce?
Watch a 21.01 professor and student take on increasingly difficult questions from the course and increasingly spicy sauces in Thought Ones, produced for 21.01!
“What do you do when there is no lever?”
21.01 Professor on the trolley problem, Thought Ones
21.01 Teaser Video
Hear what current students have to say about the need for a HASS education, dialogue across disagreement, and addressing big questions at MIT.
“When we graduate from MIT, we’re not just going to be engineers and doctors and researchers; we’re going to be humans, first and foremost.“
21.01 TA Siddhu Pachipala ’27 on HASS at MIT