Program in Science, Technology and Society

Concentration Requirements

Breadcrumb

Concentration Requirements

Consisting of 12 courses, the program of study outlined below will be developed by each student in consultation with the concentration advisor. Where appropriate, independent reading, lab courses or GISPs may count for up to three of the twelve total courses. Students will take a minimum of 7 intermediate to advanced courses.

Required Courses (2)

The concentration has two required courses.

  • STS 1000: Science and Society: Theories and Controversies, usually taken in the second or third year.
  • STS 1900: Senior Seminar, also open to non-majors with the proper background, usually taken in the fourth year.

Thematic Track (3)

Students will organize their course of study around the choice of a thematic track. The theme may be thought of as the applied content portion of the concentration. Students will take a minimum of three courses, at least one of which must be at an advanced level, in one of the thematic areas listed below:

  • History & Philosophy of Science
  • Gender & Science
  • Race, Science, & Ethnicity
  • Health & Medicine
  • Representing Science in Literature & Culture
  • Policy, Persuasion, & the Rhetoric of Science
  • Environment & Society
  • Computing & Society
  • Independent Focus

Science Track (4)

Students will take a minimum of four courses in one of the following scientific areas: physical sciences, life & environmental science, mathematics/computer science. The chosen area should provide appropriate background and support for the chosen concentration theme. The science courses will be sequenced such that a concentrator will move enough beyond the introductory level to gain some understanding of the world view of scientists within a chosen field. The particular sequence of courses which best meets the science requirement will be chosen in consultation with the concentration advisor. When necessary, the concentration advisor will seek guidance from faculty within the chosen scientific field.

Students who are double concentrating in Science and Society as well as a field in the natural sciences may, where appropriate, substitute two courses in the arts, humanities, or social sciences to fulfill the requirements of the science track.

Science, Technology and Society Theory (3)

Students will take three Science and Technology Studies-related courses in the social sciences and humanities. These courses, which will provide critical theoretical background for the study of Science and Society, should address questions of historiography, epistemology and methodology in the field of science and technology studies.