Science, Technology and Society Major

Requirements for the Major

The requirements for the major involve a minimum of 12 courses distributed as follows:

1. Four “science and technology practice” courses (science and/or engineering). STS is about knowledge-making practices, so students should experience those practices directly; laboratories and mathematics are especially significant in producing scientific knowledge, and therefore important “ways of knowing” that students should experience in the process of learning about a particular scientific or engineering field.

1. One semester of mathematics at the level of first-semester calculus or higher. This requirement may be filled by a comparably advanced course in statistics or principles of computing, e.g., MATH 052 PZ , MATH 058 PO 
2. One semester of a laboratory science.
3. Three of the courses must be in 1 field, count toward a major in that field, or be prerequisites to courses that count toward a major in that field, except that, if the field is Mathematics, MATH 025 PZ  does not meet this requirement.

2. Four “context and theory” courses

These course explicitly examine science and technology as social institutions, and explore the theories, concepts, and methods one encounters in doing so.

1. Two historical studies courses from STS 080 PO , HIST 081 HM  , HIST 082 HM 
2. One philosophy of science course from PHIL 007 PO  , PHIL 103 PO  or PHIL 104 PO 
3. One “social science approaches” course from STS 010 HM -Introduction to Science, Technology and Society  , POLI 139 PO  , POLI 149 PO  , or ANTH 111 HM 

3. Three “concentration” courses

Courses listed in the STS section of the course schedule that relate to the student’s focus in science and/or engineering practice, selected with approval of the advisor. One of these courses may be replaced with a senior thesis. This requirement helps students develop their individual interests. Students might concentrate In a type of STS issue such as a technological controversy, policy problem, or application; or they might seek depth in a cognate discipline (philosophy, anthropology, etc.). These courses should be in addition to the courses in requirements in #1 and #2 above.

4. STS 191 PZ -Senior Thesis  (senior exercise)