Major: Bachelor of Science

Mission of the Program in Science, Technology, and Society

The Program in Science, Technology, and Society (STS) aims to provide students with an interdisciplinary framework to understand the complex interactions of science, technology, and the social world. STS students develop technical skills in one or two areas of interest and learn about social dimensions of those areas, while fostering a broad understanding of how science, technology, and society interact. The curriculum includes a set of core courses, as well as six thematic concentration areas for students to dive deeper into a specific intersection of science, technology, and society. Students can also design their own concentration anchored in the distinct intellectual frameworks of STS.

Students may also undertake research in affiliated laboratories and through the honors program for course units. In the STS honors program, students pursue independent, faculty-supervised research on a topic of their choice, present their findings at an annual honors symposium, and complete a thesis. Some publish their work in academic journals.Students are encouraged to pursue mastery in at least one field from within the humanities or social sciences and at least one field from within the sciences or engineering. Majors may declare either a BA or a BS degree (see the specific requirements for each degree).

The program’s affiliated faculty opens in a new tab represent over a dozen departments, including Anthropology, Communication, Computer Science, Education, Electrical Engineering, History, Law, Management Science and Engineering, Political Science, and Sociology. By learning to bring such a rich collection of disciplinary approaches to bear on questions of science and technology, students graduate uniquely equipped to succeed in professions that demand fluency with both technical and social frameworks. Recent graduates of STS have entered top-ranked PhD and MBA programs and forged successful careers in various fields, including business, engineering, law, public service, medicine, and academia.

STS knowledge and sensibilities help you become an active agent in a tech-driven world and an independent thinker who can reimagine how we innovate and address societal challenges.