Science, Technology, and Society

The Department of Science, Technology, and Society (STS) advances understanding of the social and ethical dimensions of science and technology. STS provides instruction in subjects that are essential to the education of professional engineers. This instruction forms the core of a liberal education and lays the foundation for ongoing professional development. It ensures that students have seriously considered the moral and social aspects of their future life’s work.

All STS courses emphasize the relationships among science, technology, and society; ethics; and oral and written communication. STS courses are supplemented by course work in the College of Arts and Sciences.

STS Requirements
All SEAS students are required to take the following four courses:

STS 101 Engineering, Technology and Society
One STS 200-level course
STS 401 Western Technology and Culture
STS 402 The Engineer, Ethics, and Society

Placing Out of these STS Requirements:

STS 101: While it is not encouraged, students who have received a 720 or higher on SAT II Writing Test or have received Advanced Placement credit for English Language can be exempted from STS 101.
STS 200: Transfer credit can occasionally be counted as the STS 200 level course. Transfer courses must include STS content and involve substantial oral and written communication. The decision to accept a transfer course for STS 200 credit is made on a case by case basis.
STS 401-402: No transfer credit or substitutions can be made for STS 401-402, nor is there any possibility of placing out. Students must be in residence to take these courses. Students are not permitted to take STS 401 and STS 402 simultaneously. Each course is offered every semester as well as during the summer.

Senior Thesis: In their senior year, all engineering undergraduates undertake a senior thesis project. Students work with a faculty member in their major and with an STS faculty member teaching STS 401-402; the thesis work includes integration of the technical subject matter with its ethical and social context.