Science, Technology, & Society: Requirements

General Requirements for the Major or Minor

General university degree requirements stipulate that 1) at least four units of the major or three units of the minor be taken in residence at Puget Sound; 2) students earn a GPA of 2.0 in courses taken for the major or the minor; and 3) all courses taken for a major or minor must be taken for graded credit. Any exceptions to these stipulations are indicated in the major and minor degree requirements listed below.

Requirements for the Major

The Bachelor of Arts degree in Science, Technology, and Society is awarded on the basis of a course of study agreed upon by the student and a committee of faculty members. During the sophomore year or by the first semester of the junior year, a student who intends to major in Science, Technology, and Society should meet with one of the directors of the Program to select a faculty member as an advisor. The student and advisor form a committee of three that includes the advisor and at least two members from the Advisory Committee for the Program in Science, Technology, and Society. The committee may include faculty outside the Program if the student's interests overlap with that faculty member's discipline. The student works with the committee to select a coherent set of courses that advance the student’s educational goals. The contract goes into effect after it is signed by the student, the committee members, and one of the directors of the Program and is filed in the Office of the Registrar. The contract is reviewed periodically and justified modifications are permitted.

Requirements for the Contract in Science, Technology, and Society

Every contract should consist of a minimum of 13 units distributed as follows:

  • Introductory Survey: 2 units.
    • STS 201, Introduction to Science, Technology, and Society I: Antiquity to 1800
    • STS 202, Introduction to Science, Technology, and Society II: Since 1800
  • Philosophy and Science: 1 unit
    • One course chosen from PHIL 332, Philosophy of Science; PHIL 219, Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Philosophy; or ECON 322, Economics and Philosophy. A different course in philosophy can be approved by the STS director.
  • Ancillary Courses: 4 units.
    • Two courses in the natural sciences. The remaining two courses are decided in concert with the student’s STS advising committee. Depending upon the student’s background and research interests, two courses will commonly include additional training in the sciences, but may also include study in history, philosophy, or some other fields necessary for the student's research project.
  • Electives: 4 units.
    • See the list of electives below. Students must take at least one course each from categories one, two, and three. The remaining course can be taken from any of the three categories.
  • Capstone course: 1 unit. Taken in Fall semester of the senior year.
    • STS 490, Seminar in Science, Technology, and Society
  • Thesis or one additional elective: 1 unit. 
    • STS 491, Senior Thesis, taken in Fall or Spring of senior year or one additional elective chosen from categories 1, 2, or 3 listed below
    • In order to qualify for writing a senior thesis, a student must have earned a grade of B+ or better in STS 490, have a grade point average of 3.00 or better at the end of the semester preceding STS 491, and have the permission of the director of the STS Program. (In some circumstances, the director of the STS Program may grant exceptions to the requirements for a 3.00 GPA and a B+ or better in STS 490.)
    • Students who complete distinguished thesis projects will be eligible for graduation with Honors in Science, Society, and Technology.

Notes

  1. Students must maintain a grade point average of at least 2.00 in all contract courses and a grade point average of at least 2.00 in the upper-division (300-400 level) courses in the contract.
  2. Students must complete at least four units of the required upper-division (300-400 level) contract courses at Puget Sound. One of these 4 units may be a course taken as part of a study-abroad program, subject to approval in advance by the student's contract committee.
  3. Students must gain approval for the contract before completing upper-division coursework. Courses completed before the contract is approved are subject to review by the committee prior to inclusion in the contract.

Requirements for the Minor

A minor consists of 6 units distributed as follows.

  • Introductory Survey: 2 units.
    • STS 201, Introduction to Science, Technology, and Society I: Antiquity to 1800
    • STS 202, Introduction to Science, Technology, and Society II: Since 1800
  • Electives: 3 units.
    • See the list of electives below. Students must take at least one class from each of the three categories.
  • Capstone course: 1 unit. Taken in Fall semester of the senior year.
    • STS 490, Seminar in Science, Technology, and Society

Electives

  1. Studies of Particular Scientific Disciplines
    • CONN 305, The Idea of Archaeology
    • ECON 321, History of Economic Thought
    • PHYS 299, History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy
    • PSYC 331, History and Systems of Psychology
    • STS 301, Technology and Culture
    • STS 314, Cosmological Thought
    • STS 330, The Idea of Evolution
    • STS 341, Modeling the Earth's Climate
    • STS 345, Physics in the Modern Word: Copenhagen to Manhattan
    • STS 350, Computational Intelligence: An Introduction to Cognitive Science
    • STS 360, Astrobiology: The Search for Life on Other Planets and for Life’s Origins on Earth
  2. Special Topics in Science, Technology, and Society
    • CONN 312, Biological Determinism and Human Freedom: Issues in Science and Religion
    • ECON 322, Economics and Philosophy
    • HIST 317, European Intellectual History, 19th and 20th Centuries
    • HIST 376, Medicine, Health, and Disease in the United States in the Twentieth Century
    • PHIL 219, Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Philosophy
    • PHIL 330, Epistemology: The Theory of Knowledge
    • PHIL 332, Philosophy of Science
    • PHIL 338, Space and Time
    • STS 318, Science and Gender
    • STS 340, Finding Order in Nature
    • STS 352, Memory in a Social Context
    • STS 361, Mars Exploration
    • STS 366, History of Medicine 
  3. Policy and Values in Science and Technology
    • CONN 320, Health and Medicine
    • CSOC 352, Work, Culture, and Globalization
    • ENVR 322, Water Policy
    • ENVR 325, Geological and Environmental Catastrophes
    • ENVR 333, Science and Policy: Forest Policy in the Northwest
    • ENVR 335, Thinking about Biodiversity
    • ENVR 340, Salmon Recovery in the Pacific Northwest
    • HIST 357, From Millwrights to Microchips: Business and Technology in American History
    • HIST 364, American Environmental History
    • PHIL 285, Morality and the Environment
    • REL 364, Issues in Bioethics
    • STS 388, The Ethics of Human Enhancement 
 
86% of freshmen return to Puget Sound for the next year.