Science, Technology and Society Major

Requirements for the Major in Science, Technology and Society

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.
   2. One semester of a laboratory science.
   3. Three of the courses must be in one field, count toward a major in that field or be pre-requisites to courses that count toward a major in that field.
2. Four “context and theory” courses
   These courses 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 , STS 081 PZ , HIST 082 HM  
   2. One philosophy of science course from PHIL 007 PO , PHIL 103 PO  or PHIL 104 PO  or PHIL 104 PZ  
   3. One “social science approaches” course from STS 010 HM , POLI 136 PO , POLI 149 PO  or ANTH 111 HM  
3. Three “concentration” courses
   This requirement helps students develop their individual interests and are selected with approval of the STS advisor. Students might concentrate in a type of STS issue such as a technological controversy, policy problem, or application; or they may seek depth in one of the main disciplinary areas of STS (history, philosophy, anthropology or public policy analysis). One of these courses may be replaced with a senior thesis. A thesis student chooses a member of the STS field group as a primary mentor in the research project, and will also need a second reader; one of these must be a member of the Pomona faculty. The student’s program must be determined in consultation with both readers and must show intellectual integrity and academic coherence.
4. STS 190 PO - Senior Integrative Seminar  

Requirements for the Major in STS/Public Policy Analysis (PPA)

This option is designed for students who wish to focus on public policy issues in science, technology and society. It is important to choose this option no later than the second semester of the sophomore year by contacting the program coordinators in both programs.

1. Five-course public policy sequence:
   1. ECON 051 PO , ECON 052 PO  
   2. POLI 003 PO  or PPA 001 PO , POLI 135 PO  
   3. One of the following science and public policy courses: POLI 136 PO , POLI 149 PO , POST 133 PZ  or POST 184 PZ  
2. Statistics: ECON 057 PO , POLI 090 PO , PSYC 158 PO  or a course approved by the PPA program coordinator
3. Core courses in history and philosophy of science and technology:
   1. History of science and technology: two from STS 080 PO ; STS 081 PZ  or HIST 081 HM ; HIST 082 HM  
   2. Philosophy of science and technology: one from PHIL 007 PO , PHIL 103 PO  or PHIL 104 PO  
4. Four courses in mathematics (MATH 030 PO  or above), science and/or engineering (including experimental and physiological psychology, excluding the statistics requirement above):
   1. One semester of a laboratory science
   2. Three courses in one field that count toward a major in that field or that are prerequisites to courses that count toward a major in that field
5. PPA 190 PO , PPA 191 PO , PPA 195 PO , three-course internship thesis sequence