How to plan a concentration, minor or double major in STS

STS subjects cover a wide variety of topics, so what is the best way to choose the ones that match your interests? We suggest that you start by picking classes based on these five clusters…

Biomedicine and Society

Biomedicine and related fields play an increasing role in economic, political, and personal life. These STS subjects consider the social relevance of biomedicine from historical and contemporary perspectives: How does biomedicine reflect and reshape its social, economic, and political contexts? How does it affect individual lives, and what ethical questions does it raise?

Tier 1 Subjects:*

STS.005 Disease & Society in America
STS.006J Bioethics
STS.010 Neuroscience & Society

Tier 2 Subjects:

STS.015 Mapping Controversies: Preparing Scientist & Engineers for a More Complex World
STS.046J The Science of Race, Sex, & Gender
STS.060J The Anthropology of Biology
STS.062J Drugs, Politics, & Culture
STS.089 Wealth, Environment, & Health in Africa

Science in History

Scientific knowledge often appears to rise above context. Despite this appearance of universality, scientific ideas and practices often bear the marks of time and place. STS subjects in this track examine science from many angles—political, cultural, economic, institutional, intellectual, and more—that shape what count as appropriate topics for scientific study and what methods are deemed reliable for their investigation.

Tier 1 Subjects:*
STS.003 The Rise of Modern Science
STS.010 Neuroscience & Society
STS.011 American Science: Ethical Conflicts & Political Choices

Tier 2 Subjects:
STS.015 Mapping Controversies: Preparing Scientist & Engineers for a More Complex World
STS.042J Einstein, Oppenheimer, Feynman: Physics in the 20th Century
STS.043 Technology & Self: Science, Technology, and Memoir
STS.046 The Science of Race, Sex, & Gender
STS.056 Science & the Cinema: Experiments on Film
STS.060J The Anthropology of Biology
STS.074J Art, Craft, Science
STS.082J Science, Technology, & Public Policy
STS.087 Biography in Science

Technology and Human Experience

The implications of living in a “technological world” are deeply personal as well as widely social. The STS curriculum explores these implications by considering the ways we use diverse technologies and media to communicate creatively and imaginatively, and how at the same time these technologies and media shape and transform our experience of the world.

Tier 1 Subjects:*
STS.001 Technology in American History
STS.022 Technology in History
STS.045 Technology & Experience

Tier 2 Subjects:
STS.034 Science Communication: A Practical Guide
STS.039 Technology & Imagination
STS.043 Technology & Self: Science, Technology, & Memoir
STS.056 Science & the Cinema: Experiments on Film
STS.074J Art, Craft, Science
STS.075J Technology & Culture
STS.087 Biography in Science

Social Implications of Engineering

Studies the ways engineering is shaped by, and in turn shapes, the social and political worlds. Focus on the professional formation of engineering, ethical dilemmas and political action within the profession, and the processes of design, fabrication, and operation of technological systems within their social contexts.

Tier 1 Subjects:*
STS.001 Technology in American History
STS.011 American Science: Ethical Conflicts & Political Choices
STS.022 Technology in History
STS.045 Technology & Experience

Tier 2 Subjects:
STS.025 Making the Modern World: The Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective
STS.044 Technology & Self: Things & Thinking
STS.050 The History of MIT

Ethics and Policy in a Global Age

Subjects in this cluster explore a wide variety of themes in policy and ethics including law, globalization, development, environment, climate, nature, energy, military, weaponry, warfare, economics and finance.

Tier 1 Subjects:*
STS.006J Bioethics
STS.010 Neuroscience & Society
STS.011 American Science: Ethical Conflicts & Political Choices

Tier 2 Subjects:
STS.015 Mapping Controversies: Preparing Scientist & Engineers for a More Complex World
STS.032 Energy, Environment, & Society
STS.051 Finance: Culture, Technologies, & Markets
STS.072J Nuclear Forces & Missile Defenses
STS.073 Technology & Politics in the Acquisition of Military Systems
STS.076J Technology & Policy of Weapons Systems
STS.082J Science, Technology, & Public Policy
STS.085 Ethics & the Law on the Electronic Frontier
STS.089 Wealth, Environment, & Health in Africa

*We recommend that students take at least one Tier 1 subject before taking a Tier 2 subject.