Certificate in Science, Technology and Society (STS)

The undergraduate Certificate program in Science, Technology, and Society (STS) enables students to learn about the dynamic, interactive and creative relationships among science, technology, and society. Students pursuing any major may be able to use its 4 CORE and 3 upper electives as a sequence of supporting courses.

Courses relevant to the STS program are drawn from many departments; this demonstrates the currency of science and technology studies across disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, and the currency of social studies to the sciences and engineering. STS is an interdisciplinary field that has been taught for more than 30 years.

New student worksheet

Fill out the worksheet to learn how many STS Certificate requirements you have completed. Please email the director to register your interest in the program.

Events

In addition to coursework, STS students attend monthly, STS-related events on campus. Relevant events appear in the calendar in the left sidebar.

Capstone

Each student works closely with a faculty mentor when writing the capstone term paper for the program's final course, ENES 440. In recent years, STS University Certificate students have chosen to write their capstone term papers about timely topics, including the interactions among science, technology and society related to

• nanotechnology (MEMS) in medical devices
• fuel cell applications
• derivatives trading and the late 1990s Asian economic crisis
• physics research funding, and
• environmental policy

Engineering students

Undergraduate research or a design build experience may be written up for the capstone paper, demonstrating a student's ability to conduct research and to write about technology's social relevance and impacts. Contact the STS director to learn how the STS certificate requirements can reconcile with your major requirements.

Opportunities

Certificate students are invited to all field trips and recreational events sponsored by the Scholars STS program. They also may apply to teach the younger students and are welcome to invite guests to campus as STS speakers

Our staff offices open onto the 1st floor study lounge of Chestertown Hall on North Campus. In this lounge, students may organize activities, and they have ready access to program staff and faculty.

The University Certificate program in STS is open to any student at UMCP. It may be especially interesting to students who have completed the College Park Scholars program in STS.