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IT Concentration: Science and Technology Studies
For those entering the program Fall 2003 semester & beyond
Contact Person: David Hess
Description:
Whether they are in business, government, or the professions, Science and Technology Studies (STS) graduates report that they are uniquely prepared to understand today’s multi-faceted problems. STS is a perfect companion to IT for those students who wish to combine their technical expertise in IT with a deep understanding of IT’s place in the world.
The STS Department has achieved an international reputation for its research and teaching on the social effects of science and technology and, likewise, the impact of society on the shaping of science and technology. STS faculty draw on anthropology, history, philosophy, political science, sociology, and social psychology to develop unique interdisciplinary courses about the place of science and technology in today’s world.
Students generally specialize in a cluster of courses in one of the five main “tracks”:
- information and society
- environment and society
- health and society
- engineering and society
- law, values, and public policy
The information and society track includes the introductory course Information, Society and Culture, plus a selection of more advanced courses such as Ethical Issues in Computing, History of Information Technology, and Information, Law, and Policy. A special public service internship allows students to gain hands-on experience in a local nonprofit, government or public-service organization.
Some students with STS degrees go on to graduate programs in law, management, social science, public policy, public health and medicine. The rest enter the workforce immediately, often in government, the nonprofit sector, or in consulting firms. It is possible to develop a dual major between IT and STS by taking the designated sequence of eight courses that is indicated in the following template.
| Semester I |
Semester II |
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ITEC-1210 Information in History & Society
CSCI-1100 Computer Science I
MATH-1010 Calculus I
STSS-1110 Intro to Science & Technology Studies
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ITEC-1220 Politics & Economics of IT
CSCI-1200 Computer Science II
STSS-2550 Information Technology, Society and Culture
Math Elective
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| Semester III |
Semester IV |
One of:*
- ECSE-2610 Computer Components & Operations and ENGR-2350 Embedded Control
- CSCI-2500 Computer Organization
ITEC-2210 Intro to Human Computer Interaction
ITEC-2110 Exploiting the Information World
H&SS Elective**
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One of:*
- ECSE-2660 Computer Arch, Networking & OS
- CSCI-2300 Data Structures & Algorithms
One of:
- STSS-2400 Law, Values and Public Policy
- STSS-2200 Engineering Design & Society
ITEC-2960 Creative Design in IT
Science Elective
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| Semester V |
Semester VI |
IT Elective (one of):
- CSCI-4380 Database Systems
- DSES-4530 Information Systems
STSS-4230 Engineering Ethics
4000 level STS course
H&SS Elective**
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Probability and Statistics Elective (one of):
- DSES-2010 Statistics for Management
- ENGR-2600 Modeling / Analysis of Uncertainty
- PSYC-2310 Experimental Methods & Statistics
- MGMT-2100 Statistical Methods
Science Elective
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| Semester VII |
Semester VIII |
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ITEC-4100 IT Capstone Experience
4000 level STS course
H&SS Elective**
Free Elective
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STSS-4980 STS Senior Project (Capstone)
H&SS Elective**
Free Elective
Free Elective
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*Select either the first course in both lists or the second course in both lists. Do not select the first course in one list and the second course in the other.
**See H&SS requirements
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