Applied Science

The Master of Science degree traditionally has been in a single subject matter, e.g. chemistry, physics, or mathematics. However, the working environment that college graduates face today and will face in the future is one in which their jobs increasingly bridge more than one area of specialization. The M.S. in Applied Science program is based upon our belief that science graduates of the past few decades and most current graduates are not educated adequately for today’s interdisciplinary world. Options exist in many areas of science.

Ecological Economics, Values, and Policy

The B.S. degree combines ecological economics,environmental policy studies, and social and cultural theory and practice. Offered by the department of Economics and the department of Science and Technology Studies, the program in Ecological Economics, Values, and Policy (EEVP) satisfies the curriculum requirements for the B.S. programs in both departments. The program combines the best of both departments: economic analysis and a broader humanities and social science analysis that emphasizes the roles science and technology play in today’s global economy and culture.

The professional master’s program is aimed at early and mid-career professionals in state and local government, secondary education, business, and the nonprofit sector who are looking to upgrade their skills and advance their careers. The program helps students to acquire the skills they will need to address the complex multidisciplinary problems any society faces in such areas as environment and health and sustainable development.

Electronic Media, Arts, and Communication (EMAC)

A B.S. degree that combines communication theory and practice with electronic media arts studio and theory, EMAC (Electronic Media, Arts, and Communication) offers the skills for success in cyberage communications and graphic arts. The EMAC program combines offerings in the Department of Language, Literature, and Communication and the Arts Department.

Environmental Studies

To face the challenges of environmental problems, students will need more than the specialized knowledge of a single discipline. The Environmental Studies program offers students a unique educational opportunity to develop a truly multidisciplinary approach to environmental studies. Students who enter Rensselaer in the Environmental Studies Program will take a broad range of basic courses in their first two years and then choose one of five majors: economics (with an ecological economics focus), environmental engineering, environmental science (with a concentration in a specific area of science), hydrogeology, or science, technology, and society (with an environmental focus).

Information Technology

Rensselaer’s unique cross-disciplinary Faculty of Information Technology combines the traditional information technology curriculum with courses in other disciplines to give students the broad base of skills that industry is seeking. The program offers dual competencies: a grounding in information technology and expertise in a second discipline such as management, the arts, engineering, architecture, science, law, and medicine. At Rensselaer, IT is understood in the broadest sense to incorporate the computing and communications industries, including hardware and software; the information, communications, and entertainment services; and the research and application of IT in and to all fields. The program leads to a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology and a professional Master of Science in Information Technology.

Minds and Machines

The Minds and Machines (M&M) program, which is closely affiliated with the Minds and Machines Laboratory, offers students a number of options for the B.S. degree. Course work and research is designed to prepare students to make smarter machines and to design the machines that make people smarter. As industry and government increasingly produce and deliver their products and services in computer-mediated environments, the demand is increasing for people who understand human intelligence, machine intelligence, and the social and organizational aspects of the interface between human and machine systems. For more information consult www.rpi.edu/dept/ppcs/MM/mm.uc.html.

Product Design and Innovation

Product Design and Innovation merges the technical with the creative and stimulates originality. A dual major in Engineering (Engineering Science or Mechanical Engineering) and Science and Technology Studies combines engineering disciplines, STS courses, and design studios. The program in Product Design and Innovation (PDI) is jointly offered by the Schools of Engineering, Architecture, and Humanities and Social Sciences. It offers two tracks: the first satisfies the requirements for the B.S. programs in both Engineering (Engineering Science or Mechanical Engineering) and Science, Technology, and Society (STS); and the second satisfies the requirements for the B.S. programs in both Building Science and STS. For more information consult www.rpi.edu/dept/sts/pdi.