Science, Technology, and Society/Second Major (STS)

Source: https://catalog.mit.edu/degree-charts/science-technology-society-sts/ Parent: https://catalog.mit.edu/schools/

Science, Technology, and Society Program

Bachelor of Science in Science, Technology, and Society (Second Major)

The full major in Science, Technology, and Society (STS) may be pursued only as a second major in conjunction with another degree program in a field of engineering or science, or in other fields on a case-by-case basis.

General Institute Requirements (GIRs)

The General Institute Requirements include a Communication Requirement that is integrated into both the HASS Requirement and the requirements of each major; see details below.

Summary of Subject Requirements	Subjects
Science Requirement	6
Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS) Requirement [between three and six subjects can be from the Departmental Program]; at least two of these subjects must be designated as communication-intensive (CI-H) to fulfill the Communication Requirement.	8
Restricted Electives in Science and Technology (REST) Requirement	2
Laboratory Requirement (12 units)	1
Total GIR Subjects Required for SB Degree	17

Physical Education Requirement
Swimming requirement, plus four physical education courses for eight points.

Departmental Program

Choose at least two subjects in the major that are designated as communication-intensive (CI-M) to fulfill the Communication Requirement.


Required Subjects		Units
Tier I
STS.004	Intersections: Science, Technology, and the World (CI-M)	12
Select one of the following:		9-12
STS.001	Technology in American History
STS.002	Finance and Society
STS.003	Ancient Greeks to Modern Geeks: A History of Science
STS.005[J]	Data and Society
STS.006[J]	Bioethics
STS.008	Technology and Experience
STS.011	Engineering Life: Biotechnology and Society
STS.012[J]	Science in Action: Technologies and Controversies in Everyday Life 1
STS.014	Embodied Education: Past, Present, Future
Tier II
Select one subject from the list of Tier II subjects 1, 2		9-12
STS.THT	Undergraduate Thesis Tutorial	6
STS.THU	Undergraduate Thesis (CI-M)	12
Restricted Electives
Select a coherent group of four elective subjects in STS, plus four subjects related to the historical and social study of science and technology, in consultation with the STS undergraduate officer		87-96
Units in Major		138-150
Unrestricted Electives 3		66-78
Units in Major That Also Satisfy the GIRs		(36-72)
Total Units Beyond the GIRs Required for SB Degree		180

The units for any subject that counts as one of the 17 GIR subjects cannot also be counted as units required beyond the GIRs.


1	Students who choose 9-unit subjects need to complete enough unrestricted electives to ensure that they have met the required 180 units beyond the GIRs.
2	See list of Tier II subjects in the Bulletin.
3	This chart has been calculated based on an overlap of 36 units (three subjects) between the HASS General Institute Requirement and the departmental requirements. Students who develop a program of study with more overlap will be able to select more unrestricted electives to meet the number of total units beyond the GIRs required for an SB degree.