STS-IHN - Science, Technology, and Society (IHN)

The Interdisciplinary Honors Program in Science, Technology, and Society (STS) offers an opportunity for undergraduates to graduate with Interdisciplinary Honors in STS. The STS honors program is open to STS majors and students from other majors.

Students accepted into the program carry out an original honors project, working with a faculty advisor. For STS majors, this project also fulfills the requirements for a capstone course and a sociocultural concentration course. An STS honors thesis tackles a significant problem or question related to the intersection of science, technology, and society. Students draw research methods from one or more of the disciplines that shape STS, such as history, sociology, communication, anthropology, environmental science, computer programming/modeling, engineering, economics, political science, and art history, while also capitalizing on unique analytical perspectives of STS as an intellectual field. STS interdisciplinary honors signals expertise in a given area, organizational skills, and academic rigor, and students have used it as a springboard for graduate studies and careers in fields such as information technology, entrepreneurship, finance, public policy, media, education, law, medicine, and the nonprofit sector. Past honors projects are on file in the STS office library and the digital repository.

Admissions Information

Students are encouraged to apply to the STS honors program during spring quarter of their junior year. A late application is considered up to the add/drop deadline of autumn quarter of their senior year.

For Majors in Science, Technology, and Society

In preparation for applying to the honors program in STS, students should:

1. Select an area of research interest in STS, prepare related research questions, and identify potential faculty advisors for an honors thesis based on those questions.

2. Attend one or more of the quarterly STS workshops offered for prospective honors students, and/or take course Introduction to Research in STS (offered winter quarter) or an alternative course on research methods approved by the STS honors program director and/or speak with the STS honors program director.

3. Submit a research statement and an honors program application, following the parameters on the STS Honors Program website.

For Majors in Other Departments and Programs

In addition to the requirements for STS majors, applicants from other departments should:

1. Meet with the honors program director as early as possible to ensure they have sufficient background in relevant analytical and methodological approaches.

2. Satisfy one of the following:

   • Complete course Introduction to Science, Technology & Society, and either two courses approved as sociocultural foundational courses in STS or two alternative courses approved by the STS honors program director as relevant to the proposed honors research in STS;  or

   • Complete three courses approved by the STS honors program director as relevant to the proposed honors research in STS.

Program Learning Outcomes

• Students develop a strong understanding of analytical and methodological approaches in the interdisciplinary field of STS.

• Students identify productive research questions of personal interest and societal significance that address the relationships, intersections, and/or dynamics of technoscience and society.

• Students identify and engage with relevant academic literature and devise a practical and feasible research design to explore their research questions.

• Students develop an understanding and awareness of the ethical aspects of social research. 

• Students conduct original and rigorous research, write a coherent and clear thesis, and present key findings at the end of the year.