Degree Requirements for Science, Technology, Health & Society
General Requirements for the Major or Minor
General university degree requirements stipulate that 1) at least four units of the major or three units of the minor be taken in residence at Puget Sound; 2) students earn at least a cumulative GPA of 2.0 in courses taken for the major or the minor; and 3) all courses taken for a major or minor must be taken for graded credit. Any exceptions to these stipulations are indicated in the major and minor degree requirements listed below.
Requirements for the Major in Science, Technology, Health, and Society (BA)
A major in Science, Technology, Health, and Society consists of 12 units:
- Foundational Courses: 3 units.
- STHS 200: History of Modern Science and Technology
- PHIL 232: Philosophy of Science
- SOAN 250: Sociology of Science and Technology
- Electives: 5 units.
Students choose five electives from one of the three designated tracks, or work in concert with an STHS advisor to choose electives according to their topical area of interest as described below. The tracks are:- Health, Medicine, and Society;
- Science and Society;
- Technology in the Modern World;
- A student-designed track.
At least two of the five electives must be STHS-labeled courses. SOAN 360 and 365 may also be used to meet this requirement in the “Health, Medicine, and Society” track.
- One of the following Methods Courses: 1 unit.
- HIST 200
- PHIL 220, 230, or 250
- SOAN 298 or SOAN 299
- Ancillary Courses: 2 units.
Two courses in the natural sciences, mathematics, or computer science (preferably in the same field of study). - Capstone Course: 1 unit.
STHS 480 Senior Practicum in Science, Technology, Health, and Society Studies.
The three pre-designated elective tracks within the STHS major are listed below
For the student-designed elective category tack: during the sophomore year or by the first semester of the junior year, a student who intends to major in Science, Technology, Health, and Society should meet with the director of the Program to select a faculty member as an advisor. The student and advisor form a committee with other members of the Advisory Board for the Science, Technology, Health, and Society Program. The student works with their committee to select a coherent set of electives that advance the student's educational goals. The committee will also ensure that there is a sufficient concentration in STHS courses. The elective category will go into effect after the agreement is signed by the student, the committee members, and the director of the Program and is filed in the Office of the Registrar. The elective category agreement can be modified later, if needed
Notes
- Students must have a grade of C or higher in all courses for the major and minor.
- Students must complete at least four units of the required upper-division (300-400 level) courses at Puget Sound. One of these 4 units may be a course taken as part of a study-abroad program, subject to approval in advance by the program director.
Each year, the STHS program will name a graduating major a Mott Greene Research Scholar for a distinguished senior capstone project. Each year, the program will also present one James Evans Research Award to a major in recognition of exceptional research skills. All graduating majors are eligible to be considered for Honors in the Major.
Requirements for the Minor in Science, Technology, Health and Society
A minor in Science, Technology, Health, and Society consists of 5 units:.
- Two of the following foundational courses:
- STHS 200: History of Modern Science and Technology
- PHIL 232: Philosophy of Science
- SOAN 250: Sociology of Science and Technology
- Three STHS-labeled Electives:
- SOAN 360 and 365 may also be used to meet this requirement
- SOAN 360 and 365 may also be used to meet this requirement
Health, Medicine, and Society
- BIOE 255 Pandemic Ethics, Law, and Health Inequities
- BIOE/REL 272 Public Health Ethics
- BIOE/REL 292 Basics of Bioethics
- BIOE/PHIL 292 Basics of Bioethics
- CONN 320 Health and Medicine
- CONN 354 Hormones, Sex, Society, & Self
- ENGL 348 Illness and Narrative: Discourses of Disease
- GLAM 323 Sex and Gender in Classical Antiquity
- PHIL 333 Philosophy of Emotions
- PSYC 325 History and Systems of Psychology
- REL 298 Reproductive Ethics
- SOAN 360 Sociology of Health and Medicine
- SOAN 365 Global Health
- SOAN 370 Disability, Identity, and Power
- STHS 201 Alchemy, Astronomy, and Medicine before 1700
- STHS 302 Cancer and Society
- STHS 318 Science and Gender
- STHS 366 Medicine in the United States: Historical Perspectives
Science and Society
- CONN 357 Exploring Animal Minds
- CONN 393 The Cognitive Foundations of Morality and Religion
- CONN 410 Science and Economics of Climate Change
- ECON 225 Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
- ENGL 374 Literature and the Environment
- ENVR 335 Thinking About Biodiversity
- HIST 364 American Environmental History
- PG/PHIL 390 Gender and Philosophy
- PHIL 105 Neuroethics and Human Enhancement
- PHIL 285 Environmental Ethics
- PHIL 340 Philosophy of Cognitive Science
- STHS 100 Apes, Angels, and Darwin
- STHS 201 Alchemy, Astronomy, and Medicine before 1700
- STHS 325 Natural History Museums and Society
- STHS 330 Evolution and Society Since Darwin
- STHS 333 Evolution and Ethics
- STHS 340 Finding Order in Nature
- STHS 344 Ecological Knowledge in Historical Perspective
- STHS 345 Science and War in the Modern World
- STHS 347 Alchemy and Chemistry: Historical Perspectives
- STHS 361 Mars Exploration
- STHS 370 Science and Religion in the United States: From Evolution to Climate Change
Technology in the Modern World
- CONN 410 Science and Economics of Climate Change
- ECON 225 Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
- ECON 351 Industrial Organization: Market Structures and Strategic Behavior
- ENVR 328 Nuclear Narratives of the American West
- GLAM 339 Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and the Classics
- HIST 335 Intelligence and Espionage in Europe and the US
- IPE 389 Global Struggles Over Intellectual Property
- PHIL 105 Neuroethics and Human Enhancement
- PHIL 286 Ethics, Data, and Artificial Intelligence
- SOAN 352 Critical Studies of Organizations, Work, and Management
- STHS 301 Technology and Culture
- STHS 344 Ecological Knowledge in Historical Perspective
- STHS 345 Science and War in the Modern World
- STHS 347 Alchemy and Chemistry: Historical Perspectives
- STHS 348 Strange Realities: Physics in the 20th and 21st Centuries
- STHS 354 Murder and Mayhem under the Microscope
- STHS 361 Mars Exploration
- STHS 375 Science, Technology, and Politics