Graduate
The Graduate Program
The Graduate Portfolio Program in Societal Impacts of Science & Technology will provide an interdisciplinary approach to the study of societal impacts of science and technology; the Program will provide Master’s and Doctoral students with a broad educational experience. STS Programs in the social sciences and humanities are designed to study these short and long term impacts on social life and cultural practices at the local, national, and global levels. The increasingly technologically-mediated nature of modern life calls for new scholars able to generate interdisciplinary research to further our understanding of the impacts on human society of new, rapidly changing environments where people and technologies interact in complex ways, and to understand the far-reaching and potentially revolutionary social impacts of technological innovation. Examples of past and potential societal impacts of science and technology that students may study include the digital divide, globalization vs. local practices, religious and cultural beliefs, political systems and power relationships.
This background will enable the students to become more effective professionals in several career fields including academia, social planning, education, public and private sector management roles, entrepreneurial enterprises, and in community-based organizations. The portfolio program allows students to create a progression of learning and research which will enable them to become skilled in understanding social and cultural impacts of science and technology, including impacts on the workplace, the public sphere, and family life. Portfolio students will develop a specialization unique to their own program of work, interests and goals through coursework, scholarly papers, and presentations.
In addition to social scientists, several internationally prominent natural scientists and engineers are participating in the portfolio program. An important objective of the program is to collaborate across traditional social and natural science divides to stimulate discussions/collaborations on how to research, analyze, and publish new contributions to understanding the complex nature of social life, as it pertains to human adaptation to technological change. It is important to note that the portfolio program is not studying the theories and methodologies of science, but rather how human societies use knowledge and developments from science and technology, and how these influence change within and among human societies.
As a major city in the production of new information technology tools, Austin is an ideal setting for a graduate portfolio program in Societal Impacts of Science & Technology. Students and faculty at UT Austin have the added benefit of potentially being able to partner with local high tech companies, and non-profit groups outside the university as they research and analyze the societal impacts of rapid scientific and technological innovation.
The portfolio program in Societal Impacts of Science & Technology will be administered by the Science, Technology, and Society (STS) Program in the College of Liberal Arts. The portfolio program is open to Doctoral and Master’s Candidates from any school/college at UT Austin. Students may enter the portfolio program at any point in their graduate work, but it is recommended that they do so as soon as they decide to pursue the portfolio. It is expected that a student enrolled in the Societal Impacts of Science & Technology Graduate Portfolio Program will complete their course of study for the degree and the Graduate Portfolio Program in the same amount of time required for completion of the degree alone. Portfolio coursework may be counted toward the degree requirements with the graduate adviser’s approval.
The specific goals of the program are:
- To prepare students to understand how technological and scientific innovations can shape society in revolutionary ways
- To incorporate the cumulative knowledge of the past with current insights of social science
- To support research to generate new understandings of the role of technology in society and the impact of society and culture on technological innovation and distribution
- To provide practical and analytical skills for students entering an increasingly technologically complex workplace
- Through publication and community involvement to disseminate new empirical knowledge about human society and how it is affected by changes introduced through discoveries in science and technology