Requirements of the STSC Major (14 cu)                    

Foundations (2 cu)  

  • You MUST take either STSC 0100 (Emergence of Modern Science) or STSC 0600 (Technology & Society).
  • You MUST complete a second foundation course chosen from the following list: STSC 0100, 0600, 1120, 1600, 1880, 2080 (Please note that STSC 2080 is no longer being offered on a regular basis). 
  • This requirement may be fulfilled by taking both STSC 0100 and STSC 0600.

STSC Departmental Electives (7 cu): Follow this link for the list of courses offered by department faculty that fulfill this part of the major by providing a range of critical perspectives and topics within the history/sociology of science and technology.

Concentrations  (4 cu): Follow this link to read more about the concentrations.

Each STSC major selects a concentration and then designs an individualized program of four (4) courses from across the unversity that fulfills their learning goals. Courses may be petitioned for the concentration or selected from a preapproved list (each concentration has a course attribute code that you can use to search for classes in Path at Penn.

  • Biotechnology and Biomedicine
  • Energy and Environment 
  • Global Science and Technology
  • Information and Organizations 
  • Science/Nature/Culture

Capstone Research Requirement Course (STSC 4000) (1 cu):

  • This requirement can be fulfilled by taking STSC 4000 in either the spring of junior year or spring of senior year. The course guides students through writing a 20+ page original research paper in Science and Technology Studies. STSC 4000 is only open to STSC majors. 

How to know if you are on track to graduate.docx (download this chart)

 

What Counts for the STSC Major: Courses and Grades

  • FOUNDATION COURSES: Must be drawn from this group: STSC 0100, 0600, 1600, 1880, 2080, 1120
  • STSC DEPARTMENTAL ELECTIVES: Courses listed on the STSC Department Electives page. Courses from abroad, other departments or other schools cannot fulfill the department course requirement 
  • CONCENTRATION COURSES: Pre-approved courses for the concentration count automatically and do not need to be petitioned.
  • Non-College Courses for the Submajor: Students may use up to 3 non-College courses in the concentration, including transfer courses approved through XCat.
  • Science Courses: STSC majors may use up to two science courses 2000-level or higher in their concentrations.
  • Petitions for submajor courses: are evaluated on the relevance of the course to the submajor and the quality of the argument in the petition.
  • Seniors may not petition courses after the add period in their last semester
  • Study Abroad courses: Up to two (2) courses from abroad count, if approved through XCat. These count toward the concentration only.
  • Double Counting: There is no double-counting within the major or between sections of the major. The Capstone course is a separate requirement and cannot double count within the major.
  • AP credits: Cannot be counted toward the STSC major
  • MINIMUM COURSE GRADE FOR CREDIT IN THE MAJOR: C-
  • Pass/fail: Courses taken pass-fail cannot count toward the major (this is College policy, with limited exceptions only for the pandemic in 2020-2021).

How your STSC Major works in Path at Penn

  • You cannot update or change your own Degree Audit.
  • The Degree Audit may require manual override by the STSC Chair or Associate Director in order to make sure courses are counting the way you want them to. It is your responsibility to check your Degree Audit and reach out to the Associate Director if something does not look correct.