STS Science, Technology, and Society; College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences

Science, Technology, and Society

Parker Graffham presenting on his senior thesis

STS is about new technologies and the future

Do you have strong views about how new technologies can significantly help or seriously harm our future? Are you interested in getting involved with managing technology's influence on society? Science, Technology, and Society is an interdisciplinary field which examines science and technology in relation to society.

#2
Top Public University West
U.S. News and World Report, 2025
#6
Best Undergrad Teaching (West)
U.S. News and World Report, 2023

Success with STS!

What you can do with STS

Karina Shah '26 will start in August 2026 the OMSCS program at Georgia Tech, specializing in Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning. She is also an AI Engineering Intern at Avanade. Learn more about how STS prepared her and other STS graduates.

Karina Shah
circuit board

New Option!

AI Ethics and Society

The AI Ethics and Society Option of Science, Technology, and Society started in Fall 2025. This Option prepares you to address problems AI raises--societal problems that cannot be addressed by technology alone.

An Example STS Problem

Gene Editing

An example problem for STS: gene editing technology called CRISPR/Cas9 is a powerful and relatively easy to use new tool for modifying plant or animal genes. Now that we have this powerful tool, what limits should governments place on its use to modify human beings? Should heritable genetic changes in humans be banned? What if some governments don't ban this so that their societies gain leadership in developing the technology? Addressing this question requires not only technical background, but also grounding in ethics, policy, and culture.

Gene editing icon