Graduate Certificate in Science, Technology, and Society

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STS offers a Graduate Certificate in Science, Technology, and Society for doctoral students. Similar to those offered by universities including Michigan, Brown, and Georgia Tech, this certificate encourages intellectual engagement with STS and allows students to signal competence in the field. 

To apply, Stanford doctoral students should propose at least four courses from among the areas of concentration (see below), or in another area of their choosing. The application should include a two-page rationale explaining how these courses and STS more generally complement their doctoral program of study and research. If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Dr. Kyoko Sato, STS associate director, at kyokos [at] stanford.edu (kyokos[at]stanford[dot]edu). 

The Program records those students who are awarded an STS Graduate Certificate and showcases their work on its website.

Concentrations and Example Courses

Data and Society
  • AFRICAAM 200N: Funkentelechy Technologies: Social Justice and Black Vernacular Cultures, Adam Banks.
  • COMM 220: The Rise of Digital Media, Fred Turner.
  • COMM 254: The Politics of Algorithms, Angele Christin.
  • COMM 324: Language and Technology, Jeff Hancock.
  • EDUC 320/SOC 330: Sociology of Science, Dan McFarland.
  • EDUC 423/SOC 302: Introduction to Data Science, Dan McFarland & Sanne Smith.
  • INTLPOL 221: Politics of Data: Algorithmic Culture, Big Data, and Information Waste, Paul Edwards.
Culture and Technology
  • AFRICAAM 200N: Funkentelechy Technologies: Social Justice and Black Vernacular Cultures, Adam Banks.
  • ANTHRO 233: Masculinity: Technologies and Cultures of Gender (ANTHRO 133, FEMGEN 133M), M. Kohrman.
  • ANTHRO 288: Matter and Mattering: Transdisciplinary Thinking about Things (ANTHRO 188, APPPHYS 188, ARCHLGY 188, ARTSINST 198, ARTSINST 298), Ian Hodder.
  • ANTHRO 366: Material Semiotics, Miyako Inoue.
  • ARTHIST 431: Leonardo's World: Science, Technology, and Art (ARTHIST 231, HISTORY 231, HISTORY 331, ITALIAN 231, ITALIAN 331), Paula Findlen.
  • CHINA 251B: The Nature of Knowledge: Science and Literature in East Asia (CHINA 251B, JAPAN 151B, JAPAN 251B, KOREA 151, KOREA 251), B. Wang and D. Zur.
  • CHINA 371: Aesthetics, Politics, and Modernity: Critical Theory and China, B. Wang.
  • COMM 220: The Rise of Digital Media, Fred Turner.
  • FILMSTUD 259: (459) Game Studies, Shane Denson
  • HISTORY 302: Technopolitics: Materiality, Power, Theory (Anthropology 302A), Gabrielle Hecht.
  • HISTORY 432A: The Enlightenment, Jessica Riskin.
  • MS&E 383: Doctoral Seminar on Ethnographic Research, M. Valentine
  • RELIGST 367: Seminar in Religion and Material Culture, J. Kieschnick.
Economy and Technopolitics
  • EDUC 288: Organizational Analysis (SOC 271), Woody Powell
  • HISTORY 302: Technopolitics: Materiality, Power, Theory (Anthropology 302A), Gabrielle Hecht.
  • INTLPOL 221: Politics of Data: Algorithmic Culture, Big Data, and Information Waste, Paul Edwards.
  • PUBLPOL 353A: Science and Technology Policy, P. Windham.
  • MS&E 383: Doctoral Seminar on Ethnographic Research, M. Valentine.
  • MS&E 384: Groups and Teams, Pam Hinds.
  • SOC 314: Economic Sociology, Mark Granovetter.
Health, Biomedicine, and Politics
  • AFRICAST 249: Bodies, Technologies, and Natures in Africa (ANTHRO 348B, HISTORY 349), Gabrielle Hecht.
  • ANTHRO 233: Masculinity: Technologies and Cultures of Gender (ANTHRO 133, FEMGEN 133M), M. Kohrman.
  • ANTHRO 282: Medical Anthropology, Angela Garcia.
  • ANTHRO 322: From Biopolitics to Necropolitics and Beyond, M. Kohrmann.
  • ANTHRO 350A: Writing as Intervention: Science, Medicine, and Ethics in Today's World, Duana Fullwiley.
  • HISTORY 302: Technopolitics: Materiality, Power, Theory (Anthropology 302A), Gabrielle Hecht.
  • HISTORY 343C: People, Plants, and Medicine: Colonial Science and Medicine (HISTORY 243C), Londa Schiebinger.
  • HISTORY 343G: Tobacco and Health in World History (HISTORY 243G), Robert Proctor.
  • PHIL 267A: Philosophy of Biology (PHIL 167A), Helen Longino.
Nature, Environment, and Power
  • AFRICAST 249: Bodies, Technologies, and Natures in Africa (ANTHRO 348B, HISTORY 349), Gabrielle Hecht.
  • AFRICAST 303E: Infrastructure & Power in the Global South (ANTHRO 303E, HISTORY 303E), Gabrielle Hecht.
  • HISTORY 202J: Climate Politics: Science and Global Governance (INTLPOL 271), Paul Edwards.
  • HISTORY 302: Technopolitics: Materiality, Power, Theory (Anthropology 302A), Gabrielle Hecht.
  • HISTORY 378: The Historical Ecology of Latin America, M. Wolfe.
  • PHIL 267A: Philosophy of Biology (PHIL 167A), Helen Longino.
  • REES 254: Animism, Gaia, and Alternative Approaches to the Environment, E. Domanska.
Science, Technology, and Global Governance
  • AFRICAST 303E: Infrastructure & Power in the Global South (ANTHRO 303E, HISTORY 303E), Gabrielle Hecht.
  • ANTHRO 367: The Anthropology of Science: Global Politics and Laboratory Life, Duana Fullwiley.
  • COMM 385: Media as Ways of Knowing, Xiaochang Li.
  • FRENCH 228: Science, Technology and Society and The Humanities in the Face of the Looming Disaster (ITALIAN 228, POLISCI 233F), Jean-Pierre Dupuy.
  • HISTORY 202J: Climate Politics: Science and Global Governance (INTLPOL 271). Paul Edwards.
  • HISTORY 304D: Advanced Topics in Agnotology (HISTORY 204D), Robert Proctor.
  • HISTORY 432A: The Enlightenment, Jessica Riskin.
  • INTLPOL 221: Politics of Data: Algorithmic Culture, Big Data, and Information Waste, Paul Edwards.
  • PUBLPOL 353A: Science and Technology Policy, P. Windham.

How to Apply

Required Application Materials

The application for the Graduate Certificate in Science, Technology, and Society includes the following components:

  •  A curriculum proposal, including at least four courses comprising a minimum of 16 units. Courses should be selected from the STS areas of concentration, as detailed in the example course lists (above), or another area of your choosing. The proposal should clarify the area of focus, and may also reference possible course substitutions. If you hope to include courses not on this list, please provide the syllabus.
  • A two-page statement explaining how the proposed courses and study in science, technology and society, more generally, will augment the student’s graduate program of research and study.

Guidelines

  • All courses completed for the Graduate Certificate must be at the 200 level or higher, and be taken for a letter grade.
  • Prior to submitting an application, students should discuss their curriculum plan with their home department and graduate advisor, and also with the Director or Associate Director of the STS program. Please note that participation in the certificate program should not extend time to TGR or time to degree.
  • Applications for the certificate are reviewed and approved by the Director and the Associate Director of the STS Program. The Graduate Certificate is issued by the Program in Science, Technology, and Society, and will not appear on any University record, including the transcript and diploma. However, students are welcome to list the certificate on their CV and refer to it as officially awarded by the STS Program.

Apply Now

The Graduate Certificate in Science, Technology and Society was approved by the STS Executive Board on June 24, 2019.

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