SSNet Curriculum Project

One of the primary goals of the Science Studies Network is to coordinate and build on the rich but dispersed offerings in STSS (science, technology and society studies) that are currently available to graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Washington, on the Bothell, Seattle, and Tacoma campuses.

Graduate courses and faculty mentors in STSS are to be found in a great many disciplinary programs, but no formal STSS program yet exists. There are, however, three established undergraduate programs at UW that provide training in science, technology and society studies, either as their primary mission or as a core element of their curriculum:

SSNet curriculum development initiatives that are currently under way include:

  • STSS course clearing house: A central goal of SSNet is to build a web-based listing of STSS courses and curriculum resources, with navigational tools that make it easy for students and faculty to find STSS resources on all three UW campuses. At present this takes the form of a quarter-by-quarter listing of current STSS course offerings across the UW programs and campuses. For current listings see Courses; for regular notices of new course and program offerings join the SSNet e-list; and, if you teach courses in any area of STSS interest, please be sure to send course details to ssnet@uw.edu.
  • Graduate Certificate: An Interdisciplinary Committee for Science, Technology and Society Studies was approved by the Graduate School Council in March 2014, and by the Board of Regents in May 2014. Look for news of the launch of this new certificate over the coming year; applications will be invited next  Spring for Fall 2015. For news and updates, check the UW STSS Graduate Certificate's website.
    • - Leah Ceccarelli (Communication)
    - STSS Interdisciplinary Committee
  • Integrative STSS course offerings: A number of SSNet members have been actively developing core courses that introduce undergraduate and graduate students to STSS as an established field, put STSS students from different fields in contact with one another, and provide an interdisciplinary framework for understanding diverse disciplinary approaches to STS topics. The undergraduate programs provide such courses and some of these are open to graduate students as well. Check back for updates on new courses taking shape as a component of the graduate certificate program.

For information about curriculum development in previous years, click here.