该计划建立在一个以其全球影响力，理论广度和道德参与而闻名的系的国际知名教师的不同背景和兴趣之上，从而使他们能够研究超出任何单一学科范围的问题。我们的毕业生对科学技术有了新的认识，可以转化为改进的科学技术实践和政策成果。科学技术研究（STS）诞生于认识到紧迫的社会挑战源于科学的世界观和技术实践。它是一个多学科的社会科学和人文学科领域，致力于对科学，技术和社会的相互塑造进行批判性研究。Rensselaer在美国建立了第一个获得博士学位的STS部门。它是世界一流的学生和教师群体，因对科学技术社会的文化，历史，经
Making sense of social and technoscientific change requires conceptual and methodological tools honed within a vibrant intellectual community. The STS PhD program combines anthropology, cultural studies, history, and sociology to examine science, technology, media, and medicine from multiple perspectives. The program emphasizes community engagement with the politics of science and transdisciplinary investigation of research and policy cultures. We document how science and technology are shaped by social forcesand how we might shape them back. Students who earn a PhD in Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer translate new understandings of science and technology into improved scientific and technological practices and policies. Graduates of this program are known for their global reach, theoretical breadth, and critical ethical engagement. They pursue research into questions and problems that extend beyond the boundaries of any single discipline. <br><br>Our curriculum offers a robust mix of core seminars, theory and methods, and topics courses in a 2-year rotation to survey critical analytical skills and fields. Graduate students are generally supported as Teaching Assistants during course work. After that there is a range of internal and external fellowships for which students become eligible. <br><br>The Graduate Portfolio Review is the first milestone for a PhD student. The portfolio is assembled during coursework to document breadth of knowledge across three self-determined domains of STS. Following a successful portfolio review, and in consultation with a Doctoral Committee, students write and defend a Dissertation Proposal and Literature Review and undertake independent research on a self-defined topic. Dissertation research and writing lead to doctoral defense within 2-3 years.