Tech Science

Tech Science. Tackling our most urgent social and political challenges.

Faculty Chair: Latanya Sweeney 

Overview: Technology science, also known as public interest technology, looks at the unforeseen consequences of technology and develops new ways to resolve conflicts between technology and society. Recent work in tech science by Government faculty and students has already had an impact on government regulations, laws, and the practices of technology companies. Research in technology science is tackling some of our most difficult and urgent social and political challenges worldwide, but these efforts have only begun to explore the many ways in which technology can serve the public interest. Tech science motivates and seeks to train a new generation of “technologists” to apply their newly acquired knowledge and skills to public service in civil society and government and to product development and management in technology companies. The Government Department’s Tech Science program provides an opportunity for students to gain skills at issue spotting, risk assessment, and scientific analysis and formal modeling of conflicts between technology and society in order to scientifically describe and address some of the most pressing social science questions.  

Program Details: The Tech Science program requires additional courses beyond the normal concentration requirements, as noted on the chart below: 

	Regular Concentration Requirements	Tech Science Requirements
Sophomore tutorial	Government 97	Same as regular program
Subfield requirement	One course in each of four subfields of Government	Same as regular program
Seminar requirement	One Government 94 seminar	Same as regular program
Training in methods	One course in quantitative methods (Gov 50 or equivalent)	Allied Skill Requirement (2 courses)
Other coursework	3-4 Government electives (students may choose from most Government Department course offerings)	Foundations of Technology Science Requirement (3 courses) and Technology and Governance Requirement (1 course)
Additional requirements for honors candidacy	One Government research methods workshop (or an additional Gov 94 seminar), 2 semesters of Gov 99: Senior Tutorial, and successful completion of a senior honors thesis	Same as regular program
Total number of requirements	10-11 courses (13-14 for honors candidates)	12 courses (15 for honors candidates)

The list of courses that can be used to meet the above requirements is available here.  

Students that complete the requirements for the Tech Science program will receive a signed certificate (electronic and hard copy) from the chair of the department attesting to this completion and are encouraged to include this specialization on their resumés. 

Advising: Gabriel Katsh is the adviser for the Tech Science program. Please contact him with any questions or to discuss your interests in joining the program. 

Applying: Concentrators should complete the Tech Science plan of study supplement, review it with the Tech Science adviser, and submit the completed form to the Government Department Undergraduate Manager, Karen Kaletka.

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Tech Science Faculty