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Tech Science Requirements and Course Options

Student writing in Notebook

The Tech Science program requirements mirror the regular Government undergraduate curriculum requirements, but are  more directive in the choice of courses and require some courses outside the Government Department. The aim of the requirements below is to ensure that all students graduating in Tech Sci have a firm understanding of key issues and methods for studying the intersection of technology and governance. 

Foundations of Technology Science Requirement

The following 3 courses are required: 

  1. Gov 1433: Tech Science: From Democracy to Technocracy and Back Again
  2. Gov 1430: Tech Science to Save the World
  3. Gov 93b: Technology Science Practicum (Prerequisite: Gov 1430)

Allied Skill Requirement

Two of the following courses in computer science, statistics, economics, or data science.

  • CS 32: Computational Thinking and Problem Solving
  • CS 50: Introduction to Computer Science 
  • CS 51: Abstraction and Design in Computation 
  • CS109A: Data Science I: Introduction to Data Science
  • CS109B: Data Science II: Advanced Topics in Data Science
  • CS 181: Machine Learning
  • CS 182: Artificial Intelligence
  • Econ 1123: Introduction to Econometrics
  • Econ 1126: Quantitative Methods in Economics
  • Gov 50: Data Science for the Social Sciences
  • Gov 51: Data Analysis and Politics
  • Gov 2001: Quantitative Social Science Methods I
  • Stat 100: Introduction to Statistics and Data Science
  • Stat 104: Introduction to Quantitative Methods for Economics
  • Stat 110: Introduction to Probability
  • Stat 111: Introduction to Statistical Inference

Technology and Governance Requirement

One of the following courses on the intersection of technology and government. Courses offered in Fall 2024 are highlighted in bold below:

  • Applied Computation 221: Critical Thinking in Data Science
  • Computer Science 105: Privacy and Technology 
  • Econ 50: Using Big Data to Solve Economic and Social Problems
  • Econ 1000: Growth, Technology, Inequality, and Education
  • Engineering Sciences 298R (cross-listed as IGA 505): Solving Tech’s Public Dilemmas 
  • Gen Ed 1058: Tech Ethics
  • Gen Ed 1125: Artificial & Natural Intelligence
  • Gen Ed 1188: Rise of the Machines? Understanding and Using Generative AI
  • Gov 93CJ: Criminal Justice Policy Practicum
  • Gov 94BF: #AbolishPolice: The Politics of Public Safety in the Age of Social Media
  • Gov 94HJ: Technically Justice? The Politics of Technology and Criminal Justice Reform
  • Gov 94JH: American Cyber Politics 
  • Gov 94MS: The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
  • Gov 94OL: Artificial Intelligence: Sociolegal Dilemmas and Policy Design
  • Gov 1360: American Public Opinion
  • Gov 1368: The Politics of American Education
  • Gov 1790: American Foreign Policy
  • Gov 2576: The Politics of Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration
  • History of Science 188V: Data and Democracy
  • History of Science 231: Transforming Technologies: Science, Technology, and Social Change
  • History of Science 272: Big Data: Past, Present, Future
  • History of Science 189: The World We Made: Technology and Society
  • IGA 236 (at the Harvard Kennedy School): Cybersecurity: Technology, Policy, and Law
  • IGA 240 (at the Harvard Kennedy School): Cyber and Information Operations: Technology, Policy, and the Law
  • IGA 507 (at the Harvard Kennedy School): Science and Technology in Domestic and International Policy
  • IGA 538 (at the Harvard Kennedy School): Technology, Privacy, and the Trans-National Nature of the Internet
  • Philosophy 167: Privacy, Security, Connectivity
  • Phil 166T (cross-listed as DPI 207): Philosophy of Technology: From Marx and Heidegger to AI, Genome Editing and Geoengineering
  • Social Studies 98WF: Political and Ethical Challenges of the Digital Age


Other Notes about Courses and Requirements

  • Many of the courses above are in departments besides Government. All students graduating with a degree in Government must take a minimum of 10 courses in the Government Department. Students who meet multiple requirements above with courses outside of Government will be required to take additional Government electives so that they meet the 10-course minimum.
  • Not all courses listed above are offered each year. Please see my.harvard.edu for the course offerings in AY2023-2024.
  • The default grading option for CS 50 is SAT/UNSAT, so that will be accepted for credit. All other courses for Tech Science must be taken for a letter grade.
  • Double-counting rule: A course taken for one of the above-mentioned Tech Sci requirements can also be used to meet a concentration subfield requirement if it would otherwise meet that requirement (e.g., Gov 1430 and Gov 1433 can also be used to meet the American politics subfield requirement; Gen Ed 1058 can also be used for the political theory subfield requirement). Similarly, a Gov 94 taken for the Technology and Governance requirement can also be used for the Gov 94 seminar requirement. Please note, however, that as mentioned above, all students concentrating in Government must take a minimum of ten (10) distinct courses in Government.