Program in Science and Technology Studies School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

The Rensselaer Science and Technology Studies Doctoral Program

The Rensselaer Science and Technology Studies doctoral program is one of the oldest and best-known STS departments in the United States.

Faculty members in the department conduct research to advance scholarly and public understanding of engineering problems and ethics; environmental problems; gender and technoscience; governance of technoscientific innovation; sustainable and culturally situated design; the Internet, information sciences, and new media; emerging sciences and technologies that are re-shaping social relations, including genomics, nanotechnology, toxicology, the neurosciences, social robotics and computer modeling; public health in global context, including disaster studies; and reproductive technologies. The program fosters collaborative research between faculty members and graduate students, and has pioneered programs designed to help students to build career portfolios starting upon entry to the program.

The Focus of the STS Program

The STS doctoral program is distinct in that it teaches diverse and evolving conceptual and methodological perspectives on STS. The program teaches social and cultural theories drawn from many disciplines (anthropology, history, political science, psychology, and sociology). However, the signature thrust of the program is to enable students to fuse these disciplinary perspectives into a multi-disciplinary inquiry into why the world has the sciences, technologies, and policies that it does, and how these might be improved upon in order to benefit larger segments of society. The program encourages methodological experimentation and interpretive insight into major questions confronting society.

As a result of synergy between faculty members and students in the program, the Rensselaer STS doctorates are known for deep interdisciplinarity and creative disciplinary research; expansive and innovative use of social and cultural theory; global perspective and international fieldwork; and constructive political and ethical engagement with science, technology, and policy studies.

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• Degrees Offered
• Major Degree Levels Offered
• Science Studies Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
  Master of Science (MS)
• Design Studies Master of Science (MS)
  Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
• Policy Studies Master of Science (MS)
  Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
• Technology Studies Master of Science (MS)
  Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
• Sustainability Studies Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
  Master of Science (MS)

• Degrees Awarded
• Master's Degrees 2
• Doctoral Degrees 1
• First Professional Degrees Not reported
• Other Advanced Degrees Not reported
• * Shows the number of degrees awarded for the last academic year that data was reported.

• Earning Your Degree
• Part-time study available? No
• Evening/weekend programs available? No
• Distance learning programs available? No
• Terminal master's degree available? Yes

• Degree Requirements
• Master's Degrees Required for some
• Doctoral Degrees Required and Required
• First Professional Degrees Not reported
• Other Advanced Degrees Not reported

• Acceptance Rate
• Applied19
• Accepted8
• Acceptance Rate42%
• Enrolled5
• Applying
• Application Fee - Domestic $75
• Application Fee - International $75
• Electronic applications accepted? Yes
• Applications processed on a rolling basis? Yes
• Application Deadlines
• Type Domestic International Priority Date
• Fall deadline January 15th January 15th Yes
• Winter deadline Not Reported Not Reported Not Reported
• Spring deadline Not Reported Not Reported Not Reported
• Entrance Requirements
• Master's DegreesGRE General Test
• Doctoral's DegreesGRE General Test
• First-Professional's DegreesNot Reported
• Other Advanced DegreesNot Reported
• International DegreesTOEFL required, 600 paper based

• Tuition & Fees
• In-state tuition *$39,600
• Out-of-state tuition *$39,600
• International student tuitionNot Reported
• * Tuition for full-time graduate student per academic year
• Fees
• Per-academic year fees$1,896.00
• Per-term feesNot Reported
• One-time feeNot Reported
• * Fees for full-time graduate students
• Financial Support
• Financial award applicants must submitNot Reported
• Application deadlines for financial awardsJanuary 15
• Types of financial support availableFellowships, Research Assitantships, Teaching Assistantships, Tuition Waivers, Career or Field-Related Internships, Institutionally-sponsored Loans

• Gender
• Total Graduate Students24
• Female Percentage29%
• Male Percentage71%
• Participation
• Total Graduate Students24
• Part-time Percentage17%
• Full-time Percentage83%
• Ethnicity
• Hispanic / Latino0%
• Black / African American10%
• White / Caucasian80%
• American Indian / Alaskan Native0%
• Asian5%
• Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander0%
• Two or more races0%
• Unknown5%

• Faculty Breakout
• Total Faculty15
• Full-time Percentage100%
• Part-time Percentage0%
• Female Percentage33%
• Male Percentage67%

• Existing Research
• Focus of faculty researchCommunities and technology, social dimensions of IT and biotechnology, ethics and policy, design
• Externally sponsored research expenditures last year$75,000