Council on Science and Technology

The Council on Science and Technology, in cooperation with the science and engineering departments, fosters the teaching of science and technology for students specializing in humanities and social sciences.   A principal responsibility of the Council is to encourage the development of high-quality courses in which undergraduates in the humanities and social sciences can satisfy the University science and technology (ST) distribution requirements.  

The Council has responsibility for approving the STL and STN designation for science and engineering courses appropriate for students who are concentrating in the humanities and social sciences and that are not departmentals.   The Council assists faculty members in developing new courses and revising existing ones, and encourages the exchange of ideas and experiences among faculty members teaching science to students specializing in humanities and social sciences.   In addition, the Council sponsors lunchtime seminars with scientists who are acclaimed for their teaching methods, as well as the annual Evnin Lecture featuring a prominent scientist on a topic of interest to the general public.

The Council is currently actively promoting the development of new STL (lab) and STN (non-lab) courses to fulfill the science and technology distribution requirements, especially for students specializing in humanities and social sciences.   The Council is employing teaching specialists to help develop these new courses and to include research-based teaching methods in the courses as well.   The STN courses will be science electives of interest to all undergraduates.   They will combine core science with a societal application.