专业描述

The Department of the History of Science and Technology in collaboration with the Department of History of Medicine offers an undergraduate major and minor in the history of science, medicine, and technology. Courses combine an appreciation of the developments in science, medicine, and technology with an awareness of their cultural impact. Requirements include courses in natural science, engineering, or mathematics. The program is well suited to double majors in the sciences and to premedical students. Courses offered by scholars from the Smithsonian Institution are a regular feature of the program. An optional senior thesis allows students to get practical experience and explore topics in depth. Faculty interests extend from the Renaissance to the present. In addition to research on the main disciplines within science and medicine, faculty interests include science and exploration, science and religion, history of environmentalism and public health, East Asian history of science and technology, and science in Latin America. An education in the history of science, medicine, and technology prepares students for the growing number of careers—medicine, teaching, journalism, law, public policy, business—in which an understanding of the impact of science is important. The program offers a liberal arts education that meets all the requirements for premedical students. Graduates of the department have been accepted to some of the top medical schools in the country. Some students pursue graduate work in the public health disciplines. Others go on to law school or to graduate school in the natural sciences. Some graduates have become science writers, historians, teachers, or have gone into business or museum work.