Institution: Georgia Institute of Technology

School of History, Technology, and Society

Location: Atlanta, GA

Tuner: Steven Usselman

Year: 2013

Developed by Steven W. Usselman (Chair) and Amy D’Unger (Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies)

Degree Name: Bachelor of Science in History, Technology, and Society

Purpose of the Degree

HTS is the ideal program for students seeking a traditional liberal arts experience and wanting to cultivate practical skills for use in a wide variety of careers. Combining history and sociology, the program equips students to evaluate and engage the complex societal challenges posed by a rapid globalizing technological world.

Characteristics of the Program

The B.S. in HTS is comparable to traditional degrees in history and sociology but has several distinctive attributes. Like all undergraduates at Georgia Tech, our majors complete eight hours of laboratory science and take rigorous courses in calculus, computer science, and economics. Our majors supplement these courses with at least three additional courses focusing on the social study of science, technology, and medicine. While exploring science and technology in social context, students also acquire basic understanding of both history and sociology. Ample electives provide room to explore individual interests and create an educational experience uniquely your own.

Career Pathways for the Graduate

An HTS degree provides a solid foundation for many careers. Social science methods and data are used in virtually every field, including business, social services and government. HTS is also a gateway to the professions. Our alums have succeeded in a wide range of fields: advertising and PR; archives management; criminal justice; education evaluation; filmmaking; government; healthcare; historic preservation; human resources; journalism; law; library science; market research; marketing; nonprofit administration; product engineering; program evaluation; public administration; public health; publishing; quality control engineering; real estate; social services; secondary and university teaching.

Educational Style

In addition to its emphasis on technology and science, our rogram stresses research and communication. The major builds toward two capstone seminars for which students write significant research papers and present their findings orally to class. Majors must take a required introductory methods class before enrolling in these seminars. Electives at the 2000 and 3000 levels cultivate writing skills through essay exams and paper assignments, which typically require research, often in primary sources. Some courses also engage students in group projects involving research. Nearly all incorporate frequent discussion of readings and other common source materials.

Program Competencies and Outcomes

The research experiences, analytical abilities, and oral and written communication skills fostered in HTS - combined with knowledge about the rapidly changing technological landscape - give our students an edge when applying to graduate schools and for employment.  In addition to entering careers in fields such as those noted above, HTS majors have gone on to professional schools and graduate programs at universities such as Chicago, Duke, MIT, Virginia, Emory, Johns Hopkins, Minnesota, Cornell, Illinois, and Harvard.  Over half of our alums have attained degrees beyond the B.S.