Guide to Graduate Education in Science, Engineering and Public Policy
Guide to Graduate Education in Science, Engineering and Public Policy
http://www.aaas.org//spp/sepp/sepgtech-HTS.shtml
Georgia Institute of Technology
School of History, Technology, and Society
School of History, Technology, and Society Link to program page: |
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John Krige |
Background
HTS owes its free-standing status to a major process of institutional reorganization that took place in 1988-1990. Before that time, Georgia Tech's historians and sociologists had been members, along with philosophers and political scientists, of the School of Social Sciences, a unit that offered an M.S. in Technology and Science Policy but no undergraduate degrees. As a result of that reorganization, the School of Social Sciences was divided into three distinct units -- the School of History, Technology, and Society (HTS), the School of International Affairs (INTA), and the School of Public Policy (SPP) - each of which would have the option of offering both undergraduate and graduate degrees.
HTS quickly took advantage of the opportunity, and in its first year the School developed curricula for both a B.S. degree in HTS and a M.S. and Ph.D. in History of Technology. The graduate degrees in History of Technology reflected a conscious choice not to create another Science and Technology Studies (STS) degree, but to establish a special niche in graduate education that would draw on the existing strengths of the HTS faculty. Subsequent hires have prompted us recently to refashion the graduate degree programs as History and Sociology of Technology and Science, with tracks in Sociology of Technology and Science and in Technology and Modern History.
The History and Sociology of Technology and Science doctoral degree program trains students in advanced scholarly research on the historical, social, and cultural dimensions of science and technology, past and present. In keeping with current scholarship in the field, the program is interdisciplinary. The faculty includes primarily historians and sociologists. Students emerge with strong training in both fields, and they also develop a unique perspective that transcends conventional categories. While many faculty members’ research programs center on science and technology, the program is also enriched by the presence of specialists in American, European, Asian, and Middle Eastern history, and in economic and historical sociology and sociology of race and gender. Though highly interdisciplinary, the program is housed in a single academic unit—Georgia Tech’s School of History, Technology, and Society (HTS)—and thus enjoys close relationships among faculty and students. The HTS community also benefits from being located in the liberal arts college of one of the country’s premier engineering universities. Students and faculty may take advantage of the Tech library’s outstanding collection of technical literature and also have the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues in the Schools of Public Policy, International Affairs, Urban Planning, and Economics. Tech’s proximity to Emory University, Georgia State, and the Atlanta University Center is also an asset. Students in the PhD program come from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, including history, sociology, and science- and engineering-related fields, and recent PhDs have gone on to both academic and professional careers.
Graduate Degrees Offered
M.S. and Ph.D. in History and Sociology of Technology and Science
Admissions Requirements
Applicants are asked to provide:
- Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores
- College Transcripts
- Three (3) letters of recommendation
- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores (international applicants only)
- A biographical statement
For application to the HTS graduate programs your statement should be an intellectual biography and should include your reasons for applying to the MS or PhD program (specify), your interest in the history and/or sociology of technology and science, and your plans subsequent to receiving the degree.
Degree Requirements
M.S. 30 semester hours, including core seminars in History of Technology and in Social Theory, a course in methods and analysis, a comparative seminar, and a research paper worth 3-6 hours. The 30 hours may include no more than 6 hours of independent study (including credits received for the research paper) and no more than 6 hours outside HTS.
Ph.D. Completion of M.S. requirements or their equivalent, reading knowledge of a foreign language, comprehensive exams in three fields, and successful defense of an original doctoral dissertation.
The comprehensive examinations cover four fields. One of the fields must be the history of technology. Of the remaining three, at least one must incorporate disciplinary perspectives outside of history, and at most one can be taken under the supervision of faculty residing outside HTS. One of these three fields may be Science and Technology Policy.
HTS Required Graduate Core Courses
- HTS 6001 — Social Theory
- HTS 6002 — History of Technology
- HTS 7001 — Foundations of Socio-Historical Analysis
- HTS 8001 — Seminar in Comparative History and Society, or
- HTS 8002 — Social and Cultural Perspectives on Technology and Science
HTS Graduate Electives
- HTS 6101 — Social and Political History of the United States
- HTS 6102 — Social and Political History of Europe
- HTS 6103 — Social and Political History of the Nonwestern World
- HTS 6105 — Urbanization and Comparative Development
- HTS 6106 — Business Organizations and Political Economy
- HTS 6107 — Workers and the Labor Process
- HTS 6108 — Race, Ethnicity, and Industrialization
- HTS 6109 — Gender, Sexuality, and Society
- HTS 6110 — Gender, Science, and Technology
- HTS 6111 — Technology and Modern Culture
- HTS 6112 — Studies in Science and Engineering
Student Information
Current student population is approximately twenty, with the majority pursuing the doctorate.
Positions for Graduates
The list of PhDs’ employment after graduation.
Owner, RC Consulting, LLC
Associate Professor, Georgia College and State University
Director of Marketing/Media Relations
The William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum
Visiting Assistant Professor, Auburn University
Postdoctoral Fellow, Yale University
Assistant Professor, Colorado State University
Assistant Professor, Kennesaw State University
Research Historian, IEEE History Center
Scholar in Residence (Deutsches Museum)
Visiting Assistant Professor (GTL, Metz)
Senior Advisor for Academic Development at Spelman College
Senior Social Scientist, Internal Revenue Service
Assistant Dean, College of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology
Postdoctoral Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Assistant Professor, Clemson University
Senior Researcher, Lappeenrata University of Technology
Lecturer, University of Athens
M.S. graduates have obtained employment as researchers in think tanks, business, and government agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control; several have entered law school.
Financial Information
Financial aid for graduate students takes many forms. Most full-time PhD students are supported by teaching assistantships, research assistantships, or by research grants and fellowships. More information about these opportunities can be found on our Assistantships, Fellowships, and Grants page.
Students may also receive financial aid in the form of loans and grants. These are administered through Georgia Tech’s Graduate Financial Aid Office.
Other Information
Students who clearly intend to pursue the PhD should apply for the PhD program, regardless of whether or not they already have a master’s degree. All students in the PhD program acquire a master’s degree along the way. This typically involves a three-semester course of studies, though highly motivated students or those with advanced standing may complete the degree in a calendar year.
Though most students enroll full-time, it is possible to pursue the degrees on a part-time basis. Students wishing to attend part-time should be aware that required courses are usually taught just once a year. HTS graduate courses typically meet one day per week for three hours in the late afternoon. Part-time students are not eligible for financial aid.
Students who are interested in the master’s and those who are uncertain if they would like to continue on to the PhD should apply to the master’s program.
For additional information about the programs, feel free to contact the Director of Graduate Studies, Professor John Krige, at john.krige@hts.gatech.edu. Applicants may also wish to make direct contact with faculty in whom they have a particular interest, and can do so using our list of faculty profiles and e-mail addresses. Keep in mind that faculty have multiple responsibilities and may take some time to reply.
We encourage prospective students to visit HTS and Georgia Tech and to meet in person with Professor Krige, other relevant faculty, and current graduate students. To arrange a visit, please contact Professor Krige or his administrative assistant, LaDonna Bowen. HTS offices and classrooms are located in Tech’s Old Civil Engineering Building.
