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/sepucol-cstpr.shtml
University of Colorado
Center for Science and Technology Policy Research
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Center for Science and Technology Policy Research
Tel: 303-735-0451
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Director: William Travis
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Background
Society has a growing need for expertise in science and technology policy. The Graduate Certificate in Science and Technology Policy at the University of Colorado-Boulder, which is being offered in a parallel form at the Colorado School of Mines, is a rigorous educational program to prepare students pursuing graduate degrees for careers at the interface of science, technology, and decision making.
Degrees Offered:
Graduate Certificate Program in Science and Technology Policy
Admissions Requirements:
A number of spaces for early admission are reserved for students who apply to the University specifically to enroll in the Certificate Program. Students who wish early admission should contact us as they prepare their application to the University. The deadlines for these applications will follow in accordance with the admissions deadlines of the home departments.
Acceptance will be based on the qualifications of the student, as well as the importance of fostering a diversity of disciplinary representation within the program. Responsibility for accepting students into the Program will be delegated to a committee of the Faculty Affiliates.
Students applying to the Certificate as part of their application to the University should include a statement of interest to the department to which they are applying and upon acceptance to the home department, the admissions committee should forward to the Certificate program manager a list of those students that they would like to have considered for acceptance. The Certificate admissions committee will consider all departmental requests at once and seek diversity in participation.
A complete application includes:
- A statement of interest
- Academic transcripts
Degree Requirements:
The certificate is awarded upon completion of degree requirements and requires completion of 18 hours of approved coursework. Internship credit is encouraged and up to 3 hours may count toward the 18 hours of credit needed to complete the certificate. PhD students are expected to incorporate science and technology policy, in some manner (e.g., in one chapter), into their PhD dissertation and include on their committee a member from outside their home department with science and technology policy expertise.
Each year, the certificate program will begin with a capped enrollment of 18 students per cohort. These 18 students will take three required courses, (Science and Technology Policy Certificate, or STPC) STPC 6000/ENVS 5100, STPC 6010/ENVS 5110, STPC 6020/ENVS 5120 as well as 3 additional courses from a list of approved electives. Successful completion of the certificate program requires the completion of 18 hours of coursework (or coursework plus internship credit).
For a more complete list of required and elective courses, see http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/stcert/curriculum/courses.html.
Faculty Information:
The following faculty are associated with the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research:
Wayne Ambler
Political Science and Classical Greek
Krister Andersson
Politics of environmental governance
Susan Avery
Water and climate decision support; U.S. science policy
Rad Byerly
US science, environmental and space policy, and role of Congress
Thomas Chase
Interpretation of climate system models, climate variability
Lisa Dilling
The use of information in decision making related to climate and, the carbon cycle
Benjamin Hale
Environmental ethics and environmental policy
Lisa Keränen
Rhetoric of science: medicine, health care, and bioethics
Paul Komor
Energy policy: renewable energy, efficiency, and utility regulation
Sarah Krakoff
Natural Resources Law, Civil Procedure, and Indian Law
Frank Laird
Science, energy and environmental policy; technology and politics
Juan Lucena
History of U.S. policymaking for education and human resources
Diane McKnight
Interactions between hydrologic, chemical and biological processes in controlling the dynamics in aquatic ecosystems
Jana Milford
Environmental Policy
Carl Mitcham
Science, technology, and society studies; philosophy and science and technology ethics
Paul Ohm
Criminal Procedure, Intellectual Property, Computer Crime Law
Jerry Peterson
Nuclear astrophysics; applications of nuclear physics
Roger Pielke, Jr.
U.S. science policy, environmental policy, space policy
Balaji Rajagopalan
Decision making under uncertainty, ensemble hydrology forecasting
Joseph Ryan
Contaminant transport in natural waters, acid mine drainage
Douglas Sicker
Interaction of technology and policy, and security
Mark Squillace
Natural resources law, environmental law
Kathleen Tierney
Social dimensions of hazards and disasters
Phil Weiser
Interdisciplinary telecommunications, law
Tom Yulsman
Science and environmental journalism: earth and space sciences
Michael Zimmerman
metaphysical, cultural, ethical, cognitive, political, and religious dimensions of anthropogenic environmental problems
Other Information:
The Center for Science and Technology Policy Research was initiated within the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado-Boulder in the summer of 2001 as a contribution both to the CIRES goal of “promoting science in service to society” and to the University’s vision of establishing research and outreach across traditional academic boundaries.
The Center is a response to an increased demand by public and private decision makers for “usable” scientific information. Such information can serve decisions that have a scientific component or decisions about the structures, organizations, and priorities of science itself. At the same time, scientists have become increasingly interested in research problems that require the input of more than just a single traditional discipline. Science and technology policy research provides a mechanism to reconcile these two closely related - but not identical - trends. Such research focuses on “problems” and “decisions” to provide information that is useful and relevant in decision making. The focus on problems and decisions sets science and technology policy research apart from other efforts to integrate knowledge across traditional disciplines.
Because problems and decisions are not bounded by any discipline or set of disciplines, science and technology policy research is necessarily integrative across the physical, social, and biological sciences (as well as other fields, including the humanities). The specific decision or problem that is the focus of inquiry dictates the sort of knowledge that is relevant to the research. By linking integrative science with the needs of decision makers, science and technology policy research can serve a valuable role in helping the research community better focus its efforts on issues of importance to society, and decision makers can more effectively incorporate scientific and technological advances into their decision processes. An explicit focus on science and technology policy research can contribute needed expertise and perspective in the quest for scientific and technical knowledge usable by decision makers.
Our long-term vision is to “serve as a resource for science and technology decision makers and those providing the education of future decision makers.” Our mission is to improve how science and technology policies address societal needs, including research, education and service.
