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UCL Science, Technology and Society MSc introduces students to a broad range of themes in science policy and governance, science communication and engagement, and sociology of science. It equips them with the skills needed to operate in any professional context where science enters into a dialogue with other constituents of society and culture.
Programme Details | |
|---|---|
| Awards Available | MSc |
| Duration | 1 year Full Time 2 years Part Time |
| Location | UCL Bloomsbury Campus |
Our UCL Science, Technology and Society MSc focuses on the complex ways science and technology shape the modern world. Drawing on a wide range of disciplinary approaches in sociology, political science, policy studies, cultural and media studies we train students to critically understand how scientific knowledge is created and used, how technology and innovation processes are governed and the multiple ways science is embedded in cultural and public settings. The programme is delivered by a faculty of internationally significant scholars in the field. It prepares students to work at the interface of science, technology and society whether in science advice, consulting, the civil service, mass media or cultural institutions. Many of our students also go on to further research at PhD level.
Find out what students think about our Science, Technology and Society MSc:
The UCL Science, Technology and Society MSc has three distinctive features that make us stand out from the rest:
1. It is delivered by research active staff who are all recognised experts in their field;
2. It is delivered in UCL Science and Technology Studies Department which allows students to be exposed to other disciplinary perspectives on science and society ;
3. A global perspective on the Science Society relationship that recognises the contribution of all cultures to the production of knowledge.
Find out more about the programme the modules on offer and how to apply.
Course Content
The curriculum comprises of two compulsory modules and seven optional modules to be chosen from the Department of Science and Technology Studies Level 7 module catalogue.
Compulsory Modules:
- Introduction to Science and Technology Studies
- Research Project
Optional Modules:
- Science in the Twentieth Century and Beyond
- Curating Science and Technology
- Science, Technology and Identity
- Responsible Science and Innovation
- Science Policy in an Era of Risk and Uncertainty
- Sociology of Science and Technology
- Science Journalism
- Research Methods in Data Analysis in Science and Technology Studies
- Engaging the Public with Science
- Health, Difference and Inequality
- Science Technology and International Development
Please note that specialist modules may vary each academic year without prior notice
Find out more about the programme, the modules on offer and how to apply on the Programme Prospectus
The UCL Science, Technology and Society MSc Team
Academic Staff
The programme tutor is Dr Rory Jubber, who is a Philosopher of Science
- Dr Rory Jubber
Lecturer in Philosophy of Science
Dr Jubber works primarily in the metaphysics of science with a particular focus on properties, composition and the laws of nature. In addition, Dr Jubber is interested in the nature of scientific testimony and the relation between political philosophy, ethics and other areas of philosophy.
Outside of academic philosophy Dr Jubber takes an active interest in the political landscape of Southern Africa.
Other academic staff associated with the Science, Technology and Society programme
- Professor Jon Agar
Professor of Science and Technology Studies
Professor Agar researches and writes on the history of modern science and technology
- Professor Brian Balmer
Professor of Science Policy Studies
Professor Balmer has broad research interests in science and technology policy, particularly in relation to the life sciences. His work combines sociological and historical approaches to understanding the nature of scientific expertise and science advice in policy contexts. He has published extensively on the history and sociology of biological and chemical arms control. His other research interests include scientific migration (the ‘brain drain’), the role of volunteers in biomedical research, and the sociology of secrecy.
- Dr Saheli Datta Burton
Lecturer in Science Policy (Responsible Research and Innovation)
Dr Datta Burton’s research focuses on the (trans)national governance of emerging technologies with a focus on data-driven health and digital technologies.
- Professor Emily Dawson
Professor of Education, Science and Society
Professor Dawson’s research examines relationships between social justice and science when it becomes ‘public’, whether in museums, schools and universities, activism, the mass media and people’s everyday lives
- Professor Carina Fearnley
Professor of Science Communication and Warning Research, and Director of the UCL Warning Research Centre
Professor Fearnley is an interdisciplinary expert in public engagement, focusing on scientific uncertainty and risk, and its communication. Her research focuses on warning systems for hazards and threats, and art/science collaborations.
- Dr Stephen Hughes
Lecturer in Science, Technology and Society
Dr Hughes is an expert in science communication and responsible innovation. His work explores emotions at the intersections of science, technology, and society.
- Professor Simon Lock
Professor of Science, Politics and Culture
Prof Lock's research interests are centred around the relationship between science and public,the development of science communication, and public engagement with science and technology.
- Dr Tiago Mata
Associate Professor in Science and Technology Studies
Dr Mata is an expert in the history and sociology of economics and political science.
- Dr Cian O’Donovan
Director of the UCL Centre for Responsible Innovation. Lecturer in Responsible Innovation
Dr. Cian O'Donovan is an expert in the politics of technology and responsible innovation
- Professor Melanie Smallman
Professor of Science and Technology Studies
Prof Smallman is an expert on science communication and policy, especially in the area of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI).
- Professor Jack Stilgoe
Professor of Science and Technology Policy
Prof Stilgoe is an expert in the governance of emerging technologies.
You can hear our team talking about their work here.
Summer Reading Sample to Prepare for Study
If you'd like a taste of the type of material students will encounter in the Science, Technology and Society MSc, here is a sampler. Together, these present some of the key themes that will help you engage during the course. Please don't consider this list canonical or unproblematic. By the end of the course, you'll be able to position all this material in meaningful contexts.
Sarah Davis, (2024) Science Societies: Resources for Life in a Technoscientific World, Bristol University Press
Benjamin, R. (2019). Race after Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code. Cambridge and Medford: Polity Press.
Calvert, J. (2024). A Place for Science and Technology Studies: Observation, Intervention, and Collaboration. MIT Press.
