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The certificate in Integrated Studies in Science, Engineering, and Society Undergraduate (ISSuES) offers undergraduate students an opportunity to explore the social sciences and humanities in a way that emphasizes the relationship between science, technology, medicine, engineering, and society. From energy to communications technologies to gene editing to automation, the interplay between researchers, developers, policy makers and the public is constantly shaping and reshaping our world. The ISSuES certificate allows undergraduate students to complement their majors with a set of courses aimed at helping them understand how society shapes science and how science shapes society.

Offered by the Holtz Center for Science & Technology Studies, ISSuES was designed to help STEM-field majors fulfill their liberal arts requirements, but is highly flexible and is available to all undergraduate students interested in exploring the complex interplay between science, technology, medicine, engineering, and society. For more information, see the program website.

The certificate in integrated studies in science, engineering and society is offered to all undergraduate students. Students should begin the application process by the end of sophomore year, but no later than the end of their junior year.

The first step in applying to the program is to consult with the ISSuES certificate advisor. To make an appointment, please send an email to sts@ssc.wisc.edu.

15 credits, TO INCLUDE: 1

STS 201 Where Science Meets Society3
9 credits from one focus area:9
Ethics:
How People Learn
Environmental Studies: Social Science Perspectives
Special Topics: Social Perspectives in Environmental Studies
Biology and Society, 1950 - Today
The Origins of Scientific Thought
The Making of Modern Science
HIST SCI 203
Bodies, Diseases, and Healers: An Introduction to the History of Medicine
Technology and Social Change in History
Science, Medicine, and Race: A History
Science, Medicine and Religion
Science in America
International Health and Global Society
Topics in History of Medicine
American Environmental History
Health, Disease and Healing I
Public Health Ethics
Independent Study in Medical History
Philosophy and the Sciences
Introductory Ethics
Ethics in Business
Contemporary Moral Issues
Environmental Ethics
Modern Ethical Theories
Leadership:
World Hunger and Malnutrition
Introduction to Environmental Health
Global Environmental Issues
History of Pharmacy
Science and Storytelling
Visualizing Science and Technology
Risk Communication
Managing Organizations
Introduction to American Politics and Government
Introduction to American Politics
Law, Politics and Society
Technology and Society
Introduction to Social Policy
Design:
Two-Dimensional Design
Three-Dimensional Design
Introduction to Digital Forms
Foundations of Contemporary Art
Drawing I
Drawing Methods & Concepts
Wood Working
Special Topics
Advanced Wood Working
History of Western Art II: From Renaissance to Contemporary
Cross-Cultural Arts Around the Atlantic Rim: 1800 to the Present
ART HIST 359
Cities of Asia
Proseminar in American Architecture
Design: Fundamentals I
Fashion Illustration
Design: Fundamentals II
Person and Environment Interactions
Taste
Global Environmental Issues
Special Topics in the History of Science
Science and Environmental Journalism
Survey of Landscape Architecture Design
Digital Media and Science Communication
Managing Organizations
Introductory Ethics
Technology and Society
General:
Race and American Politics from the New Deal to the New Right
Cultural Anthropology and Human Diversity
Introduction to Digital Forms
Introduction to Digital Communication
Rhetoric and Technology
Videogames & Learning
Design: Fundamentals I
Environmental Studies: Social Science Perspectives
Environmental Conservation
Health, Disease and Healing I
The Origins of Scientific Thought
The Making of Modern Science
HIST SCI 203
Technology and Social Change in History
Science, Medicine, and Race: A History
Race, American Medicine and Public Health
Health, Disease and Healing I
The Development of Public Health in America
Introduction to Philosophy
International Health and Global Society
Introduction to Human Factors
Introductory Ecology
Capstone—one from: 23
Special Topics
Advanced Wood Working
ART HIST 359
Proseminar in American Architecture
Taste
Geography of Wisconsin
Race, American Medicine and Public Health
Topics in History of Medicine
Risk Communication
Health, Disease and Healing I
The Development of Public Health in America
Independent Study in Medical History
Contemporary Moral Issues
International Health and Global Society
Introduction to Human Factors
Directed Study
Total Credits15
1

Courses taken with the pass/fail grade option do not apply to the certificate.

2

 Courses used for the Focus area cannot also count for Capstone.

Residence and Quality of Work

  • 2.000 GPA on all courses counting toward the certificate and certificate approved courses
  • 8 credits in the certificate, in residence

Certificate COMPLETION REQUIREMENT

This undergraduate certificate must be completed concurrently with the student’s undergraduate degree. Students cannot delay degree completion to complete the certificate.

  1. Be exposed to the social sciences and humanities and see their relevance to scientific and technological enterprises.
  2. Develop the capacity for interdisciplinary, critical thinking about the relationship between science, technology, engineering, medicine and society.
  3. Develop a sense of personal and social responsibility for their engineering, scientific or other professional practice.
  4. Strengthen written communication skills.

Advising

To obtain advising assistance, students should consult with the ISSuES certificate advisor. To make an appointment, send an email to sts@ssc.wisc.edu.

All UW–Madison undergraduates are encouraged to begin working on their career exploration and preparation soon after arriving on campus. We partner with SuccessWorks at the College of Letters & Scence. L&S graduates are in high demand by employers and graduate programs, and the ISSuES certificate provides students with a way to integrate their liberal studies with the skills they are developing in their majors. It is important to us that our students are career ready at the time of graduation, and we are committed to your success. Students who have completed the certificate say that it helped them enhance the portfolio of skills they offered to employers and graduate programs by giving them foundations for understanding and communicating effectively about the ethical, policy, design, and other non-technical aspects of science, engineering and medicine.   

L&S career resources

Every L&S major opens a world of possibilities.  SuccessWorks at the College of Letters & Science helps students turn the academic skills learned in their major, certificates, and other coursework into fulfilling lives after graduation, whether that means jobs, public service, graduate school or other career pursuits.

In addition to providing basic support like resume reviews and interview practice, SuccessWorks offers ways to explore interests and build career skills from their very first semester/term at UW all the way through graduation and beyond.

Students can explore careers in one-on-one advising, try out different career paths, complete internships, prepare for the job search and/or graduate school applications, and connect with supportive alumni and even employers in the fields that inspire them.