The Master's programme in Science and Technology Studies is organised by the Amsterdams Instituut voor Maatschappijwetenschap (AIM), http://www.fmg.uva.nl/aim.

Scientific and technological change present contemporary societies with some of their greatest opportunities and some of their greatest challenges. On the one hand the products of science-based industries seem to promise so much in the way of economic and social well-being. On the other hand some at least of these products evoke popular concern. Debates about nuclear power in the 1970s and about genetically modified foodstuffs and stem-cell research today are examples. How are popular concerns translated into political action? How can governments respond, in an era of Internet and of global corporations? The fact is that science and technology are also key components of a rapidly globalising world.

Globalisation seems to dissolve boundaries between nations and cultures, and between political and economic domains. We’ve long taken for granted that science and technology are global by virtue of collaborations in international projects, through interdisciplinary research and the circulation of knowledge and technology among scientific communities. Today we see citizens, political actors and commercial corporations also becoming global. With what consequences? Whereas globalisation in the North seems to be about the crossing of boundaries, the view from the South is different. Here, globalisation seems to contribute to an ever-widening gap between North and South. It is well known that multi-national companies are moving their production towards low-income countries. However, the South is also viewed as a resource in other ways. Its biodiversity has attracted the attention of pharmaceutical and bio-tech companies as well as of researchers, with consequences (some speak of ‘biopiracy’) that are a matter of heated debate today.

What are the effects of science and technology on such processes of globalisation? What does a focus on science and technology bring to the surface about this picture of globalisation? What aspects have moved to the background in cultural and political representations of globalisation?

The programme provides students with the skills needed to analyse the opportunities and the challenges of modern science and technology. The programme is interdisciplinary, with the first semester courses offering and integrating perspectives from relevant social science disciplines. The elective courses offered in the second semester focus specifically on the problems and dilemmas of globalisation.

Particular emphasis is placed on empirical research, as a means of developing analytical, practical and communicative skills. Students will gain experience of empirical research both singly and in collaboration with fellow-students. The programme should appeal particularly to students wanting to understand better the place of science and technology in a globalising world, either as preparation for further research or for a career in education, policy analysis, science communication or with an NGO. 

Career outlook

The Master’s in Science and Technology Studies prepares students for further research on social aspects of science and technology or for a career in education, policy analysis, science-communication, or with an NGO. Graduates of the programme have found work in the fields of research policy and science management, in governmental advisory agencies (for instance 'De Wetenschappelijke Raad voor het Regeringsbeleid' and the 'Rathenau Instituut'), in multi-national companies with large research- and development departments and more. There are also many positions in public relations, science journalism, and NGO’s.

Student profile

The programme is intended for students from the social sciences as well as the natural and life sciences (sometimes with a preparatory programme) who are interested in the relationships between science, technology and society/culture.

In certain cases the Examination Committee prescribes a preparatory programme for students to complete before admission to the master’s programme. This programme can be completed in one semester, from February-July. Admission to the master’s follows in September, on the condition of successful completion of the preparatory programme. To learn about the possibilities, please contact the Study adviser, Arend Benner: studyadviser-sts@fmg.uva.nl.

Degree requirements

The Master of Science degree in Science and Technology Studies (60 EC) will be awarded upon completion of the course requirements and approval of the Master's thesis written by the student. Fulfilling all the requirements will take between one and one and a half years. It is possible for capable students with the appropriate background to complete the programme in one year of full time study.

More information

For more information on the Master's programme, courses, lecturers and registration please check our websites http://www.ishss.uva.nl or http://www.student.uva.nl/msts, or contact the Programme manager/Study adviser Arend Benner, MSc. at studyadviser-sts@fmg.uva.nl.