STS Senior Capstone Courses

As a graduation requirement, all STS students must complete a senior capstone course during their final year. All capstones satisfy the Applied Learning and Writing Intensive College graduation requirements. Students can either take STS 400W - Senior Seminar or STS 401W - Internship. Students who wish to register for the STS 400W - Senior Seminar must have completed at least 90 credits. Students cannot register for the capstone on their own. If interested in registering for STS 400W - Senior Seminar, please contact Kathy ( Email) and she can help you register for the course. If interested in registering for STS 401W - Internship, please contact STS Internship Coordinator, Prof. Karin Huijgens ( Email).

Summer A 2023

STS 400W - Senior Seminar - Environmental Sustainability
Dr. David Stern | ONLINE | 3 credits | CRN 62138
The overall focus of the course will be the integration of skills learned at the college with its application on assessing current technological problems. Special emphasis will be on environmental sustainability. Topics will include population, climate change, renewable energy, sustainable economics and water and air resources. Information technologies such as GIS and GPS will be explored. Preparation for addressing students’ plans after graduation (whether further study in graduate school or a professional career) will be included.

STS 400W - Senior Seminar - Academic Research & Report Writing 
Prof. Michael Passero | ONLINE | 3 credits | CRN 62481
This capstone seminar serves as a culminating experience for the Science, Technology, and Society program. The final goal of this course will be for students to conduct academic research and generate research abstracts, sentence outlines, a professional oral presentation, and professional report on a topic of their choosing. While the curriculum is broad-based in scope, lectures will pay particular attention to the fundamental concepts of academic research, oral communication, and written communication.

Summer B 2023

STS 400W - Senior Seminar - Critical Thinking and the Social Brain
Dr. Amanda Kavner | ONLINE | 3 credits | CRN 62179
As a culmination for the Science, Technology and Society program, this capstone seminar will be focusing on social influences on how we think and feel, including social interaction, how we communicate online, and how they can influence our perceptions about the world. Through analytical writing this course will address the biological processes behind learning and communicating (social cognition), the mental and psychological mechanisms behind how we experience the social world, and related technological implications. This capstone aims to help prepare students in their careers outside of education by fostering critical thinking and scientific writing skills, as well as focusing on the neurological basis for social interaction and how social interaction is affected by technology in their personal and professional lives.

STS 401W - Internship 
Prof. Francesca Polo | ONLINE | 3 credits | CRN 62021
This course is designed for Science, Technology and Society (STS) majors who wish to complete a semester-long (or equivalent) internship as part of their course of study. Students may choose an internship at a corporation or a civic, educational, governmental, or not-for- profit organization after consultation with and permission of the department chair. Any internship should support learning outcomes and/or career development in the sciences, technology, and/or society. Enrollment in this course is restricted to students with senior status in the STS Program. Students enrolled in an internship will meet periodically with their advisor and will be required to submit internship notes and both a draft and final report of the internship experience at the end of the semester. This is a writing-intensive course. Prerequisite(s): Senior status in STS program and approval of Department Chair

Students who wish to pursue an internship must contact the STS Internship Coordinator, Prof. Karin Huijgens ( Email).