Science, Technology, Ethics and Policy (STEP) Minor

Your perspective will help society navigate the challenges at the intersection of science, technology, ethics and policy.

Learn more about the program from our current students and Dr. David Tomblin, director of the minor.

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The STEP minor is an interdisciplinary program sponsored by the School of Public Policy, the College of Information Studies, and the A. James Clark School of Engineering. It offers you the knowledge and analytical skills to understand and assess the complex interactions among science, technology, ethics and policy. Students in the minor explore the ways that scientific practice and technological development are embedded in social, cultural, humanistic and political systems. These connections help students see the variety of ways science and technology can be governed, designed and implemented to optimize the needs of society. Gain an increased sensitivity to ethical issues related to data analytics, artificial intelligence, automated systems, synthetic biology, climate engineering, energy development, physical and communication infrastructure, just to name a few.

You'll develop tools for anticipating potential social, ethical and political problems and employing these insights for emerging science and technology governance strategies. Investigate how culture, politics, economics, law, professional training, funding, and employment settings affect the pursuit of science and the development of technology, all while understanding how science and technology change these aspects of society.

As part of our experiential learning curriculum, you'll also reflect on your individual skills, practical knowledge, and experiences to articulate these complex relationships to the broader context of society’s needs, scientific research and technological development. Finally, all of your hard work will culminate in the capstone, where you'll use analytical methods from science and technology studies, policy studies, information studies, history, political science, ethics and other related disciplines

Meet the Director:

David Tomblin is a senior lecturer with an appointment in the A. James Clark School of Engineering. Along with being the STEP minor director, he has served as director of the College Park Scholars Science, Technology and Society since 2013 and has taught at the University of Maryland since 2009.

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Advising GA

Karenna Aparece is an MPP candidate from Baltimore, Maryland with an interest in the intersection of law, public policy and democratic practices and backsliding. She received a B.S. in Psychology and a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Maryland where she was exposed to the philosophy of voting practices, multicultural psychology, and the role of racism in policymaking. Aparece is the Graduate Student Advisor for the STEP Minor.

ENES240 Instructor

Timothy Reedy is a lectuer in the A. James Clark School of Engineering and has taught several courses in the Science, Technology and Society program associated with College Park Scholars. Tim earned his Bachelor of Science Education from the University of Missouri, MS in Biology from Washington University in St. Louis, and more recently, his doctorate in International Education Policy from the University of Maryland.

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ENES240 TA

Nate Beard is a third-year PhD student in the College of Information Studies (iSchool) at the University of Maryland studying technology, work, privacy, surveillance, and inequality. He previously worked in technology, design, startups, and global development, and he has a M.S. in Technology, Media and Society from the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences and a B.S. in information management systems from Leeds School of Business, both at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Meet the Director:

Learn more about the Director

News

12/01/24: The STEP Minor cannot accept any additional students of junior standing due to 2025-2026 cohort capacity limitations. Juniors still interested in the program can submit an application by emailing stepminor@umd.edu and request to be placed on a waitlist, but are not guaranteed entry off the waitlist.
1/15/25: Two advising appointment times have opened during the week before the spring semester: Monday, 1/20 and Wednesday 1/22 1:30-4pm. Regular spring semester availability is currently reflected in TerpEngage.
3/31/25: The STEP minor has a new concentration: Sustainability, Social Responsibility, and Engineering (SSRE)! Please see information below.

Concentration Areas

This concentration explores the contemporary societal implications of scientific developments. Courses in this concentration focus on the role science and technology have played in creating environmental, social, cultural and institutional challenges.

Core Courses

Introduction to Science, Technology, Ethics and Policy (ENES 240): This course surveys the disciplinary concepts and methods fundamental to the three minor concentrations: information economy, science and technology development, and social, ethical, and policy implications. Overall, the course explores how science and technology shape society and how society shapes science and technology. Students will also relate concepts to topical issues in science and technology such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, automation, synthetic biology, nanotechnology, and more. The ultimate product of the course is the development of a proposal that asks a scholarly question related to one or more of the concentrations. (Note: Students must earn a minimum grade of B- to be eligible for ENES 440).
Science, Technology, Ethics and Policy Capstone (ENES 440): This course focuses on applying concepts and building on knowledge obtained in the STEP minor course work and should be taken as the last in a student’s minor sequence. Students will use interdisciplinary methods from the social sciences and humanities to gain a better understanding of the political, ethical, social, environmental, cultural, economic, and technical complexities of science and technology. They will learn how to formulate a good question, employ several data collection methods (literature review, interviews, natural observation, document analysis) to gather evidence that supports the thesis, and apply a conceptual framework that gives the project coherence. Along the way, as a way to receive feedback to improve their study, students will give several types of professional presentations (posters, oral presentations, facilitated discussion) of their research progress.
Science, Technology, Ethics, and Policy SSRE Concentration Capstone (ENES 401): The SSRE concentration has a different capstone course than students in the other concentrations or students with no set concentration: ENES401 Entrepreneurial Design Realization. STEP students who are NOT in the SSRE Concentration cannot take this course. The purpose of ENES401 is to produce positive socially or environmentally responsible impacts through the development and implementation of a product or process. These are done through specific projects, with viable projects possibly coming from other courses (e.g., ENME472 Capstone Design, or CPSS240 College Park Scholars: Science, Technology & Society - Service-Learning Practicum). The end products of this course are tangible deliverables that go out into the public domain. This can include physical builds and implementations, process or curriculum plans, or packages that can be taken to potential licensors or funders (including a prototype, market assessment, and an affordable manufacturing approach).

Elective Courses

View the list of electives

Partnership with Federal and Global Fellows Programs

The STEP minor and the Federal and Global Fellows are synergistic programs, providing opportunities to expand on the internship experience and gain a deeper knowledge about the relationships among science, technology and society. The Federal and Global Fellows programs place students into semester-long internships in federal agencies and global organizations, many of which are related to science and technology. Many FGSM courses count as electives for the STEP minor (see list of elective courses). If you are in the Federal or Global Fellows program or have an interest in applying to those programs you may only need to take ENES240 (STEP minor introduction course) and ENES440 (STEP minor capstone) to satisfy the STEP minor requirements. Likewise, if you are in the STEP minor and you are interested in the Global and Federal Fellows programs, please contact federalfellows@umd.edu or globalfellowsdc@umd.edu for more information.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the STEP minor requirements?

Students must have a minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA to apply to the minor;
Students must finish ENES240 with at least a B- to be eligible to take ENES440;
Students must take ENES240 and three electives (in no specific order) before ENES440;
Students must take the capstone course (ENES401 for students only in the SSRE concentration; ENES440 for all other students) as their final course in the minor OR concurrently with their third and final approved elective;
Students must take at least two upper-level electives;
Students can take up to two courses that satisfy the requirements of both their major and STEP;
If a student has a second minor, they cannot use a course to satisfy both a STEP and secondary minor requirement.
Students must have at least 3 semesters remaining to allow enough time to complete the minor course requirements. Students in their senior year are generally not accepted into the minor.

What can I do with the STEP minor?

This minor will equip you to become adept at understanding the complex interaction of science, technology, ethics and policy with its varied social, ethical and political implications. Specific examples of organizations in which students with this minor would find employment include non-governmental agencies, such as:

The United Nations
World Health Organization
The World Wildlife Federation
National Academies of Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science

Students may also find jobs at various government agencies, including:

The Department of Energy
The Department of State
The Environmental Protection Agency
The Department of Defense
The Department of Transportation
NASA
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
State agencies in Virginia and Maryland

STEP also prepares students for careers at private firms, such as:

Apple
Facebook
Google
Microsoft
Deep Mind
Raytheon
Lockheed Martin
Other environmental, data science, and infrastructure firms

Furthermore, many professional STEM firms are demanding that students be prepared in non-technical competencies such as systems thinking, ethics, cultural fluency, and collaborative skills.

I've been placed on the waitlist. What is the waitlist and why is there one for STEP?

After rapid growth, the STEP minor began to track enrollment through a cohort model. The graduating classes of each academic year make up one cohort (e.g., Fall 2024/Spring 2025). The core classes, ENES240 and ENES440, have limited seats and usually only have 1-2 sections a semester, limiting the number of students allowed in the minor. Therefore, each cohort is capped at 55 students.

The waitlist is for students whose cohort is full and are still interested in being admitted to STEP, should space open up in the future.

How do I get off the waitlist and into the minor? Is there a way to improve my chances of getting off the waitlist?

The only way of getting off the waitlist is if students in your cohort decide to drop the minor. There is no way of predicting if, when or why current students drop STEP. Getting off the waitlist operates by order of receipt of your STEP application to stepminor@umd.edu (e.g., Student A who emailed their application on 1/1/25 would be ahead of Student B who emailed their application on 1/5/25).

Unfortunately, there is nothing additional students can do to increase their chances of getting off the waitlist, including taking ENES240 or STEP electives, improving their GPA, etc.

Do I have to choose a concentration?

When can I take the capstone?

Contact Us

Email us at stepminor@umd.edu or visit us during office hours.

How to Apply

Download the application, email completed form to stepminor@umd.edu and schedule an initial advising meeting with STEP GA.

Download Application