The Master’s in Philosophy of Science, Technology & Society (PSTS) consists of two years with a total of 120 EC. During the first year, you will follow a number of compulsory courses. The second year consists of elective courses, the possibility of an internship, and eventually your master’s thesis. If you choose to follow the 4TU Ethics and Technology track, your curriculum will be different.
Structure
The first year consists of a core programme for all students. You will first become familiar with particular philosophical concepts, theories, and methods and the multidisciplinary field of science, technology, and innovation studies. Then you will learn the typical PSTS approach and apply your knowledge by teaming up with one of our researchers and working on an engineering project at our research institutes. In the second year, you can choose five elective courses, in any combination you wish. At the same time, you start narrowing down your thesis topic and research question in the mandatory MasterLab course.
First year | ||
Compulsory courses | 60 EC |
|
Total EC of year 1 | 60 EC | |
Second year | ||
Compulsory courses | 5 EC | |
Elective courses | 25 EC |
|
Master’s thesis | 30 EC | You can choose either a regular Master’s thesis (40-60 pages) or a short Master’s thesis and an internship (30-50 pages). |
Total EC of year 2 | 60 EC |
4TU. Ethics, Ethics & Technology track
If you wish to pursue an academic career and prepare for a PhD position, you can apply for the one-year 4TU Ethics and Philosophy track. It consists of 30 EC in advanced courses in ethics and technology, the course MasterLab (5 EC), and a master's thesis (30 EC).
The course curriculum in the first semester consists of graduate courses offered by the University of Twente (UT), Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), and Wageningen University & Research (WUR). The courses are spread out across one week after which you complete an assignment. The second semester is dedicated to writing your master’s thesis that will be supervised by ethicists from the 4TU Centre for Ethics and Technology.
Master’s thesis
You complete this Master’s by writing a thesis. The choice of your graduation subject is largely up to you depending on your interests and career prospects: you can focus on any topic at the intersection of science, technology, and society. You can also write your thesis in collaboration with a company, a government, or a knowledge institute. You have plenty of room to propose your own idea and collaborate with one of the research groups at UT.
Depending on whether you want to gain more hands-on experience before graduating, you can go for a short master’s thesis (30-50 pages) plus an internship (at least seven weeks) or focus only on your master's thesis (40-60 pages). If you choose the first option, you can write your thesis and do the internship simultaneously. We recommend that you do the internship first and then start with the thesis as we expect a full-time internship. Moreover, you can link your internship to your thesis, so you can deepen your knowledge in the particular field and topic you are researching.
Questions?
Do you want more information about this Master’s? Contact the study adviser.