Graduate School Bulletin

Spring 2024

Technology and Society

Technology defines 21st century life and work. Understanding general and specific characteristics, capabilities, and limitations of modern technologies is essential for those who need to use, manage and create them. Leading teams and otherwise interacting in modern scientific, engineering, and educational settings requires skills specific to certain needs. The Department of Technology and Society, located within the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, was created to help address these diverse needs. 

The Master’s Degree in Technological Systems Management offers three degree concentrations: Technology Management, Resilience and Sustainability, and Educational Technology. This degree is well-suited for recent baccalaureate graduates; however, those with some practical experience in the workplace who are seeking to gain pertinent management and necessary leadership skills to advance their careers will find our courses especially appropriate, and will appreciate that our face-to-face classes are offered in the evenings to accommodate work schedules. It is also possible to complete our degree programs entirely on-line, through a combination of evening synchronous classes and asynchronous classes for those who wish to set their own schedule. Course offerings are scheduled so that it is possible to complete the degree in three full-time (9 credit) semesters if an additional course is taken over the summer. It is also feasible to complete the degree on a part-time basis.

Each specialization requires 30 credits (10 courses) of classwork plus a Master’s project. The coursework includes four required courses shared across the concentrations. The Master’s project is completed under the supervision of a faculty member. It is typically addressed in three ways: 1) a literature search on a technical issue in the concentration area; 2) a project that combines some form of technical training from two or more classes in the program; or 3) by addressing a professional problem where there is not sufficient time or available effort to address in the working environment and which requires additional technical information.

Students completing the master’s degree program will find that they can:

  • use multiple quantitative decision-making techniques and to analyze the role of bias in judgements.
  • manage technical and social aspects to explain complicated phenomena and demonstrate mastery of socio-technological systems.
  • evaluate and criticize the ethical decisions encountered in the engineering design process.
  • identify, explain, and apply basic concepts of Science, Technology, Society research.
  • demonstrate concepts, analytical tools and practical skills for the purpose of managing technologies.

The Technology, Policy, and Innovation (TPI) Ph.D. program has a four-part mission:

  • To develop a cadre of scholars who will be engines of national leadership in charting and gauging the future course of technologies;
  • To carry out policy and design/planning research in intersecting socio-technological areas: energy and environmental systems; and engineering and technology workforce policy;
  • To establish a new model for doctoral education that promotes highly intensive collaborations and uses advanced educational technologies in a fertile, diverse, globally networked laboratory environment that transcends disciplinary boundaries; and,
  • To serve as an exemplary resource for regional and national industry and government, as well as for schools, colleges/universities, and other educational institutions in both implementing technological innovation and carrying out policy studies.

Students in the Technology, Policy, and Innovation (TPI) Ph.D. program will work in one or more areas of faculty research strength. In addition to drawing on the expertise of faculty in the Department of Technology and Society, the Ph.D. program is supported by more than 10 affiliated faculty members from throughout the Stony Brook campus.

The Advanced Graduate Certificate in Computational Science teaches students how to evaluate data trends, make predictions and solve problems using mathematics, computer science and machine learning.  Students must be enrolled in the master’s program before applying to the Advanced Graduate Certificate in Computational Science.  Credits earned in the certificate can be counted both for the certificate and the master’s degree.  The Advanced Graduate Certificate in Industrial Management helps managers develop their abilities to use advanced technologies in their companies, understand their business processes, reduce waste and inefficiencies, and improve the bottom line of their companies.  Students can earn an Advanced Graduate Certificate in Industrial Management without enrolling in the master’s program.  However, up to 12 credits earned in the AGC can be applied towards the master’s degree.