Science and the Public Undergraduate Certificate

Build on your science and technology leadership training and hone your expertise in science and technology policy.

Apply by the end of drop/add of spring semester junior year. Curriculum Requirements View All Electives

The Science & Society Certificate Program is an undergraduate, interdisciplinary course of study that integrates science with its relationship to society. The interdisciplinary curriculum enables students to understand the social, legal, historical, and policy issues stemming from research and technological advances in both basic and applied science.

The Certificate in Science & Society allows undergraduate students to build on their science and technology leadership training and hone their expertise in science and technology policy.

Through a series of 4 courses, 2 lab placements, and a senior capstone course, students will learn to:

Critique and analyze science and its downstream applications.
Understand the social implications as well as the power and the limits of science and technology.
Understand how research works (and sometimes doesn’t).
Analyze both quantitative and qualitative data.
Develop policy options that are practical, ethical, and just.

“Looking back at my time at Duke, I can confidently say that the courses I took for the Science and the Public Certificate were among the most influential classes I took in undergrad. Not only did they shape me into being a more intentional writer, the topics of science communication and patient advocacy have been central to my path towards medical school. Ultimately, my time with the Science and the Public certificate has shaped my values as a future physician and reinforced the importance of working towards a more equitable medical system.”

★

Alyssa Shi, Science and the Public Certificate class of 2023
(matriculated at Harvard Medical School fall 2024)

How to Enroll

We encourage all students interested in this Certificate program to consult with the Certificate Director and discuss whether the certificate is a good fit for you with Academic Advising.

If you are a Trinity first-year student, you can indicate to us your intention to enroll in the Certificate next year through this web form, and we can welcome you informally into the Certificate community.
If you have completed your first year at Trinity and have not yet declared a major, you can enroll in the desired Certificate track through Duke Hub when you declare your major with your advisor.
If you are a declared Trinity sophomore, you may add our Certificate via the Academic Plan Change form in DukeHub.
If you are a declared Trinity junior, please contact us directly to discuss whether you are able to meet the requirements for the Certificate before graduation. This will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
If you are a Pratt student, you may add our Certificate via the Academic Plan Change form in DukeHub.
IDM and Program II students: student-originated IDM and Program II plans require plan changes to be submitted via administrative form.

Science and the Public Track Curriculum Requirements

Students complete 5 courses and 2 research experiences (at least one of which is for credit):

SCISOC 256 (core course) preferably taken by the end of the junior year.
Three elective courses (jump to current listings), including at least one course with an ethics, law, or policy component.
Two approved research experiences consisting of either two semester long independent study courses or one semester long independent study course plus one approved summer research experience. The two research experiences must be independent of each other. All Duke summer research programs count toward the certificate.
SCISOC 498S capstone course to be taken in the spring of senior year.

Note: At least one elective and at least one research experience must have a science component, and at least one elective must have an ethics, social science, law, or policy component. No more than three courses may originate in any one department; only two courses may be used to satisfy the requirements for any major, minor, or other certificate; and at least half the courses must be taken at Duke.

About the Spring 2024 Capstone Course

Our 2024 Science and the Public Capstone students’ client was the National Human Genome Research Institute’s Policy Branch. The students were tasked with understanding why curative gene therapies for rare diseases were: 1) so expensive; and 2) in many cases, not able to gain a foothold in the marketplace. Highlights of this project included an interview with Victoria Gray, the first patient to receive Vertex’s $2.2-million sickle cell gene therapy, and a conversation with then-director of FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Dr. Peter Marks, who discussed gene therapy regulation and how a unified manufacturing system could help reduce gene therapy costs. Students interviewed an array of other physicians and researchers immersed in biotech and gene therapy as well as healthcare economists at the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER). They also analyzed the existing literature on the availability, effectiveness, and cost of gene therapies. The project culminated with a May 2024 presentation by students on the substance of their white paper to NHGRI in Bethesda, Maryland.

Electives

The following courses will count as electives for the S&S Certificate. This is a list of past and current courses. Not all courses below are currently offered. Check in ACES for current course listings. If you took a course that is not listed here and wish for it to be considered as an elective for the Certificate, please send a detailed syllabus to scienceandsociety@duke.edu explaining your justification.

Current Electives

(“CL” in the table column headers below refers to cross-listed course numbers.)