Science and Engineering in the Public Interest Minor

Act, innovate and lead in the public interest. Policy often has big implications in STEM fields. Help yourself stand out by learning how policy can influence research and how research can bring change in policy.

This minor is a partnership between the John Glenn College of Public Affairs and their research center, the Battelle Center for Science, Engineering and Public Policy.

Declare the Minor

Curriculum

From regulations to funding, understanding how policy and science interact is a valuable knowledge set. While STEM majors will dive into the technical aspect, the effectiveness of that knowledge can be enhanced with an understanding of policy that can have major impacts on various STEM industries. 

Learn about policy implications to STEM fields, including:

  • Government funding for research and development
  • Impacts of politics on research agendas
  • Mechanisms of policy-making that support or regulate science and engineering
  • Ways innovation is accomplished in organizations
  • How communities adopt innovation
  • Communication differences between technical culture and political culture

Choose one:

  • PUBAFRS 2620 Science, Engineering and Technology for Policy and the Public Interest
  • PUBAFRS 2110 Introduction to Public Affairs

Choose 2 courses within one of these science and technology policy domains.

Air & Space Policy

  • AVN 2000 Introduction to the Aviation Industry
  • AVN 3200 Aviation Regulations
  • SLAVIC 3333 The Soviet Space Age
  • PUBAFRS 3620 US Space Policy and the Global Space Economy
  • AVN 3700 Building a Diverse Workforce in Aviation

Energy & Environmental Policy

  • ARCH 2220 Sustainability and the Built Environment
  • ENR 2300 Society and Natural Resources
  • PHILOS 2342 Environmental Ethics
  • CRPLAN 2620 Planning for Future Cities
  • HISTORY 2700 Global Environmental History
  • CRPLAN 3000 Planning Resilient Environments
  • ENVENG 3200 Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering
  • ENR 3200 Environmental & Natural Resources Policy
  • ENR 3280 Water Quality Management
  • CRPLAN 3400 Planning for Sustainable Economic Development
  • FABENG 3400.01 Sustainability of the Food Supply Chain
  • EARTHSC 3411 Water Security for the 21st Century
  • SOCIOL 3460 Environmental Justice
  • CRPLAN 3550 Environmental Planning and Policy for a Sustainable Future
  • HISTORY 3700 American Environmental History
  • GEOG 3900 Global Climate Change: Causes and Consequences
  • BUSMGT 4253 Sustainable Operations
  • AEDECON 4320 Energy, the Environment, and the Economy
  • AEROENG 4518 Principles of Sustainable Engineering
  • AEDECON 4597 Population, Food and the Environment
  • ENVENG 4600 Assessment for Human Rights and Sustainability
  • ENVENG 5170 Sustainability and the Circular Economy
  • GEOG 5301 Sustainable Transportation
  • ENR/FABENG 5310 Ecological Engineering and Science
  • ENR 5451 Water Policy and Governance
  • MATSCEN 5572 Intro to Nuclear Science and Engineering
  • GEOG 5803 Sustainable Energy Geographies

Technology & Human Health Policy

  • HISTORY 2703 History of Public Health, Medicine and Disease
  • PUBHEHS 3310 Current Issues in Global Environmental Health
  • PUBHEHS 3320 Fundamentals of Environmental Health Risk Assessment
  • PUBHEHS 3330 Global Pandemics and Public Health
  • HWIH 3490 Technology-Based Health Promotion Strategies
  • CRPLAN 3500 The Socially Just City
  • PUBHHMP 3610 United States & International Health Care
  • HISTORY 3701 History of American Medicine
  • PUBHEHS 4325 Climate Change and Human Health
  • PUBHEPI 4410 Social Epidemiology
  • EARTHSC 5203 Geo-environment and Human Health
  • PUBHEHS 5395/ENVENG 5195 Engineering Design for Environmental Health
  • PUBAFRS 5890 US Food Policy
  • PUBAFRS/ AEDECON 5900 Food System Planning and the Economy

Cyber & Data Privacy & Policy

  • CSE 2501 Social, Ethical, and Professional Issues in Computing
  • PUBAFFRS 3220 Citizenship in the Age of Big Data: Law, Technology, and Social Justice
  • ISE 3700 Cognitive Engineering Systems
  • HISTORY 3702 Digital History
  • INTSTDS 3702 Herding Cyber Cats: Information Security Management
  • POLSCI 3785 Data Science for the Social and Behavioral Sciences
  • PUBAFRS 4040 Public Sector Data Sciences and Management
  • CSE 4471 Information Security
  • ISE 5194 Human Centered Machine Learning
  • CSE 5539 Intermediate Studies in Artificial Intelligence

Choose two courses:

  • PUBAFRS/ENVENG 5600 Science, Engineering, and Public Policy (3) 
  • PUBAFRS 5610 Innovation, Policy, and the Global Economy (3)
  • PUBAFRS 5620 Rapid Innovation for Public Impact (4; project-based)
  • PUBAFRS 5750 The Business-Government Relationship (3)
  • PUBAFRS 5770 Risk and Decision Analysis (3)

Additional Program Detail

Declaring the Minor

  • To add a minor at the Glenn College, contact the advising office.
  • The minor coursework must be approved by the Glenn College. Once the minor program is filed in the college office, any changes to coursework must be submitted for approval. 
  • The minor program form must be filed by the time the graduation application is submitted to a college/school counselor.

Credit Hour Requirements and Transfers

Requirements:

  • This program is not required for graduation.
  • A minimum of 15 credit hours are required for completion.
  • A minimum of six credit hours must be at the 3000 level or above.

Transfers:

  • A student is permitted to count up to six total hours of transfer credit and/or credit by examination toward the minor.

Overlap

  • Three credit hours may be overlapped between this minor and a major or another minor. 
  • G.E. overlap is permitted up to six total hours

Requirements for completion

Grade requirements for earning a minor:
  • Minimum C- for a course to be listed on the minor.
  • Minimum 2.00 cumulative point-hour ratio required for the minor.
  • Coursework graded Pass/Non-Pass cannot count on the minor.
  • No more than three credit hours of courses graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory may count toward the minor.

For More Information

Contact:

Glenn College Majors:
Contact your Advisor

Non Glenn College Majors:
Contact Steve Fink

Glenn College minors help you make a major impact.

View all Glenn College Minors