Ethics and Technology Minor

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The Ethics and Technology Minor exposes students to the moral complexity of new and emerging technological developments in our society, and encourages them to think critically about their impact on our shared future.

Topics that may be explored in a course of study include: algorithmic bias, data privacy, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, genetic engineering, biotechnology, entrepreneurial decision making, and more. More broadly, the Ethics and Technology Minor advances one of Stanford's long-range efforts to address the ethical implications and societal consequences of technological and scientific advances.

The Ethics and Technology Minor combines foundational courses in ethical reasoning with a diverse set of interdisciplinary courses from across the university, allowing students significant choice in tailoring their program to suit their interests.  For instance, a student with primary interests in data science could have the flexibility to choose up to three different courses in their focused area to supplement the foundational requirements.

A minor in Ethics in Society requires six courses for a minimum of 25 units.  All courses must be taken for a letter grade and be at least 3 units. Courses credited to the Ethics in Society minor may not be double-counted toward major requirements.*

*Exception:  Majors in the Engineering School may double-count CS 182/CS 182W for their Technology in Society requirement.

Course Requirements:

The requirements for the Ethics and Technology Minor are outlined below:

Three Foundational Courses

1. CS 182 or CS 182W / ETHICSOC 182 (Ethics, Public Policy, and Technological Change) – 5 units*
   1. For the 2023-2024 Academic Year, this course is not offered. Students interested in the E&T Minor can substitute ETHICSOC 182 with ETHICSOC 151C (Ethical STEM: Race, Justice, and Embodied Practice) instead.
2. ETHICSOC 20 (Introduction to Moral Philosophy) or ETHICSOC 171 (Justice) – 4-5 units
3. One ETHICSOC elective at the 100-level or above – 4-5 units
4. Three Ethics and Technology Electives at the 100-level or above - 3+ units each

*Note:  CS 182 was previously listed as CS 181 in Winter 2018.

Three Ethics and Technology Electives

Students are required to supplement the foundational courses with three additional electives from the list below.  These courses cover various topics in technology, human values, and social innovation from an interdisciplinary perspective and are drawn from across the university.  The list is updated regularly and students are invited to petition to add a course that is not currently listed and coheres with the aims of the minor.*

* To petition a course, contact the Student Programming Administrator for further instruction.

Application Process:

1. Meet with the Program Administrator to review application requirements and program expectations
2. Fill out and submit the EiS Minor Application Form
   1. To submit the application form, you will also need to provide the following materials listed below. You will need to compile the below documents into a single folder, and provide us with the link to access the folder and download the form/materials when filling out the application form.
      1. Download and fill in the appropriate Course Planning spreadsheet.
         1. Note: You will need to make sure you're signed into Google Drive with your Stanford email.
      2. Attach a one page narrative describing the central organizing theme of your minor
      3. Sign the final page of the EiS Minors Guide (provided to you after your meeting with the Program Administrator)
3. The Program Administrator will review your application, and inform you of your approval. 
4. Upon receiving approval from the Program Administrator, you can officially declare the minor via Axess. Do NOT submit your minor declaration via Axess without prior confirmation/approval from the Program Administrator. 

The Ethics & Technology Minor Application will be listed here on Tuesday, September 26th, 2023.

Please send any questions to Student Programming Administrator, Gillyn Maung at gmaung [at] stanford.edu (gmaung[at]stanford[dot]edu).  Please note that submitting an application and receiving confirmation/approval is required before declaring the minor in Axess.

PLEASE SEE BELOW TO VIEW THE LIST OF ELIGIBLE COURSES.