The Stanford Program in Science, Technology and Society (STS) will be undergoing changes in September of this year.

Director of STS Fred Turner announced in an email to STS majors the changes, which will allow students to choose an area of focus in their studies. Both bachelor of arts (B.A.) and bachelor of science (B.S.) degrees will be available to students in the major.

The five areas of focus that students may choose are Information Technology, Media & Society (B.A. or B.S.); Innovation, Technology and Organizations (B.A. or B.S.); Environment and Sustainability (B.A. or B.S.); Life Sciences and Biotechnology (B.A. or B.S.) and Policy, Security & Technology (B.A. only). Students seeking a bachelor of arts will have eight classes that come from a pre-approved list of humanities classes and four that come from technical areas, while the opposite will be true for BS candidates.

Turner said the new major will also focus on innovative research and off-campus opportunities. The core classes and senior capstone projects will remain in the major as well.

Current majors and those who declare before September 2012 will have a choice between the new and the old format, while all students who declare after that will be required to adopt the new guidelines.

-Brendan O’Byrne