History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) the discipline which examines the past, present and future of science, technology, society and medicine from various 'meta' perspectives. As well as the history, philosophy and sociology of science technology and medicine, at UNSW the field incorporates science and technology policy and important aspects of environmental studies.

HPS is not a natural science field, but an area of study within the arts and social sciences and therefore requires no previous background knowledge of science or mathematics. Instead, it involves analysing and assessing the nature, the history, and the social and cultural consequences of science and technology.

The study of HPS is relevant to graduate destinations such as science and technology policy, knowledge management, environmental policy and management, high school and university education, computing, engineering, journalism and electronic media, museum and archival work, among many others.

Studying History and Philosophy of Science at UNSW

The School of History and Philosophy of Science offers HPS as a major sequence in a number of degree programs. Please refer to the table below for a complete list.