Tech for Humanity Minor
The development, role, and impact of technologies are closely intertwined with humanity. A comprehensive understanding of any technology—from analog and digital machines to artificial intelligence— includes awareness of the human dimensions of its creation, adoption, use, and effects in societal and cultural contexts. Students in the Tech for Humanity minor will explore the myriad ways that technology and humanity impact each other.
Why do it?
The minor combines humanities and social science perspectives with applied learning, making it a strong complement to majors across the university. Students in technical programs gain the human context that employers increasingly demand, while students in humanistic fields gain critical fluency with the technologies reshaping their disciplines. As a Pathways minor, it also fits the broader goal of helping students examine important topics from multiple perspectives while completing general education requirements.
Requirements
Students taking the minor begin with a 6-credit introductory experience that includes PHIL 1404, The Skeptic’s Guide to AI, and ENGL 2024, AI, Creativity, and the Art of Being Human*. These courses provide a critical and creative foundation for understanding what AI systems do, what they cannot do, and what remains distinctly human. Students then complete a 9-credit mid-level experience that includes STS 2254, Innovation in Context, plus two approved electives that include courses on topics such as technology ethics, public interest technology, internet governance, cybersecurity, data in social context, technology and disability, science fiction, video games and human behavior, and the history of technology.
Who is it for?
Students enrolled in technical fields will benefit from the humanistic context provided by this minor, and students in humanistic fields will be able to explore the intersections of humanistic work with new technological developments. This minor is designed to benefit students in any degree program at Virginia Tech by providing them with a comprehensive, humanistic understanding of technology for the practical application and use of technology for overall personal and social good.
See what our instructors are saying
“Virginia Tech students become leaders across many fields related to technology, and an understanding of the interplay between those technologies and the people they are designed to serve is imperative to success in any work field. Whatever your life path, the Tech for Humanity minor will prepare you to deal with the human dimensions of technologies that will play an integral role in your career.”
- Jimmy Ivory, Professor of Media Studies. Department of English.
This minor is hosted by the Academy of Transdisciplinary Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences in collaboration with numerous departments across Virginia Tech.
Pathways Concepts
Core Concepts*
Critical Thinking in the Humanities
Reasoning in the Social Sciences
Foundational Quantitative and Computational Thinking
Advanced Quantitative and Computational Thinking
Critique and Practice in Design
Critical Analysis of Identity and Equity in the United States
*Students are guaranteed to meet at least three of the core concepts listed
Integrative Concepts
Ethical Reasoning
Intercultural and Global Awareness