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STS Special Topics Courses

Fall 2025
Each semester The STS Department offers a number of Special Topics courses which satisfy various Restricted Technical Elective categories. Below are the courses offered for the Fall 2025 semester. Generally, STS 330 is a required pre-requisite for the courses, however you are also eligible to enroll if you will be taking STS 330 in Fall 2025 semester. If you encounter an error when registering, please contact Kathy in STS ( Kathleen McCormick) and she will register you.  

STS 381 – Science Communication
Tue/Thu | 9:25am - 10:40am | On-Campus | 93818
Instructor: Prof. Michael Passero
The focus of this course will be communicating scientific information to other scientists and a broad, general audience. The curriculum will address the challenges that professional and academic writers encounter when communicating scientific or technical information. While professional communication in science and technology differs markedly from writing poetry, fiction, drama, or personal essays, this course will explore how science and technical writers can draw from fundamental principles in composition, rhetoric, logic, and communication theory in order to improve their skills in audience analysis, discovery, disposition, and delivery. Also, common rhetorical figures used regularly in science and technical communication such as metaphor, analogy, and modeling will be explored as compositional tools, along with the traditional rhetorical modes of development that serve all academic and professional communication. Various methods of communication will be addressed as well, including formal reports, professional science correspondence, informative brochures, and oral presentations
Course satisfies Technical & Scientific Communication RTE

STS 381 – Patient Education in Healthcare
Wed. | 5:55pm - 8:20pm | On-Campus | 94729
Instructor: Dr. James Baker
In this course students will develop an understanding of the role of education in the field of health services. They will be given the tools to evaluate different learning styles and adapt teaching strategies to personalize patient care and communication. Students will develop a patient-centered care mindset and learn to utilize a multidisciplinary approach to patient care through the application of the disablement model. This model is essential for today’s healthcare worker, and emphasizes the physical, personal, and social aspects of patients’ conditions. Students will learn about common health issues facing the population (Covid-19, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, etc.), as well as the causes, common medications and treatment, and medical terminology associated with the disease. Students will identify effective strategies to educate patients about their illness. Students will learn how patient education regarding disease management is critical for patient outcomes. These topics will be introduced to provide a general understanding to any student interested in choosing a profession in the medical field. This course will include the practical application of case studies to allow students to apply their skillset to real life situations. Students will be required to complete a project wherein they are asked to provide education to a patient in the field of their choice.

Course satisfies Technical & Scientific Communication RTE

STS 390 – Women in Science
Tue/Thu | 4:30pm - 5:45pm | On-Campus | 94729
Instructor: Prof. Karin Huigens
In this special topics course students will explore the scientific contributions of women in a variety of academic fields ( such as physics, math, psychology, medicine, education, law, etc). In addition, students will explore how science's view of women (medically, psychologically, legally, statistically) has changed over time.  Students will discover how these two explorations of the role of women in science intersect in interdisciplinary studies.

Course satisfies Impact of Technological Change RTE

STS 391 – Artificial Intelligence & Society: Applications & Impact
Tue/Thu | 12:15pm - 1:30pm | On-Campus | 94741
Instructor: Dr. Michelle Morales
The special topics course will cover cover different  areas of Artificial Intelligence (natural language processing, computer vision, robotics, etc.) and their transformative role on society, examining both their practical applications as well as their broader economical, ethical and social implications. The course will develop critical thinking skills regarding how AI is leveraged, while also providing hands-on experience with AI technologies (no coding required).

Course satisfies Impact of Technological Change RTE