Frequently Asked Questions

Ethics
I need a course with ethics content. What options are there?

Minors
What minors does the Department of Technology, Culture and Society offer?
What NYU minors are available to NYU-Poly students?

General Education
I’m a non-TCS major. How many TCS courses do I need to take to fulfill the TCS General Education Requirement?
What electives do I need to take?
I enrolled before Fall 2009. What requirements am I exempt from?
I’ve partially completed my First-Year Writing Requirement and I enrolled before 2009. What do I do now?
Who can take a 1-credit course?
I only need X number more of humanities and social science credits/courses to graduate. What should I register for? 
Where can I find a list of 3-credit courses and the 4-credit electives they replaced?
Where can I find additional information about First-Year Writing Programs, e.g., what 3-credit courses replace 4-credit courses, descriptions of the courses? 

Ethics 

Q. I need a course with ethics content. What options are there?

Check with your departmental advisor, who can let you know of any specific requirements. In general, however, we have several options available. In the Summer 2012 Minisession:

• PL 2143 A (1359), Ethics and Technology, M-F, 10 am-1:55 pm

In Fall 2012:

• EN 3193W (2224), Ethical Questions in Literature, T/Th, 12:30-1:50
• PL 2143 C (1926), Ethics and Technology, T/Th 9:30–10:50
• PL 2143 B (1617), Ethics and Technology, T/Th, 11:00–12:20
• PL 2143 A (2337), Ethics and Technology, T/Th, 12:30–1:50
• STS 3413 E (2641), Science, Ethics and the Body, T/Th, 12:30-1:50

Minors 

Q. What minors does the Department of Technology, Culture and Society offer?

A. Each degree program has a minor: Integrated Digital Media, Sustainable Urban Environments, and Science and Technology Studies.

It is also possible to get a minor in one of the subject areas offered by the department by taking a minimum of 15 credits in one field (such as English, history, philosophy, or psychology).

Q. What NYU minors are available to NYU-Poly students? 

A. These are not administered by TCS, but there are cross-school minors that will be available starting in Fall 2012. More information is available at: http://www.poly.edu/academics/cross-registration/minors.

General Education 

Q. I’m a non-TCS major.How many TCS courses do I need to take to fulfill the TCS General Education Requirement?

A. As an NYU-Poly student, you must take 24 credits of TCS courses consisting of the following:

• 2 First-Year Writing Courses (6 credits total):
  • EN1013W (or EN1013H or EN1033W)  - College Writing Workshop
  • HUSS1023W (or EN1203H or EN1233W) - First-Year Writing Seminar
• 6 additional humanities and social science electives (18 credits total) (see below for types of electives you must take)

Q. What electives do I need to take? 

A. The 6 humanities and social science electives you take can be within a single cluster, or across multiple clusters.  The list of electives spans three clusters: CAM, STS, SEG (visit the Cluster Requirements page to learn more about clusters).  For optimal breadth experience, TCS encourages students to take electives across clusters, and/or across disciplines within a cluster. In addition to taking cluster courses, you must follow these requirements when selecting your electives:

• At least 1 must be a 3xxx or 4xxx level humanities or socail science elective
• At least 1 must be a writing-intensive elective (if you enrolled before Fall 2009, you’re exempt from this requirement). Note: Writing-intensive electives are designated by "W" in the course schedule for that semester.

Q. I enrolled before Fall 2009. What requirements am I exempt from?

A. You:

• do not have to satisfy the writing-intensive requirement
• are not required to take HI2104-Modern World History

Q. I’ve partially completed my First-Year Writing Requirement and I enrolled before 2009. What do I do now?

A. You must enroll in the new, 3-credit version of the writing class you need to take and must also register for STS 2411. This will enable you to earn 4 first-year writing credits (3 credits for the new version of the writing course, and 1 for the special topics course). If you need to fulfill all 8 of the first-year writing credits, you will need to register for STS 2411 each time you enroll in a first-year writing course.

Example:
If you were required to take a developmental writing course prior to enrolling in the standard first-year writing course sequence, and you have only completed that one course (EN 1090) by fall 2009, you will need to enroll in EN 1013W and STS 2411 for the fall 2009 semester. Then, once you have passed those 2 courses, you will need to enroll in HUSS 1023W and STS 2411 in the spring of 2010. When you complete all 4 of those courses, you will fulfill your required 8 credits of first-year writing.

Q. Who can take a 1-credit course? 

A. 1-credit courses are available only for students in a limited number of circumstances due to the conversion to 3-credit humanities and social science electives. In general, you are not eligible to take a 1-credit course if you came to Poly in the Fall 2009 semester or later or if you are a transfer student. Any humanities or social science course from TCS can have added to it an extra 1-credit component, just so long as the student requesting it has an unfavorable balance of 3- and 4-credit humanities and social science classes. To request permission to sign up for a 1-credit course, fill out our online form.

Q. I only need X number more of humanities and social science credits/courses to graduate. What should I register for? 

A. I need…

4 more humanities/social science credits:
You can enroll in any 3-credit humanities or social science elective and, depending on the level of the class, also enroll in one of the following STS courses for 1 additional credit (the instructor of the 3-credit course will also be listed as the instructor of the 1-credit STS class and will assign you an extra credit's worth of work): STS2411-Special Topics in STS or STS3411-Special Topics in STS.

2 more credits:
Take a 3-credit TCS course

2 more 4-credit courses:
Take three, 3-credit courses, OR if necessary (but not optimally), you may register for two 3-credit courses and two 1-credit additions

3 more 4-credit courses:
Take four 3-credit courses

4 more 4-credit courses:
Take five 3-credit courses plus one 1-credit addition

Q. Where can I find a list of 3-credit courses and the 4-credit electives they replaced? 

A. Follow this link to view a full list of replacement electives.

Q. Where can I find additional information about First-Year Writing Programs, e.g., what 3-credit courses replace 4-credit courses, descriptions of the courses? 

A. Go to our First-Year Writing comparison table to learn more about the changes to writing courses and how they relate to your degree requirements.