History of Science, Medicine, and Technology at UW-Madison is known for the strength and diversity of its areas of study and its warm, collegial environment. All historical aspects of science, medicine, and technology receive attention – from their internal development to their broader institutional, philosophical, religious, and literary contexts, as well as their relationships with print culture, visual culture, and material culture. Students and faculty regularly participate in the program’s weekly Brown Bag and monthly colloquium series, both of which provide opportunities to present work, discuss professional issues, and engage with a wide range of on-campus and outside speakers. All students in the program take a proseminar (HistSci 720) that introduces the history of science, medicine, and technology as a scholarly field.
Graduate students come to the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology degree program from a variety of backgrounds in the sciences and humanities and with diverse professional goals. The program maintains a policy of maximum flexibility and, insofar as possible, tailors the work required for the degree to fit the individual. Students are encouraged to undertake work in related programs such as History, Philosophy, Science, and Technology Studies, and the various sciences. Joint degrees in the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology and another field are possible. In past years such Ph.D. programs have been successfully completed with the departments of Philosophy, Classics, Psychology, History, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics.
The UW-Madison Libraries’ robust collections and services provide exceptional support for research, teaching, and learning in HSMT. Because of the early interest in history of science at Wisconsin, campus libraries have been actively collecting related periodicals, monographs, reference works, and databases for decades. Special Collections, University Archives, the Historical Collections at Ebling Library, the UW Digital Collections and the Library and Archives of the Wisconsin Historical Society afford rich resources for studies in HSMT.