Science, Technology and Innovation Studies

Science and technology - part of everyday life with an impact on all aspects of society. That's where we come in...

We seek to answer the big questions about how societies both influence and are influenced by science, medicine and technology.

Our department has an international reputation as a leading centre of excellence in science and technology studies, established through the legacies of the Science Studies Unit and the Research Centre for Social Sciences.

About

Since the founding of the department in 1966, we offer a unique interdisciplinary environment in which we address vital questions about the world we live in.

Programmes

We offer a diverse, innovative and exciting range of undergraduate courses and postgraduate taught and research opportunities.

Research

We produce innovative and interdisciplinary research and deliver public policy advice and consultancy on the socio-economic implications of technology and innovation.

People

Find out more about the whole team: the academic staff and their research interests, PhD students and their thesis subjects, and the professional services colleagues who keep it all in working order.

News

See the latest news updates from Science, Technology and Innovation Studies.

Contact

We are based at High School Yards, a 5-10 minute walk from George Square: a lively and vibrant hub (especially in August during the Festival Fringe).

31/07/2025

Science, Technology and Innovation Studies

Automating Universal Credit research cited in major reports criticising effect of welfare digitisation

Two major reports on the UK Department of Work and Pensions’ use of technology and automation in welfare have cited research led by Dr Morgan Currie.

09/06/2025

Science, Technology and Innovation Studies

SPS academic leading project to develop governance framework for synthetic biology in plants

School of Social and Political Science (SPS) academic Dr Robert Smith will lead a new £1.8m project from the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) as part of its Synthetic Plants Programme.

22/04/2025

Science, Technology and Innovation Studies

Network project set up by SPS academic receives public humanities award for work on decoloniality

A network project about decolonisation developed by a School of Social and Political Science (SPS) academic has received an international award recognising it as an exceptional example of research and public engagement.

02/04/2025

Science, Technology and Innovation Studies

SPS academic appointed to the Scottish Science Advisory Council 

School of Social and Political Science (SPS) academic Dr Kirsten Jenkins has been appointed as an associate member of the Scottish Science Advisory Council (SSAC) for 2025.  

15 October 2025

13:00 - 14:00

Science, Technology and Innovation Studies

The dilemma of power imbalance in the food supply chain – the place for regulation?

This presentation will examine a range of regulatory responses to power imbalance in the food supply chain at EU level and UK levels, and assess their effectiveness and likelihood of success in increasing fairness in the food supply chain.

15 October 2025

15:30 - 17:00

Science, Technology and Innovation Studies

Shedding light on knowledge graphs: How Airbnb’s data structure economizes place

This talk will explore Knowledge graphs (KGs) as – quite literally – the dark side of platform markets, in both what they produce and how they operate below the interface.

17 October 2025

12:30 - 13:30

Centre of African Studies

Q-Step Seminar - Death by Assumption: How an Obsession is Slowly Killing Social Science

Social science aims to explain human behaviour. Yet, an obsession with causality has turned a vital theoretical concept into a statistical fixation.

29 October 2025

15:30 - 17:00

Science, Technology and Innovation Studies

Femmetrails: Epistemology and Technology on the Feminine Fringes

Conspiracy theories are popularly and theoretically conceived as a white, masculine, politically conservative phenomenon. But is conspiracy theory limited to the mind of the white male subject?

School of Social and Political Science