The Program in Communication of Science and Technology (CSET) sits at the intersection of the sciences and the humanities, and it builds on the vast amount of effort at Vanderbilt devoted to interdisciplinary work that spans the natural sciences, engineering, the social sciences, and the humanities. CSET draws on both the scientific communities (natural sciences, social sciences, engineering, medicine) and the creative communities (public speaking, writing, digital media production) across multiple colleges at Vanderbilt.
CSET is designed for students who have an interest in science and technology and also are interested in communicating science and technology to both peer-professional audiences and to the larger world. CSET is ideal as a second major for students pursuing a first major in one of the natural sciences, any of several of the social sciences, engineering, the Science, Medicine and Technology concentration in History, and the Creative Writing track in English. In the twenty-first century scientists must be able to communicate their work and their ideas to their professional peers, to nonspecialists who review grant proposals, and to lay audiences who ultimately fund, support, and benefit from the discoveries made in laboratories around the world. In return, the scientific community needs support from professional writers, journalists, technical writing specialists, public speakers, film and video writers and producers, and bloggers in communicating modern science, technology, and medicine to lay audiences.