Career outcomes
Overview
Careers
Studying History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) is a unique way to learn about the world and develop knowledge at the intersection of Science and the Humanities and Social Sciences. HPS is a dynamic program that includes subjects in the history of science, philosophy of science, and the sociology of science and technology. A HPS major equips students with important skills to interpret and understand scientific knowledge and technological development, and their impacts on society.
Science communication
HPS graduates are well-placed to translate scientific research into accessible literature that explains how science impacts the real-world. This can include work in climate science communication as well as health communication.
Science policy and administration
This includes roles in all levels of government, community-based groups, university administration, publishing houses, not-for-profit organisations, and non-government charitable organisations.
Museums and libraries
The Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM) sector is one area that values HPS training highly. Places like science and technology museums, cultural history museums and libraries look for people who understand both the technical and social contexts of material culture. There is a range of roles at these institutions including curatorship, public programming and online writing.
Science education
Graduates may find themselves teaching across various levels, including primary and secondary school, tertiary institutes, continuing education institutes, tutoring organisations and specialist programs.
Consultancy
Private companies are increasingly recognising the significance of issues covered in the HPS program, such as the importance of diversity in science and the impact of technologies such as artificial intelligence on society. These organisations recognise and value the critical thinking skills and interdisciplinary backgrounds of HPS graduates.
Academic research
Students interested in future study may pursue an academic career through the Honours, Master of Arts and PhD programs. Graduates of these programs can find themselves doing research and teaching in university departments such as History and Philosophy of Science, Philosophy, History, Sociology and in private and interdisciplinary research institutes.
Lachlan Talbot
Lachie Talbot is currently studying a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Neuroscience and the History and Philosophy of Science
When searching for breadth subjects for my science degree I was lucky enough to stumble upon the subject Science and Pseudoscience which is an introduction to the History and Philosophy of Science major. The issue of pseudoscience is one of my pet peeves. Pseudosciences make claims about the natural world that have no empirical basis but fraudulently represent themselves as scientific fact. I absolutely loved attending tutorials in which we critiqued these ideas as a group and that lead to me pursuing the major.
History and Philosophy of Science has changed my understanding of how scientific ideas have been shaped by society and global forces, including, for example, the Protestant Reformation and the Atlantic slave trade. I had always assumed that religion was the antithesis of science throughout history, however I learned that Francis Bacon’s eschatology – that idea that corrupted humanity need to be repaired for the imminent return of Christ – was central to the development of Bacon’s nascent scientific method.
Being a neuroscience major in my science degree I was initially perplexed by the History and Philosophy of Science subject Minds and Madness – the history of psychiatry – and its rejection of the triumphant therapeutic march from asylum origins to modern understandings of mental illness. Like many brain science students, I have been indoctrinated by biological explanations of madness and had not encountered the notion of psychiatry as a form of social control. Having now read Foucault and Scull, I possess a new appreciation that psychiatry has historically been a tool of oppressing the deviant and empowering the bourgeoisie. Some anti-psychiatrists have also argued that madness is in fact a sane response to living in an insane capitalist society – something that resonates with many young people.
History and Philosophy of Science has given me a more nuanced view of the neurosciences and I now feel more equipped to undertake research without uncritically accepting biological dogma, as I am cognisant of both the science and the sociology of mental illness.