Research

McGill's research community in History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) includes faculty and students from several departments, including History and Classical Studies, Philosophy, Art History & Communication Studies, Social Studies of Medicine, and the Institute of Islamic Studies. Although there is currently no graduate degree specifically in HPS or Science and Technology Studies (STS), students with interests in HPS or STS can pursue Masters or PhD degrees through the existing MA or PhD programs of these departments. (See the department pages for more information.) Various courses at the graduate level are offered by each of these departments, and there is one HPS seminar course, HPSC 500 (not offered every year), which can be approved for some graduate programs.

Applicants for graduate programs are encouraged to contact potential supervisors to discuss their interests. A number of faculty members at the other Montreal universities have research interests in HPS or STS, many of whom could provide additional contact for graduate students at McGill.

Alongside the activities of the above-listed departments and programs, the seminar series in History and Philosophy of Science, along with the Gales and Mossman Lectures in the History of Science and Ideas, help to make McGill a dynamic environment for graduate work. Recent Mossman Lectures have featured Donna Haraway, Simon Schaffer, Isabelle Stengers, Lorraine Daston, and Peter Galison.

McGill HPS was also a part of a SSHRC-funded Strategic Knowledge Cluster, Situating Science (2007-2015), a research group for the development of history and philosophy of science, and science and technology studies, across Canada. See Situating Science for more information.

McGill Faculty with research interests in HPS