The Novum is a site for the Science, Technology, and Society degree program at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. The STS program offers both a major and a minor and includes two tracks: environment & sustainability and policy & law.

Novum means new thing. The term is often used in discussions of science fiction to refer to a new invention or social change that creates the world of the story. The speculation required to imagine new fictional worlds mirrors the creative thinking required to enact new futures in the real world. The STS degree prepares students to examine and analyze the ways the world is, to imagine what it could be, and to take action to effect change.

We look to our students to create the world they (and we) will live in, and a degree in STS is a way to both contribute to and understand this world as it unfolds.