Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), previously Science, Math, Engineering and Technology (SMET),[1] is a term used to group together these academic disciplines.[2] This term is typically used when addressing education policy and curriculum choices in schools to improve competitiveness in science and technology development. It has implications for workforce development, national security concerns and immigration policy.[2] The science in STEM typically refers to two out of the three major branches of science: natural sciences, including biology, physics, and chemistry, and formal sciences, of which mathematics is an example, along with logic and statistics; the third major branch of science, social science such as:psychology, sociology, and political science, is categorized separately from the other two branches of science, and is instead grouped together with humanities to form another counterpart acronym named HUMSS - Humanities and Social Sciences.[3] In the United States/ United Kingdom education system, in elementary, middle, and high schools, the term science refers primarily to the natural sciences, with mathematics being a standalone subject, and the social sciences are combined with the humanities under the umbrella term social studies.