50 Types of Science

John Spacey, updated on March 02, 2024

Science is the systematic and objective pursuit of knowledge based on falsifiable predictions that are testable by experiment or observation. While science seeks truth, it is always open to challenge based on verifiable facts. A scientific theory or law may be widely accepted and verified such that it is true for all practical purposes. However, it is never considered final and permanent such that it may be challenged by new findings. The following are the branches of science with examples of each.

Formal Science

Formal sciences are systems of knowledge based on abstract concepts represented by symbols such that they are widely applicable to other sciences. These are often based on proofs such that these systems are internally correct with a high degree of certainty.

Computer Science	Logic
Mathematics	Statistics
Systems Science

Natural Science

Natural science is the use of science to understand the physical world. As these sciences deal with physical and observable phenomena these are considered hard science whereby the standard of proof is very high to have a theory accepted. Compliance with the scientific method is relatively high in the natural sciences with peer review and reproducibility required for acceptance of a theory.

Astronomy	Atmospheric Sciences
Biochemistry	Biology
Chemistry	Earth Science
Geography	Geology
Materials Science	Oceanography
Paleontology	Physics
Zoology

Applied Science

The use of science to solve real world problems. This is considered with the discovery of know-how and development of actionable plans using foundational knowledge created by formal sciences and natural sciences. For example, an architect who uses physics, mathematics and material science to determine the wind load the facade of a building can tolerate.

Aeronautical Engineering	Agricultural Science
Applied Mathematics	Applied Physics
Architecture	Bioengineering
Chemical Engineering	Civil Engineering
Computer Engineering	Electrical Engineering
Environmental Science	Forensic Science
Health Science	Industrial Engineering
Mechanical Engineering	Medicine
Pharmacology	Physical Therapy
Space Science	Spatial Science
Veterinary Medicine

Social Science

Social science is the study of societies and individuals. This is considered a soft science whereby theories may be based on informal logic, imprecise measurement or studies that lack scientific rigor. In fields such as psychology, it is common for studies that do conform to the scientific method to fail to be verified by subsequent studies†.

Anthropology	Archaeology
Cognitive Science	Communication Science
Economics	Human Geography
Library Science	Linguistics
Political Science	Psychology
Sociology

Overview

Science is a systematic endeavor characterized by the formulation and empirical testing of falsifiable hypotheses to understand natural phenomena. This is based on formal sciences, particularly mathematics, logic and statistics.

Summary

The following are the basic types of formal and natural science. Each of these has many subfields and related interdisciplinary fields that involve multiple sciences.

The list above excludes applied sciences and social sciences.

Discussion

Human behavior and systems involve copious amounts of qualitative information that isn't easy to measure directly. Studies in the social sciences, such as economics, can be fully based on quantitative data but may still produce models with limited predictive power. Humans are dynamic, complex and human systems are fully chaotic. Understanding these systems requires high level concepts that tend to be somewhat ambiguous. In some cases, social sciences fully reject the scientific method. For example, postmodern relativism that rejects the existence of objective reality itself in favor of the idea that reality is a set of subjective experiences with no universal truths.

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References

†Maxwell, Scott E., Michael Y. Lau, and George S. Howard. "Is psychology suffering from a replication crisis? What does “failure to replicate” really mean?." American Psychologist 70.6 (2015): 487.