Applied science is the use of the scientific method and knowledge obtained via conclusions from the method to attain practical goals.It includes a broad range of disciplines such as engineering and medicine. Applied science is often contrasted with basic science, which is focused on advancing scientific theories and laws that explain and predict events in the natural world.
Applied science can also apply formal science, such as statistics and probability theory, as in epidemiology. Genetic epidemiology is an applied science applying both biological and statistical methods.
Engineering fields include thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, statics, dynamics, mechanics of materials, kinematics, electromagnetism, materials science, earth sciences, engineering physics.
Medical sciences, for instance medical microbiology and clinical virology, are applied sciences that apply biology toward medical knowledge and inventions, but not necessarily medical, technology, whose development is more specifically biomedicine or biomedical engineering.
In Canada, the Netherlands and other places the Bachelor of Applied Science (BASc) is sometimes equivalent to the Bachelor of Engineering, and is classified as a professional degree. This is based on the age of the school where applied science used to include boiler making, surveying and engineering. There are also Bachelor of Applied Science degrees in Child Studies. The BASc tends to focus more on the application of the engineering sciences. In Australia and New Zealand, this degree is awarded in various fields of study and is considered a highly specialized professional degree.
In the United States, The College of William & Mary offers an undergraduate minor as well as Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in "applied science." Courses and research cover varied fields including neuroscience, optics, materials science and engineering, nondestructive testing, and nuclear magnetic resonance.
