Course description
Communicating science to the public – whether through science
centres, education or the media – is a burgeoning industry which
offers a range of employment opportunities to appropriately
qualified graduates.
The MSc in Communicating Science provides a course of advanced study relating to the public communication of science, public engagement with science and the interpretation of science in society. Its main focus is on developing students’ practical skills in written, verbal, graphical, and digital science communication whilst providing a solid grounding in communication and media theory. The award is taught by the University’s Centre for Astronomy and Science Education (CASE), an internationally recognised centre for science communication and innovative science education.
Students engage in real-world, professional science communication activities alongside CASE’s partner organisations. These activities provide graduates with the practical science communication skills and professional experience sought by employers, helping them to strengthen an existing career or strike out in new directions.
Brief Overview:
Science communication is a burgeoning industry which offers a range of employment opportunities to appropriately qualified graduates. There are openings for science communicators in journalism, public relations, publishing, the media, and the public sector. For example, there are now over 3000 museums, galleries and heritage attractions in the UK, communicating science in a variety of contexts, and hundreds of publications which carry science news and features. And there is a growing need for effective and imaginative science communication at all levels of our education system.
CASE is actively involved with a wide range of national and international science communications activities. With staff on the NASA Astrobiology Institute science communication advisory board and NASA’s groundbreaking Pilbara project, links to the European Network of Science Communication Teachers and Microsoft?s Science Fiction Museum in Seattle, CASE is an ideal springboard for a career in science communication.
Course Content
The course comprises six taught modules and a dissertation. A range of new and challenging teaching strategies are used, with an emphasis on active learning. The opportunity to use a combination of optional taught modules and the research-based dissertation to specialise in some specific aspect of science communication allows students to hone their practical skills while developing a portfolio that demonstrates their individual expertise.
Graduates from the course will be suitably qualified to work in the expanding field of non-formal science education, in organisations such as science centres and museums, policymaking bodies, colleges and universities, science publishing, the print and broadcast media and independent consultancies.
How To Study
Study methods comprise a mix of lectures, seminars, workshops, presentations, practical projects and self-directed research.
Assessment is through essays, presentations, portfolios, and practical evaluations. The dissertation is a research investigation involving the analysis of some science communication issue and/or the development or evaluation of a piece of practical science communication. At the completion of the research, students are required to submit a dissertation of up to 20,000 words.
Career prospects
There are an increasing number of openings for science communicators in journalism, public relations, publishing, the media, academia, education, and the public sector: for example, there are now over 3000 museums, galleries and heritage attractions in the UK alone, and hundreds of publications which carry science news and features. In education, there is a growing need for effective and imaginative science communication at all levels.
