Otago University will launch new Science Communication course in 2024.
The following is reposted from PCST network (Co-op Admin.)
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Kia ora All
I want to tell you about a new initiative from the University of Otago’s Centre for Science Communication. Our revamped, more streamlined, programme in Science Communication is launching in 2024.
The PGCertSciComm (3 papers) and PGDipSciComm (6 papers) will be taught by distance, and available as part-time or full-time to all international and national students. They present a unique up-skilling opportunity. In this increasingly competitive academic job market, having a versatile “extra” qualification in science communication is certain to help you stand out from the crowd. With our asynchronous course tailored to suit busy, working professionals, you can benefit from this go-at-your-own-pace training. The course can help develop strategic public outreach initiatives as part of grant applications, or to, say, shape a commercially viable popular science book proposal, produce a podcast, or even write a marketable film script.
The programme is very practical and applied, with a special focus on creative nonfiction science writing. Our students tend to be those whose passions and talents lie between the sciences and creative practice. One of the great things about Science Communication is that it is deeply interdisciplinary, weaving together engaging content from STEM areas to the social sciences to the arts and humanities. There are no subject prerequisites for course entry.
If you are working in (or aspire to work in) the science communication space, we will teach you core skills in:
- Putting science communication theory into creative practice
- Writing engaging science-based story content for a general audience
- Developing strategic approaches to outreach initiatives (e.g., on grants)
- Multimedia such as infographics, podcasts, and mobile filmmaking
- Pitching to media and literary agents, drafting professional proposals
- Running idea-based events and exhibitions
To enable students to develop their skills and interests through real-world experience, the course also includes a popular internship paper with a range of professional partners or a placement tailored specifically to your needs.
In addition to teaching creative thinkers how to use stories to communicate the science that they are most passionate about, our innovative papers are built on the latest scholarly theory in the science of science communication and examine how people consume and use scientific information.
Our instructors are not only academics engaged in scientific research, but leading figures in the science communication industry, with commercially successful, award-winning popular science books and bylines in major magazines and media outlets such as The New York Times, Scientific American, and The New Zealand Herald. (Learn more about Profs. Lloyd Spencer Davis and Jesse Bering.) Throughout the course, you can also expect luminaries to drop by digitally for special talks and Q&As with students. Recent visits have included best-selling science authors Mary Roach, Rebecca Skloot, Carl Zimmer, Deborah Blum, and Frans de Waal, to name just a few!
Our distance papers are offered at a special reduced rate for international students.
Although there is flexibility, the typical PGDipSciComm pathway is shown below (PGCertSciComm students complete three of the following papers):
Sem 1 (23 February – 19 June 2024)
SCOM 432 Craft of Storytelling
SCOM 439 Introduction to Science Communication
SCOM 419 Special Topics: Key Voices in Science Communication
Sem 2 2024 (15 July – 9 Nov 2024)
SCOM 433 Science and Creative Nonfiction Writing
SCOM 434 Science Communication Internship
MART 449 Creative Marketing for Behaviour Change*
*or suitable 400-level alternative with approval
***APPLICATION DEADLINE 10 December 2023***
For more information, please feel free to email: jesse.bering@otago.ac.nz