Science Communication, Certificate

• All four courses will be offered at least once each year to enable you to complete the program within one year.
• Participants begin the program in the fall and complete it in the spring (courses need to be taken in sequence).
• Although most students complete the program within one year, you will be allowed up to three years to complete the program.

Throughout the course of the program, students will read sections from the Faith Kearns’ groundbreaking book Getting to the Heart of Science Communication: A Guide to Effective Engagement. Dr. Kearns is a scientist and science communication practitioner who focuses primarily on water, wildfire, and climate change in the western United States. Her work has been published broadly, including in the New Republic, On Being, Newsweek, the BBC, and Bay Nature. Dr. Kearn's book has been described as a "terrific first step to handling [...] increasingly unpredictable conversations" with broad, potentially combative audiences (Candace J. Akins, Native Plants Journal) and "a must-read for amateurs and professionals" (Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Office of Science for the U.S. Department of Energy). 

Other course material will consist of published articles in academic and non-academic journals, blogs, podcasts, social media posts, multimodal resources (e.g., YouTube channels and TikTok videos), sample grants, selections from books, reports and brochures from organizations such as the American Academy of Arts & Sciences or the American Association for the Advancement of science (AAAS), and other relevant materials.

This program is interesting to both novices or early career professional in science communication as well as those with experience in communicating scientific research and innovations to various audiences. It provides an overview of many important aspects that are of concern to science communication practitioners across disciplinary and professional backgrounds, with a particular focus on equity and social justice in SciComm. Many of our alumni work or pursue careers in communication department of universities, especially those with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM); medical institutions; government agencies; and for-profit companies as well as non-profit research-based institutions. Some of our alumni are also researchers who have enrolled in this program to enrich their own SciComm practice across diverse audiences.