The Science Communication Graduate Certificate or multidisciplinary minor is available to all University of Arizona MS and PHD students and postdoctoral fellows. The goal of this program is to train future science professionals in the skills needed to communicate effectively. The certificate and minor require three electives to be taken at any time before graduation. Postdoctoral fellows can use the Qualified Tuition Reduction (QTR) benefit to take courses at a discounted rate.

To see the original proposal giving the motivation for the certificate, please click here.

Note that the course list for the certificate has changed; the current list is given on this web page.

Requirements

Nine credit hours are required, comprising three courses of three credit hours each. Select courses from the list below (all are three credit courses). Most courses are offered once a year. Please refer to the UA Course Catalog to determine which courses are offered in a given semester. The courses can be taken in any order, and in any semester, as long as all three courses have been taken by the time of graduation.

For additional flexibility in completing the certificate, students may substitute 3 credits of Independent Study (599) for one of the three courses. The Independent Study should be faculty-directed and can focus on any aspect of science communication. It must be approved by the Graduate Director of the program in which the student is enrolled.

Students must choose three courses from the following list:

Procedures

Students apply for the certificate online using GradApp, with approval of their Director of Graduate Studies or Graduate Advisor. They then use GradPath to add the Minor to their Plan of Study and list courses they plan to take for the certificate/minor. If course substitution is not permitted by their department, or if a student has already completed their plan of studies and progressed to PHD candidacy, they can earn the certificate by taking the relevant courses as an overload. All admission requirements for the certificate are satisfied by students in their home department.

FAQ

How much will the program cost?
Find out how many semesters it will take to complete the program and how many units you will be taking each semester. Once you know that, use the tuition and fees calculator to see how much tuition will cost for one semester. Then use the tuition cost from the tuition and fees calculator and add up the cost for each semester. This way, you will  have an estimate on the total cost of the program.

Why was this certificate created?
Science communication is a critical societal need, yet most graduate students have no formal training in how to communicate science to public audiences and non-scientists. Employers of science graduates rate written and verbal communication skills as more important than any others, including technical knowledge of their core discipline. The number of jobs for science graduates in communication-related fields is growing. 

What kind of courses can I take?
The core courses for the certificate include general courses in science communication and science journalism, and more specific options in biology, environmental science, and space science. They are all taught by experienced UA faculty and instructors.

What will I learn in these courses?
Certificate courses are skills based. You will learn how to explain your research to any scientist in an unrelated field, give a talk on your research to a public audience, write a popular article or press release on a recent discovery in your field, and explain to a non-scientist a discovery from an unfamiliar field. Marketable skills include the ability to convey technical information in plain language and the confidence to do public outreach. The Independent Study option gives you a tailored science communication experience under direct faculty supervision.

How is advising handled?
Advising for students in the certificate program is done by the course instructors who contribute to the certificate, along with any faculty with communication expertise in their home department. There is no change to the committee or the comp exam process for a student earning the certificate. For a student wanting to earn the multidisciplinary minor, a member of their prelim or PhD committee serves as advisor for the minor. If department rules and policies allow, this minor committee member can be the instructor for one of the classes counting towards the certificate.

Contacts

Program Director: Chris Impey, cimpey@arizona.edu