Science Communication MSc

Program Overview

This Master's course in Science Communication develops your critical understanding of communicating scientific ideas to the public. The program combines academic and practical modules to prepare you for careers in science communication and furthers your understanding of the media's role in science coverage and the ethical considerations of science communication. Upon completion of the course, you will have the skills to create professional-quality science communication outputs across various media platforms.

Program Outline

You'll study a combination of academic and practical modules in order to prepare you for a range of careers in science communication. You'll also advance your technical and conceptual skills by working in a range of media, and gain direct industry experience on a work placement or internship. If you wish to focus solely on broadcast media and filmmaking, we also offer an MSc in Science Media Production.

Outline:

Core Modules:

• Science and its Social Contexts: Explore the contemporary debates surrounding science and its place in the world, and consider how scientific expertise in the public domain becomes controversial and contested.
• Media Representation of Science: Assess how media texts are constructed in the coverage of science and the journalistic norms and practices that lead to this coverage.
• Science Communication Practical Projects: In addition to an introduction to core skills and a term-long creative project, you will choose two strands in this module, which may include: Digital Media Campaigning; Exhibitions; Radio; Television; and Writing for Journalism.
In each strand, you will work on practical projects that replicate professional output in that medium.

Optional Modules:

• Documentary Film: Engage with seminal works in the history of documentary film and develop a critical eye to recent developments in factual TV.
• Museums, Heritage and Science: Explore issues surrounding the construction of meaning in visual and spatial media and examine the problems of presenting complex and controversial science in museums.
• Narrative: Examine key concepts from narrative theory to inform your narrative writing and consider important theoretical issues from a range of genres and media.
• Science and Fiction: This module looks at the role of fiction in science communication, and the ways science and fiction have shaped each other over the centuries, covering literature, film, theatre, and games.
• Science Communication and Global Justice: Critically examine perspectives on international development and the issues these raise for science communication.
• Science Policy: Analyse the relationship between communication, science and policymaking and discover how public policy is determined.
• Sound, Sign, Meaning in Radio: Consider influential works of radio documentary and drama to examine how audio media create visual images in listeners’ minds and the implications this has for the truth-telling power of the medium.

Work Placement:

You'll carry out an attachment or internship with a science communication organisation, typically lasting three or four weeks. This will enable you to gain experience of the real world of science communication and put in practice the knowledge gained on the course. You’ll benefit from the supervision and guidance of professional science communicators and widen your range of contacts both in the media industry and in the world of science communication.

Dissertation:

You’ll undertake a substantial piece of academic research that engages critically with the relevant scholarly literature and involves some element of investigative work. The research must be written up in the form of a 10,000-word dissertation.

Assessment:

• Essays
• Practical coursework projects and group projects
• Dissertation

Teaching:

• Lectures
• Supervised workshops
• Seminars
• Online reading
• Virtual learning environment
• Supervised projects
• Supervised work placements

Careers:

• Journalism
• Public engagement
• Press relations
• Science policy
• Broadcasting
• Digital campaigning
• Museums
• Academia

Other:

• This course is delivered by the Science Communication Unit.
• The course is located in South Kensington.
• The minimum entry standard is a 2:1 in a scientific or science-related subject.
• The course is updated regularly to reflect the latest version of the curriculum.
• It may not always be possible to take specific combinations of modules due to timetabling conflicts.
• Your fee is based on the year you enter the university, not your year of study.
• There is no application fee for MRes courses, Postgraduate Certificates, Postgraduate Diplomas, or courses such as PhDs and EngDs.
• The fee applies per application and not per course.
• This should be attached along with your personal statement, under the 'personal statement' section of the online application form.
• We interview all shortlisted applicants, these interviews will be held online.
• For courses starting on or after 1 August 2024, the maximum amount is £12,471.
The loan is not means-tested and you can choose whether to put it towards your tuition fees or living costs.
• You can

Tuition Fees:

Home fee (Full-time): £12,600 Home fee (Part-time): £6,300 per year Overseas fee (Full-time): £28,600 Overseas fee (Part-time): £14,300 per year