Interested+in+studying+science+communication?

Postgraduate research in science communication can be a great adventure into problem solving. A number of people each year approach me about pursuing doctoral or masters degree research. They are often enthusiastic science communicators who would like to expand the field and be taken seriously for the insights that they can lend to the process of science communication. This sort of energy and drive is critical for undertaking the very involved process of earning a PhD or the slightly less daunting step of working toward a masters by research.
 * PhD & Masters by Research **

There are dimensions of postgraduate research in science communication that any prospective student should be aware of. Considering these issues will help you to decide if such study is right for you.

The postgraduate research process is designed to prepare you for conducting further research in science communication. You also qualify you to teach science communication in a university. You will get to investigate a problem that you see as critical to society. Alternatively, you can address a more mundane problem but focus on learning to employ selected research methods that you would like to use in the future. Your doctoral or masters reseach is actually practice. It is a process through which you develop the insight and discretion to deserve a license to conduct research, a license called a ‘PhD’ (or 'masters by research').

What a doctoral or masters degree is not -- A postgraduate research degree will not make scientists listen to you more closely than in the past. It will not guarantee you an academic job when you graduate. It is also not an avenue to instant grant support for research into science communication problems or support to develop more effective ways to communicate or teach science. That is, near-term, material benefits can be disappointing, but long-term benefits can more than make up for that.

There is a great need for high quality research on issues of science communication. However, areas that you can study at university must align with the interests and capabilities of your supervisors. You can select supervisors from whatever program(s) that I am affiliated with, from among academic staff in the arts, such history and philosophy of science, sociology, or education, and from others, even those outside the university, whom I approve of.

Select potential research topics and potential research methods BEFORE approaching a potential supervisor, and approach potential supervisors BEFORE applying for doctoral study. You want to find someone who is really committed to your area of study because time with your supervisor will be hard to obtain given the many commitments that academic staff have. For academics, sharing supervision of an interdisciplinary research student can be quite interesting, but it can provide fewer browny points than sharing supervision with someone in their own school, department, or faculty. So, if your approaches are rebuffed, do not take it personally.

Remember that no matter how important you consider your area of research to be, it is still unlikely that you will receive much grant support or scholarship support for your doctoral studies. The only exception will be if you have proven to be a top student throughout your academic career. Individuals interested in science communication, though, tend to have interpersonal skills and insights that outweigh their achievements in science (which for many of you would have been your area of undergraduate study). Think about whether you any training in the social sciences, which is your intended research area. If you have no such training in sociology, for example, how likely are you to be awarded a scholarship for a sociological study?

If you are clever and patient, though, you can pursue various scholarship opportunities and potentially land one. There are sometimes scholarships associated with a trickle of government grants for research in science communication, typically funded by the Australian Research Council. Keep an out for those opportunities, and realise that even vaguely-relevant options are unlikely to surface twice.

Some doctoral students work their way through their program as tutors. My academic had developed a range of service teaching subjects in communication and professional skills for university students in science. These subjects are continuing at UNSW, and a few such subjects exist at other universities. That means that a certain amount of tutoring is now available, though it does not run all twelve months of the year. Other tutoring might be garnered, though, by lobbying at various schools and faculties around Sydney, or wherever you live. Considering tutoring in the discipline that you first studied, whether it is biology, physics, or journalism.

As implied above, preparation to do doctoral study in science communication will necessarily include postgraduate coursework in the social sciences. Luckily, there is relevant research methods training and postgraduate coursework in a range of areas, like public health, arts, and business. There are also intensive workshops in the Sydney area on qualitative and quantitative research methods.

This taste of reality in the university may be encouraging or it may be disappointing for you. The challenges of doctoral study can be easier to keep in perspective when they are approached in an informed way. The process can be an immensely satisfying intellectual experience when you 'get your head around' the problem that you are focusing on, and it is a great way to learn from a range of insightful authors and academics.


 * Undergraduate Study **

UNSW offered Australia's first bachelor of science in communication, beginning in 2000. This degree program proved popular with the parents of multi-talented 18 year olds ... and bit less popular with the 18 year olds themselves. Nonetheless, the BSc (Communication) graduated about 8 students per year over the past decade and hosted a number of capable students completing double-degree programs (Science/Arts and Science/Commerce).

The BSc (Communication) is no longer accepting enrolments, and the Program office has now been closed. However, students can still complete double-degree programs that involve a complete major in science as well as a backbone of courses in writing, journalism, marketing, public relations, management, and multi-media production. UNSW's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences has been building its strength in media and communication as well as continuing to offer great courses that bridge science and societal concerns, through the School of History and Philosophy. Add some courses in business -- such as marketing and management as well as an internship at a museum, magazine, research centre, radio, or television station, and you will end up with well-rounded training that is suitable for a career in science communication.