Course details

Summary

The Postgraduate Certificate in Science Communication (PGCertSciComm) caters for a range of students – those with no prior experience in science communication who want an introduction to the discipline as well as those who are already professional science communicators and have a desire to fill a skills gap or increase their understanding of the science of science communication.

The PGCertSciComm can be taken full-time in one semester or part-time over a longer period, and is available through Distance Learning.

The University of Otago’s Centre for Science Communication, the home of story-telling and science, offers three endorsements in the PGCertSciComm:

• Creative Non-Fiction Writing in Science
• Science and Natural History Filmmaking
• Science in Society

Students who want to develop professional filmmaking skills should consider the MAppSc (Science and Natural History Filmmaking) or MSciComm (Science and Natural History Filmmaking).

Programme Requirements

Postgraduate Certificate in Science Communication (PGCertSciComm) endorsed in Creative Non-Fiction Writing in Science

Three of:

• SCOM 402 The Craft of Storytelling
• SCOM 403 Science and Creative Non-Fiction Writing
• SCOM 404 Science Communication Internship
• SCOM 413 Digital Production for Science Communication

One other paper at 400-level may be substituted for one of the prescribed papers, with approval from the Director of the Centre for Science Communication.

Postgraduate Certificate in Science Communication (PGCertSciComm) endorsed in Science and Natural History Filmmaking

• SCOM 405 Business of Filmmaking
• SCOM 411 The Techniques of Natural History and Science Filmmaking 1
• SCOM 412 The Techniques of Natural History and Science Filmmaking 2

One other paper at 400-level may be substituted for one of the prescribed papers, with approval from the Director of the Centre for Science Communication.

Postgraduate Certificate in Science Communication (PGCertSciComm) endorsed in Science in Society

Three of:

• SCOM 404 Science Communication Internship
• SCOM 406 Science Exhibitions and Interpretation
• SCOM 408 Critical and Creative Thinking (not available)
• SCOM 409 Introduction to Science Communication

One other paper at 400-level may be substituted for one of the prescribed papers, with approval from the Director of the Centre for Science Communication.

Postgraduate Certificate in Science Communication (PGCertSciComm) unendorsed option

Any three SCOM 400-level papers which do not satisfy the requirements for one of the other Postgraduate Certificate in Science Communication endorsements.

One other paper at 400-level may be substituted for one of the prescribed papers, with approval from the Director of the Centre for Science Communication.

Entry criteria

Admission to the programme shall be subject to the approval of the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Sciences), on the advice of the Director of the Centre for Science Communication.
Every applicant shall either

• have been admitted to the degree of Bachelor of Science; or
• have alternative qualifications acceptable to the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Sciences).

English Language Requirements: IELTS - Score of 6.5 in the academic module (with no individual band below 6.0); Internet-based TOEFL Score of 95 with a minimum writing score of 22.; Paper-based TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of 587 (TWE 4.5); Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) – Overall score of 176 (with no individual band below 169); Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) – Overall score of 176 (with no individual band below 169); APIEL Advanced Placement International English Language Examination - Grade 4 or higher; Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic - Overall score of 64 with no communicative skills score below 57; University of Otago Foundation Studies Ltd: Completion of 'English for Postgraduate Academic Purposes' with a grade of C or higher.