We spend billions annually on science, and our 21st-century way of life depends on its insights and new technologies. But scientific knowledge needs to be connected to communities, decision makers, and the public. The UO School of Journalism and Communication, through the Center for Science Communication Research (SCR), offer a science communication minor to give students the knowledge and skills they need to work on the science communication issues that are critical to individuals and society, from climate change to public health.

What is Science Communication?

Science communication is an interdisciplinary field encompassing the research and practice of communicating scientific findings to diverse audiences, including the public and policymakers. It seeks to enhance the connections between science and society, solve problems through relationship building, and move the needle on issues affecting our lives.

Science communicators and science communication researchers work to advance our understanding of:

• How people perceive risks and make decisions about scientific issues
• How the media informs our decisions about science
• How evidence-based communication can improve public health
• How journalists can better report on climate change and other scientific issues
• How every storyteller, including you, can create more effective science stories

Is the Science Communication Minor Right for You?

Are you interested in improving how scientists and journalists communicate science to the public? Want to learn ways to share your research with other scientists? Or do you hope to create better stories using science? Pursuing a minor in science communication can help you achieve your goals.

The science communication minor is open to students of all majors. Through a series of flexible courses, you can probe the intersections of science, communication, technology, and media. Coursework focuses on the most pressing science communication issues of our time, blending theory and practical skills while helping you explore careers that rely on science communication.

How it Works

As a student enrolled in the science communication minor, you will take courses in the School of Journalism and Communication and other UO programs that teach the science of science communication, the cutting-edge research happening in the field today, and a variety of methods for developing and producing science stories.

Credits: The minor requires 24 credits that you can complete at any point in your college career.

Classes: Coursework consists of three required courses and three elective courses. Elective courses cover various topics so you can build a curriculum best suited to your interests in research and/or story production.

Required Courses (12 credits/3 courses)

2 UO science courses: You can take any two courses that meet UO’s science core education requirement. These science courses must be graded and passed with a C or better. We recommend completing these two courses before taking JCOM 385.

JCOM 385 The Science of Science Communication: This course explores the basics of the growing field of the science of science communication. Students will examine science communication issues and the research being done to understand how the public connects (or doesn’t) with science messaging.

Elective Courses (12 credits/3 courses)

You can choose any three courses from the following list. Topics courses are repeatable for credit if the topic changes.

JCOM 410 Living In Our Valley: This place-based storytelling class allows students from various majors to explore different multimedia techniques and how to communicate through a variety of mediums. It focuses on diverse environmental issues in the Willamette Valley.

JCOM 438 The Science Story: The Science Story is an advanced storytelling class offered each year by Professor of Practice Torsten Kjellstrand and guest mentor Dennis Dimick. This place-based reporting course focuses on the landscape of the southern Willamette Valley. The instructor aims to help students make sense of the place they live in, how we have shaped this landscape, how it has shaped us, and what this means.

JCOM 485 Science Communication & Decision Making: This course explores case studies and readings in areas such as decision science, numeracy, and health and environmental communication. Students will be asked to think carefully about decisions and judgments that they and others make, and how strategic communication can harness decision making so that complex science is useful in improving individual and societal well-being.

JCOM 486 Environmental Communication Strategies: Environmental Communication Strategies and Case Studies is a course that will allow you to explore how public relations and advertising have played a role in the public understanding of major environmental issues. In addition, a portion of this course will be focused on interpersonal communication and having constructive climate conversations.

JCOM 487 Ecological and Social Justice Communication: This class is designed to introduce students to environmental justice communications. Students will spend their time understanding how environmental and social justice has been communicated about and strategies for achieving a more justice-oriented world through improved and accessible communications

JCOM 488 Topics in Science of Science Communication (titles will vary): These topics courses take a deeper dive into issues related to science communication, including more advanced exploration of health communication, strategic science communication, and environmental communication.

JCOM 489 Topics in Science Communication Production (titles will vary). These topics courses focus on creating stories about science, with an emphasis on incorporating science communication research into the process of tailoring story strategies to specific audiences. These courses are dedicated to empowering student discovery through science storytelling using various multimedia techniques.

• One 489 course is Science & Memory, which began in 2014 with SOJC faculty members Dan Morrison, Deb Morrison, Mark Blaine, and Torsten Kjellstrand. The course offers students hands-on experience telling complex stories of adaptation, climate, and environmental change on location in sites around the world, from Alaska to the Oregon Coast to Ghana.

UO science course: One of your three elective courses can be a pre-approved 300-/400-level course from another UO science subject. To be approved, the courses need to have some aspect of communication or engagement. You can reach out to hollies@uoregon.edu to get a course pre-approved.

Undergraduate Research, Internship, and Job Opportunities in Science Communication?

Once you have completed the science communication minor coursework, you’ll want to apply your skills outside the classroom. SOJC faculty members who teach in the minor often offer openings for science communication internships, student jobs, and research assistantships.

Here are some examples of internships our science communication students have recently landed:

Podcasters: Two students who completed The Science Story coursework in 2021 were hired to produce podcasts and multimedia material about wildfires for Season Two of The Fire Story podcast.

Research Assistants: Ellen Peters and Brittany Shoots-Reinhard run the Cognitive and Affective Influences in Decision making (CAIDe) Lab, which focuses on evidence-based communication techniques that facilitate judgment and choice. Although they often conduct hypothetical studies in the lab, they also get out in the “real world” and study the generalization of their theories to health, environmental, and economic judgments and decisions. One undergraduate research assistant won a UO FYRE award for the summer term 2021 and conducted an independent study about COVID-19 vaccine understanding and intentions. Undergraduates interested in research can fill out the Research Assistant Application.