Academics

Science Communications Courses

Build your skills using written stories, videos, and art exhibits

Questions?

Do you want your science to make an impact on the world? This new science communications course series is here to help.

Communicating the importance, excitement, and rigor of science to the general public is a critical skill that can help you shape public policy, create an informed voting population, and secure funding for more research.

In these three courses you will learn and practice evidence-based communications strategies through assignments and interactive skill-building sessions.

Learn how to write and publish a digital story, create and deliver a TED Talk-style video, and design and launch an exhibit in the Chicagoland area. All sharing science. All giving you both the theory and practice so that you have new skills and polished concrete materials to accelerate your science and career. You can take one course, multiple, or join us for all three! Either the written course or video course (but not both) can be applied towards a major in the biological sciences.

This course series is taught by Professor Peggy Mason and Sara Serritella. Explore more below!

Watch Student Talks, Read Their Stories, and Enjoy Course Coverage

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Watch Student TED-Style Talks

See students' distill complex science into dynamic talks for a lay audience.

Illinois Science Council logo, isc text then name spelled out below.

ISC Partners with UChicago to Share Students’ Stories

Enjoy student stories and read more about our partnership with the Illinois Science Council and The New Normal™ Campaign.

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Biology Courses Teach How to Talk About Science

Hear from students about what they learned and what a course is like.

Hear It Straight from the Students

I can’t emphasize enough how Science Communications changed me. It made me grow with confidence and a love for spreading science the right way. This was by far my favorite class here at UChicago and I can’t wait for you to have that same experience! ”

Ingie, UChicago 4th-Year Student 2021

I came into this class thinking a lot about how to break a science concept down into smaller pieces. This developed into thinking a lot more about when science needs to be communicated. I hadn’t really considered how to choose the essential pieces of a concept to communicate....Considering who your audience is, what you hope to accomplish, and more questions along those lines creates a framework you can apply to many circumstances and leads to more intentional and efficient ways of communicating. ”

Remi, UChicago 4th-Year Student 2021

This is the best and most practical class I’ve taken so far at UChicago (and that’s saying a lot coming from a fourth-year).
For my whole life, I’ve been told to write in an “academic” manner. In my head, “academic” meant fluffy and convoluted. This was my way of sounding more sophisticated – and it often worked in high school and even in college. Because of this, I didn’t think it was possible to break down science in an “easy” to understand way. How do you explain multiple sclerosis or nephritis to an audience with no science background? When I tried explaining my own research on pancreatic cancer to my parents, I thought providing all of the facts and nitty gritty details was the most important part, when in fact it was the least. This class showed me that there’s an art to translating difficult scientific topics into a more digestible manner. ”

Megan, UChicago 4th-Year Student 2021

Effective science communication requires a perspective shift-- one that is unnatural for most STEM students and future scientists. Instead of documenting all the details of an experimental procedure or the results for a paper, you're forced to consider: why should people care? As a STEM major, my answer is obvious: because it's interesting. But for the general public, that isn't the case. This disconnect between academics and the general public is precisely why science communication is an essential skill. ”

Ali, UChicago 4th-Year Student 2021

    Gain skills in written and digital communication, focusing on translating primary scientific research to a general audience. Learn what makes an engaging written article and how to write for the public without sacrificing scientific accuracy. We will explore platforms such as newspapers, magazines, blogs and social media. You will complete two written pieces that communicate research findings and their significance to a general audience, and you will be paired with a faculty mentor for the project to ensure scientific accuracy in their subject area when apply the course’s communications tools.

    Articles may be disseminated through the Illinois Science Council, Marine Biology Laboratory, the Institute for Translational Medicine, The New Normal™ Campaign, or the National Institutes of Health. Students will walk away with a polished, published work.

    • Instructor(s): P. Mason, S. Serritella.
    • Terms Offered: Autumn (Link to Catalog)
    • Prerequisite(s): Three quarters of a Biological Sciences Fundamentals sequence. Third or fourth-year standing.
    • Note: This course does meet the requirements for the Biological Sciences Major. 
    • Equivalent Course: PHSC 28101 - This course does not satisfy the physical sciences general education requirement.

    Gain skills in oral communication and apply these skills to produce a TED-talk style video communicating primary research in a scientific area of your choice. The goal is effective, engaging communication of science to a general audience without sacrificing scientific accuracy. You will write scripts and design visual and audio elements. The talks will be filmed and edited in collaboration with UChicago Creative, who will assist with visual aids and animation. You will leave the course with a professionally-produced video that you can use to advance their career and promote your topic. You will be paired with a faculty mentor for the project to ensure scientific accuracy in their subject area when apply the course’s communications tools.

    • Instructor(s): P. Mason, S. Serritella.
    • Terms Offered: Winter (Link to catalog)
    • Prerequisite(s): Three quarters of a Biological Sciences Fundamentals sequence. Third or fourth-year standing.
    • Note: This course does meet the requirements for the Biological Sciences Major. 
    • Equivalent Course: PHSC 28102 - This course does not satisfy the physical sciences general education requirement.

    Work as a class to create an interactive physical exhibit that communicates a scientific topic to the public. This student-created exhibit will be displayed either on campus or across the city of Chicago. You will learn from experts in data visualization, visual arts, and museum exhibits to demonstrate the variety of ways science can be communicated. You will also take field trips to local museums to observe the different ways in which research and science communication work together in these settings. The class will critically analyze exhibits, evaluate how exhibits and approaches across the city are similar and different, and reflect on the variety of approaches. An advisory board of researchers from local Chicagoland museums will inform and review the final exhibits.

    • Instructor(s): P. Mason, S. Serritella.
    • Terms Offered: Spring (Link to catalog)
    • Prerequisite(s): Third or fourth-year standing.  
    • Note: This course does not meet the requirements for the Biological Sciences Major. 
    • Equivalent Course: PHSC 29103 - This course does not satisfy the physical sciences general education requirement.

    The Science Communication Program for Undergraduates at the University of Chicago began as the vision of Jocelyn Malamy, PhD, and Michael Stein, PhD, Masters of the Biological Sciences and Physical Sciences Collegiate Divisions, respectfully. Their proposal to develop a formal science communication training program for undergraduates was supported by the Curricular Innovation Fund in The College. Kiki Zissimopoulos, PhD, then Director for Initiatives in STEM Teaching and Learning at the Chicago Center for Teaching, was brought on to develop and direct the program, drawing on her pedagogical experience and passion for the importance of science communication. Sara Serritella, Director of Communications for the Institute for Translation Medicine and an established science communications expert, was identified as a key partner and brought on to co-develop and co-teach the program. Together with Stuart Kurtz, PhD, who took over as Master of the Physical Sciences, a curriculum was developed that covered science communication through writing, video, and public exhibitions.

    A successful workshop series was piloted in the 2018-2019 academic year, during which time Zissimopoulos and Serritella expanded plans to encompass a three-course sequence. Recognizing the importance of science communication training for its undergraduate population, the Biological Science Collegiate Division Governing Committee voted to award course credit towards the biology major for completion of a science communication course. Following curricular approval in the Biological Sciences and Physical Sciences Collegiate Divisions, these three for-credit courses launched in the 2019-2020 academic year.

    Each quarter, the course has attracted waiting lists of interested undergrads and earned positive student reviews. Despite having to cancel the third course during the pandemic, 19 students completed the course during its inaugural year. These students were published in the Science Unsealed blog hosted by the Illinois Science Council, the Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) News, and national award-winning New Normal™ campaign that's fueled by the National Institutes of Health to increase awareness of and participation in health research.

    In spring 2020, Zissimopoulos transitioned to a faculty role at Northwestern University, where she also coordinates the Research Communication Training Program through The Graduate School. Since Fall 2020, Serritella and Peggy Mason, PhD, Professor of Neurobiology, have continued to teach and develop the course sequence, one of the only such programs for undergraduates in the country.