University of Wyoming
1000 E. University Ave.
Laramie, WY 82071
Phone: (307)-766-1121
If you teach a course that involves science communication and/or public engagement training and practice at the undergraduate or graduate level, please contact us. We will add it to the list! All disciplines and academic units at UW are of interest for this list.
* = course offered by WySCI affiliate
This certification was developed by the WySCI director, WySCI board, and Dr. Michelle Mason. Details are here for joining the certification and/or the UW SciComm Slack community. Coursework can be applied to the free certification!
Open to all UWyo personnel, including students, staff, and faculty | On-going | Free: The DEI Certification Program helps UW Personnel develop tools necessary for advancing equity and diversity in all aspects of their personal and professional lives. The DEICP goal is to encourage engagement in diversity efforts around campus and within the Laramie community through a flexible process that participants tailor to meet their needs. Participants earn their DEI Certificate through reflective engagement in workshops, discussions, events, and committees. Details.
The Haub School offers majors, minors, and a joint degree with the College of Law to add broad interdisciplinary environmental understanding and problem-solving approaches to any graduate experience at the University of Wyoming. These degree programs are built on hands-on, applied courses that provide a valuable foundation and advanced training in the many nuanced skills essential to effective science communication. Details.
The Master of Public Administration (MPA) is a professional degree for those who seek leadership positions in public service. Much of the training in this program could be effectively leveraged for science communication, public engagement, and science+policy work. View course offerings here.
Numerous courses in the American Studies, Sociology, and School of Culture, Gender & Social Justice major, minor, and graduate programs can provide social science methods training which will be valuable for assessing and evaluating your science communication efforts. This coursework can also provide valuable perspectives on a wide range of stakeholders and demographics who you may wish to engage through community-based science research practices.
If you know of or teach a science communication-related course, please let us know so we can list it. Note that this list does not include the catalog of regular courses from the departments and programs listed above, but those are excellent, on-going options for scicomm training.
Scientific Communication. Zoo 4100/4101 | online, capped at 24, limited to Zoo/Phys department majors
Scholarly Writing Practices (no credit) | This popular 6-week workshop has been taught regularly since 2019 by WySCI director Bethann Garramon Merkle and Communication Across the Curriculum director Rick Fisher. Contact either for details or subscribe to the WySCI newsletter to receive notification when this workshop opens for Fall 2021 enrollment.
Writing Animals. HP 3153-01.
History of Infectious Disease. HP 4152-02 | Face-to-face, capped at 20.
Mind, Memory, and Spirit: Exploring Creativity in the Arts and Sciences. HP 4153-02 | Online, synchronous.
*Media, Science & Society. COJO/ENR 4700/5700 | Online.
*Science of Science Communication. ZOO 5890-8/ECOL 5620-4 | Online.
*ECOL 5620-01, Creative Approaches to Writing About Science. 3-credit, graduate course
*AS 2100, Scientific Communication. 3-credit, COM 2 undergraduate course
*COJO 4640/5640: Communication Apprehension and Competence
*ZOO 5890-4: Visualizing Science. 2-credit, graduate course
*ZOO/BOT 4100: Scientific Communication. 3-credit, COM 3 undergraduate course
*AS 2100, Scientific Communication. 3-credit, COM 2 undergraduate course
*COJO 4230/5230: Media, Science & Society. 3-credit, undergraduate/graduate course
*COJO 4640/5640: Communication Apprehension and Competence
*ZOO 5890-4, The Art of Science Communication. 3-credit, graduate course
*COJO 4210, Special Topics in Communication: Media, Science & Society. 3-credit, undergraduate/graduate course
*AS 2100, Scientific Communication. 3-credit, COM 2 undergraduate course
Some of these courses charge fees.
Environmental Communications Planning | Online course (fee charged) | September 16-November 1, 2019: This online course from Duke University's School of the Environment is designed to give environmental professionals the necessary tools to write a successful and comprehensive Communications Plan. These plans can be used internally, to manage change or initiatives within an organization, or externally to communicate a message to stakeholders and/or the public. Details.
Creating Science Videos with Your Smartphone: Free Online Class | Apply by September 28 | Class runs weekly, September 29-November 2: SciFund Challenge and the Long Term Ecological Research Network are running a video training class for scientists. The class is intended for scientists that are new to outreach and to video creation, but would like to get started with it. The class is open to scientists at any level, in any discipline. The class will be online, so all countries are welcome. Despite being online, we will heavily emphasize building connections between people in our class. Video production often requires a lot of additional equipment, but our class doesn't. We focus our class on using the smartphones that we carry in our pockets for shooting great video. Details.
Social Media for Environmental Communications | Online course (fee charged) | October 21-December 9, 2019: This training from Duke University's School of Environment digs deep into the fundamentals of using social media for environmental communications, a critical assessment of the available tools, audience analysis, and how to design effective communications campaigns and assess their results. Details.
Online Certificate in Knowledge Mobilization | Courses run 2019-2020: Registration is now open for the Certificate in Knowledge Mobilization! This online professional development certificate from the University of Guelph builds capacity to effectively share knowledge, engage stakeholders, and turn evidence into action. Details.
Environmental Communication for Behavior Change | Online course (fee charged) | January 20-March 6, 2020: This course from Duke University's School of Environment provides environmental professionals with a practical introduction to the strategies, methods, and tools of environmental communication that effectively lead to changes in behavior, primarily using social marketing. The field-based skills gained through this course will benefit all practicing environmental professionals faced with the challenge of changing behaviors. Details.
There are a wide range of perspectives on offering scicomm training and/or teaching scicomm in/as a course. Here are a few resources to get you started.
Resources from a round table hosted by the Communication and Engagement section of the Ecological Society of America. WySCI's director Bethann Garramon Merkle was one of the invited speakers. This webpage includes tips, sample syllabi, relevant peer-reviewed publications, and links to numerous resources.
The ESA Communication and Engagement Section also hosts numerous resources on its website. The C&E Section empowers ecologists to better communicate the stories of our science (including stories about the people doing the science) in creative, compelling and innovative ways.
University of Wyoming
1000 E. University Ave.
Laramie, WY 82071
Phone: (307)-766-1121
