Postgraduate Diploma in Science Communication

The need for effective and powerful science communication is greater than ever. Our course is very practical and applied, with a special focus on creative nonfiction science writing. Our students tend to be those whose passions and talents lie between the sciences and creative practice.

One of the great things about Science Communication is that it is deeply interdisciplinary, weaving together engaging content from STEM areas to the social sciences to the arts and humanities.

There are no subject prerequisites for course entry.

If you who aspire to work in science communication, our course teaches core skills in:

• Putting science communication theory into creative practice
• Writing engaging science-based story content for a general audience
• Multimedia such as infographics, podcasts, and mobile filmmaking
• Pitching to media and literary agents, drafting professional proposals
• Running idea-based events and exhibitions

Taught entirely by distance, our asynchronous course is tailored to suit busy, working professionals. The PGDipSciComm (6 papers) can be done part-time or full-time as an “at-your-own-pace” programme.

To enable students to develop their skills and interests through real-world work experience, the course offers a popular internship paper with a range of professional partners.

Learn more about our professional partnerships and interships

In addition to teaching creative thinkers how to use stories to communicate the science they are most passionate about, our innovative papers are built on the latest scholarly theory in the science of science communication and examine how people consume and use scientific information.

Our instructors are not only academics engaged in scientific research, they are also leading figures in the science communication industry, with commercially successful, award-winning popular science books and bylines in major magazines and media outlets such as The New York Times, Scientific American, and The New Zealand Herald.

Postgraduate entrance requirements

Entrance requirements for postgraduate study vary by programme with most requiring a minimum bachelor-level qualification in the same field, and some having additional requirements such as relevant work experience and/or professional registration in New Zealand.

A postgraduate certificate or postgraduate diploma can usually be taken at any time after the completion of your bachelor's degree.

If you hold an honours degree or postgraduate diploma you may be able to eligible for master’s study by thesis only. In some cases if you hold a bachelor’s degree you may apply for a coursework master’s degree or for master’s study by coursework and thesis.

To study a PhD you usually require the completion of a master’s degree, or a first-class or upper second-class honours degree in the same area of study, or a related discipline, as your intended area of research.

Check the postgraduate students pages for specific information on the entrance requirements of the programme you are interested in.

IELTS (Academic module) (including IELTS Online) : Overall score of 6.5, no individual band below 6.0

TOEFL iBT : Overall score of 90 and a writing score of 21 The University of Otago TOEFL institution code is 9483 (Please note we do not accept MyBest TOEFL scores)

Pearson Test of English ( PTE ) Academic : Overall score of 58 with no communicative skills score below 50

Duolingo English Test : Overall score of 120 (with no Individual Subscore below 95)