Exciting Opportunities for Learning with LSC this Summer

Summer at the Terrace. Photo by LSC alumna Molly Sequin '17.
Summer at the Terrace. Photo by LSC alumna Molly Sequin ’17.

Summer is here and the department of Life Sciences Communication is offering in-person and online courses for undergraduate, graduate, and professionals. Each course teaches both theoretical and applied aspects of science communication, giving students from anywhere in the world access to a top-notch academic experience.

Why should you take a summer course? Summer courses are less expensive, can be taken in a condensed timeframe, and allow you to graduate in less time. Check out our course options below and remember to enroll ASAP!

LSC’s 2019 Summer Courses Include:

LSC 100 Science and Storytelling: Fundamentals of effective written and spoken communication

LSC 100 Science and Storytelling explores the power of storytelling and its impact on science, empathy, and communication skills. Students learn how to think critically about quality evidence, distinguish opinions from facts, and develop humility in advancing one’s point of view in a multicultural society. The course is designed to hone your skills in public speaking and crafting a college-level research paper using the UW library. Students will also practice grammar and style outside of class by using interactive, self-paced software.

LSC 100 is an eight-week in in-person course that will run from June 17,2019 to August 11, 2019 and is taught LSC Graduate Student Peter Jurich. This course fulfills UW–Madison’s Communication-A requirement.

LSC 251 Science, Media and Society: Explore the intersections of science and society

How do we form opinions about emerging technologies we know little about? Why are we as a society sometimes so divided in our interpretations of scientific facts and phenomena? How can we better communicate and debate science in society? And what role does media, especially in online environments, play in this process?

LSC 251 Science, Media and Society, takes a closer look at the social and cultural factors shaping the science-public interface, the communication processes among different stakeholders (players in the policy arena, industry, scientists, journalists, and lay publics), and the impacts that these dynamics have on societal debates surrounding science and technology. The course is especially relevant for those within the biological sciences, physical sciences, or engineering industries, as it brings helpful perspective to the relevance of their field in societal conversations.

LSC 251 is an eight-week online course that runs from May 28, 2019 to July 21, 2019 and will be taught by LSC Graduate Student Kate Rose. This course can be used to fulfill UW–Madison’s Humanities or Social Science requirement.

LSC 350 Visualizing Science and Technology: An introduction to the visual communication of science

This course allows students to explore the emerging field of neuro-aesthetics and its implications for understanding the media, science communication, and the visual arts.

Students will learn about visual communication through illustrated lectures and analyzing tantalizing images, in both written assignments and team presentations. LSC 350 offers the opportunity to expand students’ visual critical thinking skills by analyzing media images and neuro-charms, investigating how the media and visual arts reflect the brain’s visual system and attracts audiences, creating effective visual messages, and applying visual cognition analysis to specific images that articulate visual theory.

LSC 350 is a five-week online course that runs from May 28, 2019 to June 30, 2019 and will be taught by LSC Professor Emerita Shiela Reaves. This course can be used to fulfill UW–Madison’s Humanities or Social Science requirement.

LSC 432 Social Media in the Life Sciences: Strengthen your foundation of social media content marketing

How can we leverage social media and other online platforms to create meaningful connections about science, and measure the impact of their practice?

In LSC 432 students will explore a variety of social media and digital marketing technologies while learning the principles of strategic communication. Discussions will detail the foundation of and how to build a social media and digital marketing strategy in the field of science communication. This includes creating meaningful connections with audiences, executing a social media and digital marketing strategy, amplifying your message, and measuring your message’s impact. Students will create their own social media and content marketing to promote their personal brand and add value to other businesses and organizations in the field of science communication.

LSC 432 is a five-week online course that runs from June 3, 2019 to July 7, 2019 and will be taught by LSC Faculty Associate Don Stanley.

LSC 560 Scientific Writing: Improve your writing and communication skills for scientific and lay audiences

LSC 560 is designed for upperclassmen and graduate students in the sciences, as well as professionals in life science industries, who wish to strengthen their science writing skills. Students will do so by exploring traditional journal article and popular science writing formats.

LSC 560 allows student to learn the purpose and structure of the “story” genre, and employ story in their writing for both scientists and the public. Students will recognize and use more concise, powerful, and clear language for conveying complex science, whether for scientific or lay audiences. Identify the purpose and structure of various genres of writing for scientists and the public, and what readers expect from each type of text. They will also be able to distinguish between “global” and “local” concerns when critiquing others’ writing, and between the processes of revising and editing.

LSC 560 is a five-week online course that runs from June 17, 2019 to July 21, 2019 and will be taught by LSC Lecturer Emeritus Ron Seely. This course also fulfills UW–Madison’s Communication-B requirement.

Summer Term’s first session began on May 20, but it’s not too late to enroll in summer courses. Students are able to enroll by going to their Student Center module in My UW to start the process. Professionals who wish to enroll in LSC courses but are not in degree status at UW-Madison may apply for admission as a University Special student. You can click here for more information.

For general information on summer courses, click here.