Amanda Molder, Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Life Sciences Communication, sits down with us to chat about her experience in LSC, her current research interests, and provides some advice for new and prospective Ph.D. Students.
Q. What was your educational journey leading to a Ph.D. in Science Communication?
I got a Bachelor’s degree in Communication at the University of California-San Diego. When I graduated in 2012, I started working for a digital marketing agency in San Diego, 85SIXTY, as their second employee. Fresh out of college, I became a social media marketer, which at the time was a very new and rare job. It was fast paced, entrepreneurial, and I loved it.
I was with that agency for about five years before moving to Colorado. At the time, I lived in a college town, and it was the first time that grad school was really on my radar. I got my M.S. at the Colorado State University (CSU). I was studying journalism, but this time as a researcher. I found that I really loved research, particularly focusing on science and environmental communication. As my M.S. program was nearing its end, I felt like my research journey had just gotten started. My advisor at CSU, Dr. Ashley Anderson, who is also a LSC Ph.D. alumna, encouraged me to apply to the program at UW-Madison, and the rest is history.
Q. What are your current research interests?
I’ve always been interested in “ground truthing” communication sources themselves, by directly examining the work of journalists, documentarians, companies, etc. I research how different science and environmental issues are being communicated to the public, including what language is being used and how it’s framed. I’m interested in answering questions relating to how science communication effects people’s attitudes, emotions, or behaviors. I’m especially interested in whether science communication impacts policy and boots-on-the-ground change.
Q. Can you tell us a bit about your recent research?
For my dissertation, I’m doing three interconnected studies: first, a large-scale content analysis of wildfire and prescribed burning news over the past two decades. Next, I’ve interviewed journalists and filmmakers who created this content, and lastly, I’ve deployed a nationwide survey experiment to explore people’s attitudes, beliefs, and policy preferences about wildfires and prescribed burning practices.
Growing up in California, wildfires are a personal issue for me. I think a lot of people, especially in the West, only experience fire as a scary and catastrophic phenomenon. Prescribed burning rarely makes it into the news, so many people don’t see it as a safe land management tool. I want to know if we can talk about fire in a more grounded way, recognizing that sometimes it can be out of control, but it can also be used in beneficial ways.
Q. What has been your favorite experience with LSC?
One thing I have really loved and appreciated as a Ph.D. student in LSC is the number of opportunities to be involved in a variety of projects and collaborations. I’ve been able to work on side research projects with professors and be able to learn about new topics, hone in my research skills, and publish research papers. I’ve also been able to work on larger projects that involved cross collaboration with different departments and outside collaborators from a variety of institutions and organizations. Those experiences have been great for me as a Ph.D. student.
Q. What advice do you have for folks interested in the Science Communication Ph.D. Program?
If you are a new student, or interested in the program, put yourself out there and try to meet people within the department if possible. Set up meetings, have coffee, get a sense of what’s going on and what people are doing, because you never know what kind of opportunities these experiences can bring.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. I’ve discovered that there are many resources that already exist, and new students don’t have to reinvent the wheel all the time. People in the department, including grad students and advisors, are excited to support you and will be happy to help.
Interested in learning more about LSC’s newly renamed Science Communication Ph.D. program? You can find more information here.
Written by Julia Wiesing, M.S. 25’
Published: April, 2025